“That’s the surprise?” I climb out of the golf cart, letting out a nervous laugh as I step forward to look over the rail. It’s not as high as I imagined, but it’s still a long way down.
Mackenzie remains in the driver’s seat. “Nope. I’m not doing this.”
“That’s all right. You can guard the electronics.” Ethan secures his hearing aids in his backpack.
“You jumping with us, Lilah?” Simone asks.
“Um.” Everyone else, besides Mackenzie, is already waiting in their swimsuits. Simone reaches out and squeezes my hand. Isaac nods and smiles. “Okay-okay,” I say and sign.
I undress down to my one-piece and kick my shoes off. Then I pull out my hearing aids. The night is darker without them. Quieter, obviously. The noise around me has been reduced to a hum. Murky, too, like I’m already underwater. It’s not just the volume that’s dropped, but the clarity of sound, too. Usually this makes me self-conscious. Isolated. Literally down a sense, I grasp at straws to fill in the blanks, especially around other people.
But not right now. I don’t feel limited; I feel bold. It’s not often that my ears get the chance to breathe. I can no longer hear the creepy creaking of the old bridge or the whooshing of the night wind. I’ve also tuned out the voice inside my head telling me to be scared. I lean into this fearlessness and step toward the bridge. The wooden slats are rough and cold beneath my bare feet.
Ethan is the first to climb and sit on the top beam. The bridge must’ve made noise when he did because Bobby shouts, “Everyone wait for me! Someone guide me over.”
Since I’m nearest, I get Bobby and ask, “Aren’t you basically completely blind in the dark?”
“Basically completely!” He reaches out. “Your arm, pretty please.”
I stick out my elbow. Bobby grabs hold. I’ve never guided anyone before, but I’m copying how Simone assisted him earlier today. I walk several paces and transfer Bobby over to her.
Mackenzie calls out something, still not budging from the golf cart. “You seriously ——。”
“What?” Simone shrugs. I read something on her lips about her job being to “lead the blind.”
“To their death?” Mackenzie shrieks.
Meanwhile, Ethan jumps. I hear traces of his delighted shouts on the way down but no splash. I rush forward to inspect the water below, where the rings ripple out like sound waves.
His head pops back above the surface. Whew. “What are you waiting for?” he signs, kicking his feet frantically beneath him so he can hold both hands out of the water.
Behind me, the golf cart shakes the bridge. Mackenzie is flooring it around the path and down to the beach, taking away our main source of light. All we have left is the full moon.
“Fun surprise?” Isaac slides down the rail to be right next to me. I nod but my body shakes. He raises his eyebrows questioningly. “Nervous? Or cold?”
“Both,” I say and sign as well as my quaking hands allow.
We both look down at the water. He inches closer and wraps an arm around me—a moonlit embrace. If I thought I was flustered around him earlier, that’s nothing compared with right now. He might not have heard the gasp I let out when his skin made contact with mine, but he surely felt my chest rise and fall.
“We can wait and watch them first,” he signs with his free hand, gesturing toward his friends. Natasha and Jaden wave for him to join them, signing something rapid-fire, and I wait for Isaac’s warmth to pull away, but he doesn’t move. “Go ahead. I’ll help her.”
As in, me.
Natasha and Jaden hold hands and leap together, screaming into the night.
Bobby is now standing on the second rail of the bridge, attempting to swing his leg over the top. “You ready, Simone?” She paces back and forth. I can’t tell if she’s more nervous for him or herself. “Okay, I’m gonna drop!” He hugs the top of the rail, with the majority of his weight on the other side, ready to plunge toward the water. “Rescue me, Simone!” His voice trails off as he plummets into the lake.
Simone slowly climbs over the rail. “He’s the one on a swim team,” she says, gesturing with one hand for clarity, loud and clear, then pinches her nose and jumps. She immediately finds and loops her arms around Bobby, who, in a matter of seconds, swims to the giant inflatable trampoline tethered in the deep, where the others are gathered.
“Ready?” Isaac asks. His deep-brown eyes are wide and curious. I can feel his breath on my cheek as he gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. A smile creeps onto my face. I can do this. Maybe he’ll even hold my hand.
I give a small nod, reaching back to my ears, needing to confirm that I did, in fact, take out my hearing aids. I obviously can tell the difference, but it’s a nervous tic of mine whenever I’m about to dive into a pool or step into the shower. Or jump off a bridge.
Isaac effortlessly climbs onto the top rail and holds out a hand, offering to help me up. And then, he doesn’t let go. Expertly reading the emotions on my face, he raises his thick eyebrows, asking if I’m good to go. I squeeze his hand, mouthing the word “yes.”
He counts, “Three, two, one,” and we launch ourselves into the night.
As soon as we’re airborne, my adrenaline overtakes my fear. But it’s all too brief, and then I crash through the surface of the lake with a splat. Fishy water rushes up my nose. We’d drifted apart, but Isaac finds me. I float to the top, sputtering as I emerge. My hair is a sopping, tangled mess.
Isaac treads beside me as I blink out the stinging water, so I turn away, but he swims around to face me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answer slowly, careful not to splash myself in the face as I sign. I hold my breath and dip my head back under, gathering my hair sleek behind me and out of my face.
“Happy you jumped?” Isaac raises his thick eyebrows.
“Yes,” I sign, smiling deliriously, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. “I was scared, but you really helped. I don’t want to, um . . .” I search for the sign. “Miss, m-i-s-s?” He nods. I love that he doesn’t mind filling in the blanks for me. “I don’t want to miss something just because I’m scared.”
“I understand. Happy to help.” He wraps an arm around my waist to keep me above water.
“Thank you,” I sign, painfully aware of how much that sign resembles blowing a kiss. And how we’re so close together that if I were a confident flirt, I could lean forward and actually kiss his cheek.
But I don’t manage that. We just swim side by side toward the others.
It’s exhausting, trekking all the way to the trampoline that’s floating between an inflatable iceberg and flat lily pad platforms. Isaac and I climb the ladder and join the others. I lie back, letting the water coming up from beneath the bouncer mesh slosh over me. The stars are bright in the sky this far away from the city. I stare up, admiring them, ready to fall asleep right here in this spot. This is going to be an incredible summer.
* * *
We’ve been hanging out on the trampoline for a while when Simone casually sits up and notices something in the distance. She looks out to the beach, then says something to Bobby.