'Steve, how often do I have to tell you, after this many years, it's Gina!' Joe's mother said to me. The pool was great: about ten metres long, clear blue water, fenced in of course and surrounded by a green wall of hedges, which was great because Joe's neighbours used to stick their head over the fence and complain about as making too much noise as kids. I was over at Joe's house because we'd been to a party and stopped off on our way to the movies with some other friends. I saw it in its construction but I finally got to see it on one such rainy day. That or when we had the time the storms would roll in. I hadn't been round yet, we'd both been busy doing other things and the times just hadn't been right. Still, we had plenty of time to use it before giving up freedom for one last year. They'd planned to finish it in time for the summer but obviously, renovations never go to plan. I wasn't much of a beach fan but Joe's family had just finished their pool and backyard a few weeks ago.
We had another two weeks of school holidays left and it had been great. I turned eighteen just before the start of my last year at school.
He'd come over and have dinner with us and we'd have sleepovers. We hung out all the time and knew everything about each other. We met when we started middle school and clicked immediately. My friend Joe and I were, for a long time, inseparable.
