If All Your Friends Jumped Off a Bridge…

Honk!  Drew laid on the horn of his 1996 Buick as he came to a stop. He cranked the window down and called, “Nick, why are you sweatin’ out here, bro?”

              From the camp chair on the porch, Nick weakly waved the Hot Rod magazine he’d been using as a fan, “Hey man, just tryin’ to stay cool. The AC’s busted and the landlord said he can’t get anyone out to look at it until tomorrow.”

              Drew shifted into park, motor still chugging and AC running full blast, “Sucks, bro! You know? You should come down to Stillwater Bridge at 3:00. Me and some of the guys are going bridge jumping. The river’ll feel good today, for sure.”

              Nick looked over at the man skimming leaves out of his pool in the next yard over. “I don’t know, man.”

              “Why not? You got other plans? Come on, man!”

              “No, I just,” Nick used his shirt to mop some of the sweat off his face, “I just don’t think it’s right.”

              Drew exploded with laughter, “What are you talkin’ about, bro? You’ve done it half a dozen times at least. Why you nervous all of a sudden?”

              Nick glanced over at the neighbor again, who was now examining the thermometer. “I don’t think it’s legal.”

              “Aw, come on! That didn’t stop you before. You’re just upset that Rob showed you up last time with his back flip, aren’t you? You almost fell when you tried it and scared Cassie half to death.” His voice seemed to reverberate through the neighborhood.

              “He didn’t show me up,” Nick muttered. “I would have landed ok if Cassie hadn’t screamed before I even jumped.”

              “What?” Drew shouted over the sound of the old motor.

              “I said I’m not going!”

              “All right, all right. You can just stew here on your porch. Wait until I tell Rob you’re sore and made some dumb excuse about it being illegal. He’ll bust his sides laughing.” Drew thrust it into drive and drove away with a jolt, leaving a puddle of water to sizzle on the asphalt. The neighbor was gone too.

              Nick settled into his chair and continued fanning himself. A few minutes later, the neighbor’s garage door opened, and a sleek police cruiser pulled onto the street. It slowed in front of Nick’s house. The officer grinned as the window rolled down. “Sorry to hear about your AC, Nick. I’m about to start my shift, but feel free to use the pool if you want. I told my wife you might be over. That is, unless I’ll see you at 3:00?”

              “Thank you, sir. No, sir.”

              “Take care then,” he drove away with a wink.

              Nick got up. The pool sounded pretty good. 

Photo by Lee Jeffs on Unsplash