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It’s 102 degrees out and Tommy will admit, he hates the heat. He’s laying with Carol who refuses to even touch him because it’s so damn hot out.
“Can’t we go swimming or something?” Carol sounds awful, the heat was eating him alive too, but who did she think she was? He couldn’t just make a pool appear… not anymore.
“We can go to the community pool.”
“If you and Harrington would just talk we could use his fucking pool.” She mutters, sitting up in bed.
“We haven’t spoken.”
“In over a year, I’m aware.” She sounds pissed off already as she gets up to go get herself what Tommy can only assume is a glass of water.
He lays there thinking of what summer used to mean, before girls and everything else. He missed Steve, which was the dumbest thought to cross his mind. He missed swimming for hours on end, he missed playing in the sprinkler his parents had gotten him, eating ice cream, and playing stupid games together. When Carol brings him up, which she seems to more and more, it’s like venom in his veins. Maybe they could have made up if he had said something, anything, but he chose not too.
“I’m taking a walk!” He shouts to her as he gets his ass out of bed, he doesn’t know why he’s taking a walk in the one hundred and two degree heat, but he is. He needs fresh air. By fresh air he wasn’t expecting to walk right to where you could see the Harrington’s pool, but here he is, awkwardly out of sight like some stalker. His mind floats back to childhood again. Memories are just there, hanging on to something, but they’re brought back to life seeing the pool.
“Okay, okay, we make a slide.” Tommy had a huge smile on his face while Steve nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, we take the one from the swing set.” He agreed immediately, smile huge, missing more than one tooth.
“Okay, let’s do it.” Tommy agrees as they set out bare foot to get the slide that stands next to the Harrington’s swing set, they move it towards the pool.
“Won’t it burn?” Steve asks in concern, like he’s chicken, but he has a good point.
“We use the hose! Like at a water park!” Tommy declares and Steve is excited again. The two of them position the slide correctly, Steve double checks to make sure they will land in the pool and not on the concrete and hurt themselves. Steve and Tommy drag over the hose next.
“Hand it up!” Steve directs as he climbs up the six steps to the top, Tommy complies handing him the hose. He watches Steve tie it a certain way so they won’t lose the stream of the water when they slide.
“Are we ready?” Tommy asks in excitement.
“Yeah, let’s turn it on!” Both boys run to turn the hose on full force, they see the water go down the slide and both boys look to each other and smile widely.
“It works!” Tommy declares, proud of the ingenious idea.
“Well, let’s go down it and then decide.” Steve is always the more cautious of the two, it drives Tommy crazy some days.
“Fine, you go first.” Tommy decides, pushing Steve a bit, “unless you’re a girl.” He taunts now to ensure Steve will go first.
“I’m not a girl!” Steve says, gaining confidence and walking over to the slide, he walks up it, seeming unsure.
“Don’t be a girl! Come on Steve!” Steve has a cautious look to his face as he sits at the top and pushes off, he lands in the water with a big splash and can be seen a moment later.
“Oh my god Tommy it does work!” He’s laughing loudly so Tommy clambers up the slide next. They spend the afternoon taking turns and seeing who can splash the biggest.
A yell brings him back to reality, to the present.
“Come on El!” Steve shouts, a rather small girl in a swim suit is standing on the edge of the water, Steve looks to be a bit past his waist, but his arms are stretched out for her.
“It won’t hurt?” He can hear the girl ask.
“Not at all. Come on, I’ll catch you.” He’s reassuring her, their are other people in the pool already.
“El! El! El!” Is chanted, and Tommy remembers pressuring Steve so many times by saying his name.
“Hey don’t pressure her! Come on El, if you want.” His arms are still stretched out, he notices the girl looks too old to be learning how to swim with her water wings still on. The other kids quiet down and he just watches Steve smile.
“Okay, one… two…” she plugs her nose and doesn’t give a three. Steve catches her before she hits the water and he takes her down with him.
“Whoah! Great job!” Steve is encouraging her for jumping into his arms, mimicking jumping in. The smile on her face as she looks at everyone and the cheers around her.
“That was fun!” She declares to the group around her, a large smile on her face, “Will you should come do it next!” that’s when he finally notices Will Byers also off to the side, seemingly anxious.
“I won’t get hurt?” He asks in a timid voice Tommy can barely hear.
“Not at all.” Steve says, Tommy can’t help but look at those same black sunglasses he remembers from the night Nancy Wheeler dumped him. He watches Steve get a bit closer for Will, arms still raised.
“Okay, don’t drop me.” He hears Will say, Steve would never, but Will probably doesn’t know that. Steve never let him fall once all those years they were friends.
“I won’t.” Steve promises and Byers jumps into Steve, making another splash. The kids around them cheer. Tommy realizes that Steve did find a weird little group, and his heart hurts at that. He was his group, Steve managed without him. How could Steve manage without him? Tommy sucks in a breath and just watches like some weird stalker, watches how the kids try to dunk him, watches how Steve throws them around laughing. He isn’t jealous at all.
“Steve!” The one kid yells, it’s Nancy’s brother, “Steve! Can we make a slide?” He asks with hope in his voice and Tommy is ready to have a break down over the thought of their previous memory being erased by some kids Tommy doesn’t even really know. His face screws up in thought.
“I don’t know if that’s the safest. You’ll get your get your ass burnt.” He’s laughing some at the kid.
“Not if we use the hose!” Wheeler’s brother shouts back.
“Mike, I don’t think it’s a good idea. One day we will go to water park, okay?” He says, Tommy guesses eighteen year old Steve probably has a better head on his shoulders than ten year old Steve did. He wonders if Steve was also brought back to that day in their childhood though when they made the slide, if, if he remembers it as fondly as he does. He walks back home now, covered in sweat and regret. Had he not been an asshole he would be there now, with Steve, probably drinking. Maybe making another damn slide out of the swing set that is still up in the Harrington’s yard all these years later.