The Cable Under the Water

Elena sat at the edge of the pool, legs submerged in water that felt too warm, like bathwater left too long. Above her, the cable snaked through palm trees like a black snake, carrying signals to the outdoor television where her friend Maya laughed at something Elena's husband had just said.

"You're so funny," Maya said, touching Daniel's arm. Elena remembered introducing them three years ago—Maya, newly divorced and fragile; Daniel, always too charming for his own good. Now they stood near the shallow end, their laughter carrying across the water like glass.

The cable had been cut in the storm two nights ago. The screen showed static, but they kept watching it anyway, drinks in hand, pretending to see something in the gray fuzz.

"Elena, come join us," Maya called. "The water's perfect."

Elena lowered herself deeper until the water reached her chin. She'd financed Maya's new business—six months ago, when they were still real friends, before the late-night texts and cancelled plans and Daniel's suddenly working late so often. Now she watched them from underwater, distorted and wavering, their voices muffled by the pool's surface.

She'd stopped paying the cable bill last month. Small rebellion. But Maya had covered it, insisted, said they couldn't miss the season finale. Always taking care of things now that she was successful again, thanks to Elena's investment.

Maya dove in, surfacing beside Elena with a splash. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Elena considered telling her. Instead she said, "Just thinking about cutting the cable."

"Don't," Maya said, too quickly. "Daniel says he'd miss it too much."

The water pressure built in Elena's ears. She realized she was holding her breath, suspended somewhere between the surface and the bottom, everything distant and blurry and tolerable if she just stayed under long enough.

Then she exhaled and stood up, water streaming from her hair. "Then don't," she said, stepping out of the pool. "Watch whatever you want."

Walking toward the house, she didn't look back at the flickering static screen or her friend and her husband standing knee-deep in the water, neither noticing she'd left at all.