The Raft

She jumped into the water and swam out to the raft anchored two hundred feet from the shore. With one rapid movement she hoisted herself onto the raft.

"Ho, ho, look at this," Bob said, pointing to Sally. No one else paid attention. Sally blushed. She had lost thirty pounds and was now wearing a bikini for the first time in her life. The outfit was a mistake she decided. Why had she listened to her sister?

Bob had never shown interest in her before but now he moved in close, sitting only inches away. On the raft a half dozen young men and women were flirting, jumping in the lake, tossing around a ball, laughing. Sally wanted to be part of that, not just tolerated but deemed essential, someone who was of the crowd, someone who made nice things happen.

She turned to Bob, a guy who had teased her, never accepted her, and said, "Where did you get that bathing suit?"

He looked at the trunks that came down to his knees, turned away and blushed.