What the Water Stole

Clara stood at the edge of the infinity pool, martini in hand, watching the dark water stretch toward the horizon. The wedding reception behind her had reached that dangerous hour — between open bar aggression and honest drunkenness — when things got said.

"You look like you're contemplating jumping in," came a voice beside her.

She turned to find Elias, the groom's estranged brother, cigarette glowing in the darkness. They'd worked together three years ago, before the project imploded and Clara took the fall.

"Just admiring the view," she lied. Her hair — perfect updo, three bobby pins and a prayer — was coming undone in the humidity. She could feel the loose strands against her neck, dripping with sweat.

He laughed, bitter and short. "That's not the Clara I remember. The Clara who threw me under the bus to save her own skin."

"The project was doomed from the start. Someone had to take the hit."

"And you made sure it wasn't you."

The truth hung between them, heavier than the humid air. She'd sacrificed him to save her career, and now here they both were — him drinking alone at his brother's wedding, her pretending her life hadn't hollowed out somewhere along the way.

"I'm leaving my firm," she said suddenly. Why she told him, she couldn't say. Maybe it was the gin. Maybe it was because he was the only person who knew exactly what she was capable of.

"Good. You were always miserable there."

She finished her drink in one swallow. "I'm starting my own practice. Going to do the work I actually give a shit about."

He stubbed out his cigarette. "What, suddenly you grew a conscience?"

"Suddenly I realized I'm forty years old and I hate everything I've built."

The pool lights flickered on beneath the surface, illuminating nothing but chlorinated blue emptiness. Without thinking, Clara pulled the bobby pins from her hair and shook it loose, feeling it fall heavy and wild against her shoulders.

Then she kicked off her heels, grabbed Elias's hand, and pulled them both into the water.

The shock of it stole her breath. When they surfaced, sputting and laughing, something had shifted. The cold water washed away the martinis, the resentment, the years of compromise.

"You're insane," Elias said, grinning.

"I'm finally awake," she corrected him.

They stayed in the pool until dawn, two failures floating together, finally ready to start swimming.