River, cross my heart

by Clarke, Breena

  Alice had a dull stomach full of worry all that morning. She'd wanted to change her mind and not come to the swim-ming meet. But she had said she would. Also, Willie was so determinedly disapproving oi Johnnie Mae's swimming that she felt she must go to save face. But she did not want Johnnie Mae to see how disturbed she was at the prospect oi watching her in the water.

  And yet seeing her daughter from a distance was proving something. Her child was there — there—gone off away from her. Clara had done that and Johnnie Mae was doing it. They

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  had been doing it since the day after they were born. Little Calvin would do it. Little Calvin, whose head was shaped like a perfect honeydew melon, was doing it even now. Johnnie Mae was all of a piece over there. Alice didn't have to worry. A person of so fine a form and grace was her daughter, and she was fine over there. She had moxie and she was smart and there was nothing else to want for her. She'd be taking care of the wants for herself. Her mother would hold on to her still, but she could let her go at any time and the girl would be stalwart.

  Ever since the incident at the train station, Willie had been admonishing Alice about her daughter. Saying it that way: "y° ur daughter." "Mind your daughter, woman. See that she does right. It's on you to see that she does right," he'd said over and over. Peace of mind and family peace were at stake since the train station. Willie had made her responsible for keeping Johnnie Mae "in line." She had said that the girl would mind and that it was best for her to stay. She had set herself up to be the one who would be blamed if the girl made a mistake. How dare he box her into a corner like that! There was something between them now that wouldn't be right henceforth. Things were changing, in that deadly quiet way things change between two people. There would be brooding and resentment, and if it never flared up to burn them, it would come close to singeing them surely.

  The morning was bright and warm and the crowd of on-lookers was large. The team from Baltimore had brought along lots of supporters, who were thought to be a bit too rowdy by Georgetown standards. Also competing in the swim-ming meet and the diving competition were boys and girls from Barry's Farm in Anacostia. Plenty of folks had made

  Rner. Cross M> Heart -

  the long trip across town to see their team compete in rgetown. The swimming competition was scheduled to follow the

  diving exhibition and word got around the milling crowd that Francis Junior High had a powerful swimmer on its team. Press Parker, who'd become Johnnie Mae's most vocal champion, laid down a bet with a man from Anacostia that she would leave the other swimmers in the dust

  All the swimmers were poised at the edge of the pool, ready to launch themselves into the water. Johnnie Mae did as Charlie Edward Hughes had told her: she thought of all the lessons and then she put all the instructions out of her head and simply made up her mind to swim. His voice had been soft and compelling as he'd said it: "Just swim, Johnnie Mae. Forget about the techniques and just swim. Girl, just go with all you've got and it'll be more than enough." Charlie had said that all the coaching she could retain was in her by now and she'd just have to trust herself and swim.

  Johnnie Mae dove into the water. Her whole body followed the perfect hole her arms made, slipping effortlessly through the seam. She made no splash. The water in the pool was achingly blue and she swam underwater as straight as a bullet, following the lines on the bottom of the pool.

  Opening her eyes underwater, she saw a figure in front of her in her lane. The sight startled her, but did not break the rhythm oi her strokes. The figure was like a giant tadpole. Bubbles oi water sat on the figure's very large head and reflected sunshine like glass shards. The figure shimmied through the water and began to look like another girl. Johnnie Mae swam toward her, this girl keeping just ahead. Straight onward

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  they swam and Johnnie Mae was puzzled that they hadn't reached the far wall of the pool. The temperature of the water became cooler and its color turned browner. The fragrance changed from the chlorine smell to something nearly putrid.

  She became frightened at not having reached the far wall and feared she would lose the race if she brought herself out of the water. But the color of the water and the fragrance and the mysterious girl swimming ahead of her caused alarm. She put her head up and broke the surface of the water. She was no longer in the swimming pool. Somehow she had swum out of the Francis pool. She had swum out of the pool—out of the race — and was following an enigmatic, big-headed tadpole into the middle of Rock Creek. Ahead of her she saw the figure. Its huge head with wriggling green plaits was above the surface of the water too. The big-headed figure laughed and grinned and beckoned her onward. It dove below the surface and she followed. The water closed over her again and she swam in the silent, cool world beneath the surface.

  Rock Creek, a snaky waterway through a forest, will take you far out of the district if you follow it. Many a frightened fugitive has waded it and skirted its banks and forded Piney Branch to reach a Quaker in Silver Spring. The water of the pool flowed out into the creek. She swam, following the current, briskly moving past boulders and downed logs and following the big-headed, grinning figure. She swam into the Potomac and knew it as soon as she felt its particular waters against her skin.

  She pumped her arms to try to reach the figure swimming in front of her and tag it and say she'd won—she'd beaten it. But the figure stayed ahead of her and kept laughing. The figure continued under the Key Bridge and she followed. Up

  ahead of them the mossy towers of the Three Sisters' castle appeared. The figure gained the castle ahead of her and took a seat on the rocks. When Johnnie Mae'd got within inches of the rocks, the water turned tide and pushed her away. She plowed the water and struggled to get closer and tag the figure and tag the rocks, but the water would not let her come close. The figure sat on the rocks and laughed.

  Her fingers touched the wall perfectly together and her head lifted. A roar went up when she climbed from the pool. A hand reached down to her and she grasped it. It was Charlie's hand and his face was happy. He must have been roaring because his mouth was wide and round. She couldn't hear anything but felt a rumbling, thunderous reverberation. Charlie indicated the crowd of onlookers and she turned to see wide-open faces and clapping hands and some caps flinging in the air. Papa Willie was waving his cap like a flag. Her mama danced up and down and Aunt Ina was jiggling and wiggling and bouncing baby Calvin. Not just the Georgetowners but the whole crowd was cheering. When she turned back to see the other swimmers climbing out o{ the water, she knew then she'd won it. She'd beaten them all. The other girls ringed her, clapping her on the back.