Sink or Swim by Laura Dower Read Free Book Online Page B

towels.
    “Excuse me, who said you could lounge around while we do all the work?” Egg said. “And who’s this, Maddie? Your new boyfriend?”
    Drew snorted a laugh. “He’s the junior, junior lifeguard.”
    “Ha-ha-ha,” Madison said. “Very funny, you guys.”
    Eliot was still wriggling. Madison took his hand in hers. “Let’s go find your mommy,” she whispered. “We can play a game with Becka, okay?”
    “Mama.” Eliot nodded.
    Madison grabbed a dry towel from Egg and Drew and quickly led Eliot away from the boys, who were cracking jokes.
    “Mama,” Eliot said again. “Go see Mama!”
    Whew.
    He sounded happy. Madison was relieved. She took off the inflatable horse and headed over toward the snack shop and Mrs. Reed.
    “Ooh, is someone getting a sunburn?” Mrs. Reed said when Madison approached. Becka was asleep in her stroller.
    Madison shook her head. She was worried.
    “I—I put on the waterproof sunblock, Mrs. Reed,” Madison stammered. “Should I put on more? I’m so sorry—”
    “Madison, don’t worry,” Mrs. Reed said, taking Eliot into her arms. He nuzzled his mom’s neck. “Are you having fun with Madison, sweetie?”
    Madison waited for Eliot to scream, “NOOOOOOOOO! I hate her!” but he didn’t. He was sucking his thumb and asking for ice cream.
    The rest of the afternoon was surprisingly uneventful. Madison lingered close while Eliot played with some of his toys in the shade. They ate snow cones together. Things were much easier when the four of them were all together.
    Sometime after three o’clock a tall man walked up to Mrs. Reed. With his suit and dark glasses, he looked like a secret service agent, Madison thought. The man threw open his arms, and Eliot dove in for a giant hug.
    “Daddeeeeeeee!” Eliot cried.
    “Hey, big shot,” Mr. Reed said. He leaned over and gave his wife and daughter a kiss. “So you must be Madison Finn?” he asked.
    Madison smiled and extended her hand. “Yes,” she said meekly. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Reed. Thanks for giving me this summer job.”
    Mr. Reed winked. Up close he looked like an important movie actor.
    After chatting about swimming and suntans and Eliot’s afternoon by the pool, the Reeds and Madison packed up the two tote bags. It was time to go.
    Madison had survived—barely survived—her first day as a mother’s helper. She looked around the pool one last time to see if Aimee or Fiona would magically appear, but neither BFF was there. Even Hart, Egg, and Drew were missing. “Oh, well,” Madison told herself. “I guess I’ll see them tomorrow.”
    “Thank you so much, Madison,” Mrs. Reed said, grabbing Madison’s hand and shaking it. It seemed like a weird thing to do, but Madison shook right back.
    “Eliot, what do you say to Madison?” Mr. Reed said.
    “I want a piggyback, Daddy,” Eliot said. He looked up at the sky.
    “Eliot,” his father said again. “Don’t you have something to tell Madison?”
    Madison leaned down close to Eliot’s face. “See ya tomorrow,” she said. “We can play trucks again.”
    Eliot looked down at his feet. “Tucks,” he said simply. Then he turned around to his dad. “Up, Daddy, up.”
    Madison shrugged. “I’ll see you at the same time tomorrow,” she said, smiling.
    Mrs. Reed smiled back. “See you then.”
    Dad was standing in the doorway of Madison’s room in his apartment, drumming his fingers against the door frame. “So, tell me what else happened on your first day, working girl. You haven’t said much since I picked you up.”
    “Oh, Dad,” Madison said, covering her face in mock embarrassment. “I told you.”
    “You haven’t told me anything!” Dad said. “Do you like him?”
    “Eliot is a nice kid, I guess. Well, he’s a little crabby sometimes, but it could just be the first-day thing. I mean, it takes a kid a while to get used to a new person, right?”
    “Right,” Dad said.
    “It’s a little harder than I thought it would be, but