Independent Piece #6

i love mallory.

Bridge

It was easily the hottest day the summer had seen yet. The sun glared down on our shirtless backs as the three of us panted through another game of basketball. Our bodies ached, sweat covered our faces, but still we played on through the afternoon.
This was how we spent most of our summer afternoons – playing at the basketball courts next to the pool until we nearly dropped, then jumping into the pool to cool down, then finally returning home to see what the night held for us. We’d spent the whole summer following this routine, and like anything else, we became bored of it quickly. As we sat at the table staring into the pool and drying off, we started to brainstorm some other, more productive activities to pass the time.
“We could go bowling?” Ryan suggested.
“Yeah right. I suck at bowling. And I have no money,” Jared answered.
“We could go to the movies?” I asked.
“Eh. We did that last night.”
“We could…” My voice trailed off as a brilliant idea came to mind.
“Oh yeah. That sounds like a lot of fun,” Jared answered.
“There’s this old abandoned bridge across the road from Erin’s street. It crosses the reservoir in Katonah. We could go there, chill on the bridge, go swim in the reservoir. At least it’s not a pool.”
“It’s the best idea we’ve had in days. Let’s go,” Jared answered.
“Fine. I’ll drive.”
And with that the three of us piled into Ryan’s blue Dodge Caravan, turned right onto Greenbriar Drive, and headed towards the bridge. We passed the large white sign that read ‘Bridge Closed’ in black letters, and ignored it. We turned left onto Plum Brook Drive, rolled down the street, and stopped at the fence blocking the entrance to the bridge. Simultaneously we opened our car doors, stepped out of the minivan, and climbed over the fence to the bridge.
On either side of the bridge lay scattered dirt, rocks, ferns and bushes. Curious to see how deep the water underneath the bridge was, I worked my way through the brush and found myself standing where the water met the ground. There were fish everywhere in the water, but that didn’t stop me from putting first my feet, then legs, then entire body into the warm water. I pushed myself off the shore and swam to the middle of the reservoir, treading underneath the bridge while Jared and Ryan looked down on me.
“Hold your breath. See how deep it goes!” Jared called to me from atop the bridge.
I didn’t need any more convincing. I took a deep breath and submerged myself in the water. I sunk for several seconds, at least ten, and still met no bottom. I stopped my downward momentum and pushed myself back to the surface of the water.
“Well?” Ryan asked.
“No bottom. At least twenty feet deep.” I answered with a smile.
“Sweet,” Ryan answered. With that he climbed over the railing of the bridge, looked at Jared, then me, and leapt off the rusty railing. In the air he gave out a high pitched battle cry that rang in my ears as my eyes followed him from the bridge to the water. He hit with a splash and returned to the surface seconds later with a grin that filled his entire face.
“How was it?” I asked him, still treading water next to him.
“Amazing. Let’s do it again.”
“I’m in.”
We swam back to shore, climbed the steep hill leading to the bridge, and once again stood looking out onto the water.
“I’m not doing it. My ACL is killing me,” Jared explained to us.
“Yeah, okay. Then at least record us doing it. My camera’s in the car.”
Jared walked to the car and returned to the bridge dangling the camera from his wrist.
“Let’s go together,” I told Ryan.
“Okay. I’m in.”
We climbed up the railing and paused at the top.
“Okay. On my count,” Jared told us. “Three, two, one. Go, go, go!” And with that we leapt from the railing side by side.
It was the greatest feeling in the world. At the height of the jump it felt that for a single second, time had stopped. As I floated through the air at the peak of my jump, it seemed that all in the same instant I was able to look at Jared, back at Ryan, then out over the water. Then it was over. Before I could realize it, the water had met my feet. I closed my eyes and plunged into the warm water and sunk down. We surfaced simultaneously, looked at each other, then looked up towards Jared.
“Perfect.”
We spent the rest of the summer day on the bridge, sitting on the railing, legs dangling, talking. We’d jump off every ten minutes or so, the feeling never getting old or losing its excitement. It became a regular thing, the bridge. We’d go every weekend to hang out, get some sun, and go swimming. Before we knew it the whole crew was there, Jared, Ryan, Liam, Nick, both Alex’s, and me. It became our new rendezvous; we’d meet there almost every day to decide what the rest of the day had in store for us.
And just like that it was gone. As it began to get cooler, and the days shorter, we saw less and less of the bridge, until one day, it was out of our lives completely. We still reminisce, though, of the days spent there, and now that it’s summer once again, it will come alive again soon.