The Dead Man's Float

The pool at the Embassy Suites was empty at 2 AM, which was exactly why Marcus chose it. He'd spent the entire day at the regional sales conference nodding at people like a zombie, repeating the same scripted lines about synergy and Q4 projections until the words lost all meaning. His father's old fedora sat on the lounge chair beside him—a ridiculous affectation he couldn't quit, even though his colleagues made quiet jokes about it behind his back.

Marcus slid into the water fully clothed. The shock of it was sharp, then strangely peaceful. He'd been dead inside for three years—since the divorce, since his daughter stopped returning his calls, since he realized the corner office wouldn't fix what was broken. This was the first time he'd felt anything real since then.

"You know, you're going to ruin that suit," a woman's voice said.

He treaded water, turned. A woman in a hotel robe stood at the pool's edge, cigarette ember glowing in the dark. "Maybe that's the point."

She sat on the edge, feet dangling in. "I'm Sarah from accounting. You're Marcus, the guy who wears the hat."

"Was my dad's."

"Mine too," she said, and pulled a similar hat from behind her back. "He died last month. I keep hoping if I wear it enough, something will rub off. Character. Wisdom. Anything."

Marcus swam to the edge. "How's that working out?"

"I'm at a pool at 2 AM with a fully clothed man. What do you think?"

He laughed—really laughed, for the first time in years. The sound startled them both.

"You know what's funny?" Marcus said. "I spent fifteen years chasing this life. The conferences, the hotel bars, the hollow victories. And now I'm here with a stranger who gets it."

Sarah stubbed out her cigarette. "Maybe that's not nothing."

Marcus pulled himself up, water streaming from his ruined suit. He grabbed his father's hat, placed it on his wet head. "Maybe tomorrow I'll actually call my daughter."

"Tomorrow," Sarah agreed. "But for now—you want to share this cigarette?"

"I don't smoke."

"Neither do I," she said. "Not really."

They sat there as the first hint of dawn touched the water, two zombies who'd somehow remembered they were still alive.