Ch 19: Ring my Bell

“Ding. Ding Ding.” Daniel rang the bell, reaching the top of the rock wall before me. I slipped and remained dangling from my harness. I repelled down, angry at myself for missing the last rock. Now I’d have to go back to Luke’s knowing he preferred a super skinny actress to my muscle bound frame
“You were so close,” Daniel said when he met me at the bottom. “You’ve come such a long way. A couple months ago there was no way you could climb that wall.” I nodded. “You can do hard things, Stella. Now stick to what you’re good at and train Luke to swim.”
I hated to admit it, but he had a good point. Training Luke was a challenge I was good at. He already could catch a wave. If I put my emotions aside, and focused on the physical challenges, I could help Luke meet his goals and continue to pay off my debt. I just couldn’t let love or lust or whatever it was get in the way.
***
During our next training session one late afternoon, Luke and I continued in the pool. I left my pile of clothes on a deck chair and hopped in the pool wearing my plain black one-piece bathing suit. I encouraged Luke to use the kickboard to kick and stroke with one arm. He motored around the pool, kicking his legs, alternating strokes with his arms while holding onto the kickboard with the other arm.
When Luke finished with the kickboard, we stood in the shallow end, the water hitting my chest, Luke’s waist. I kicked my feet up and floated on my back to demonstrate for Luke. Floating relaxes me. It’s comforting having your body suspended in water, moving up and down with its ripples. Looking up at late afternoon sun, it made me feel more optimistic. Floating allows me to tune out the rest of the world, partly because I can’t hear anything except the flow of water while my ears are submerged. That’s partly why I didn’t hear or see Lyle arrive poolside to throw a tantrum.
Apparently, the suit he’d ordered Luke wasn’t finished yet, and he had demanded it be delivered yesterday. Luke tried to talk him off the ledge when Lyle also complained about another starlet wearing a similar style to the one they’d picked out for Gina. By the time I finished with my moment of floating solitude, Lyle was throwing my tennis skirt and jacket into the pool, claiming he just couldn’t deal with anymore ugly in his life right now.
I stood up and saw my garments floating on top of the water, Luke telling Lyle he needed a break much like a parent giving an irrational toddler a time out.
“She needs to fix her style if she’s going to work here, Luke.” Lyle called from the pool deck. I stood up, confused as to what had just happened.
“Lyle, I think you need to leave. I’ll handle it. Calm down. Go drink some tea.” Luke dealt calmly with the huffing Lyle.
“What happened?” I asked Luke as Lyle stomped away.
“Oh, Lyle’s just on another bender. I told him he needs to chill.” I picked up my sopping wet clothes. “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “Lyle’s just really passionate about what he does. Too passionate.”
I wasn’t worried about the wet clothes. They’d dry. But what was I going to wear in the meantime? For LA, the weather was a bit chilly that day, and I didn’t particularly want to prance around in my swimsuit. I thought the outfit was at least a little better than my usual. I wore the tennis skirt because it was easy to pull on over my bathing suit and the jacket gave the look a sporty edge. I looked at the clothes, dripping in my hands.
“I didn’t think they were THAT bad,” I said to Luke.
“They’re fine. At least you weren’t wearing them to swim this time.”
I laughed remembering my stunt to gain Luke’s attention at the country club.
“What am I supposed to wear now?” I asked.
“I’ll fix it.” Luke sprung out of the pool and grabbed a towel for me, wrapping it around my shoulders as I emerged from the water. “I think I can find something for you to wear.”
I waited on a deck chair, wrapped in a towel until Luke returned with a bundle. I picked out a pair of black sweat pants and a green t-shirt. They didn’t fit perfectly but were much better than the get up I found in the country club locker room. I put them on over my swimsuit, hoping to keep warm, but I was still shivering.
“I forgot to mention, thanks for the shell,” I said as Luke pulled a maroon t-shirt over his head.
“Yeah, I’m still so sorry about what happened with the paparazzi.”
Just then Lyle returned, still fuming. “The delivery is lost. This is all going to hell.” He walked closer, looking at me. “What are you wearing now? You look like a swamp rat.” I didn’t want to yell back at Lyle, but I couldn’t sit there and take his insults.
“Hey, no name calling,” said Luke.
“You threw my clothes in the water,” I stood up to face him. I didn’t need Luke to save me.
“Yeah, honey, they weren’t much better,” Lyle retorted.
“So, Luke gave me these to put on,” I said, getting a bit defensive.
“I can see that. And your hair… After what happened with the paparazzi, we have to be sure that whenever Luke’s seen with anyone, he looks simply stunning, at least until this movie comes out.”
“Lyle, she just got out of the pool. We’re not on the red carpet.” Luke tried to defend me, stepping between the two of us.
“Listen, I know I’m not a size 2 like Gina. I know my hair isn’t shimmery and perfect all the time. I’m on a limited budget, so my clothes aren’t designer. I’m here to teach Luke how to swim. I don’t have to be a super model to do that.”
“She’s a feisty one,“ Lyle laughed, pointing at me. “Alright, honey. I’ll help you. I’m working on getting you those clothes.” He came over to look at my hair. “I think Roberto can help with this mop.”
“Thank you, but I don’t need your help.” Despite the fact that I felt thoroughly embarrassed to have Lyle call out my flaws in front of Luke of all people, I just wanted to get out of there. I started walking across the deck towards the end of the fence where there was a gate that led to a path. I followed it, leaving behind Lyle and his awful comments. I wanted to keep walking forever and never look back, but something made me stop.