Late Night Swims

Everybody at the diner
Used to go for late night swims

The waitresses
The cooks
The trucker from Fort Tom

At around 1am
While the bacon was settling down
We'd go out in the pond
Behind the diner

Some of us would just dip out feet in
But Chris and Cathy
Would dive right in

Cathy'd leave nothing but her apron on
And Chris would turn his baseball hat around
Do a cannon ball from the diner roof

Nobody knows who thought to build an all-nite diner
Right next to a pond
But we sure thought it was nifty

Unfamiliar passerby would show up at one
Looking for scrambled eggs and conversation
And they'd be sitting at the counter for an hour
Until all of us poured through the door
Looking like bankrobbers who just stole a river

We'd look at each other
Try to hold back our laughter
Then let it all out
Like a taken in breath

The customer would invariably smile
And say--

'Can I get some coffee?'

And that would just make us laugh harder

They could see the pond behind the diner
And they could see us all wet
But for some reason
Nobody ever could put two and two together

I guess it was just a little too whimsical for them

I spent a summer busing tables
At the Pond Diner

Yup, it was called the Pond

What else would you call it?

Someone suggested the Swimming Hole once
But everybody thought that sounded dirty

I rented the apartment in Cathy's basement
And sometimes after we'd get in from work
She'd let me sit up with her and smoke
While she told me about the other places she'd been a waitress

'I liked Tacoma the most'
'Really?'
'Yeah. New York wasn't bad, but I never could decompress there. Felt like I was in a vacuum sealed bag most of the time. I got out before they zipped the lip.'
'You think you're going to stay here long?'
'That depends on when Chris grows his balls out.'

Chris was one of the cooks
And a big kid, for the most part

His baseball cap was so worn out
You couldn't even tell what team it was for

He lived out in a cabin
A few miles down from the diner
And sometimes you'd see him walking to work
Like he was a drifter

I gave him a ride a couple of times
And once I asked him why he didn't live with Cathy

'She says not 'til we're married.'
'So why don't you get married?'

He shrugged
And tossed his eyes out the window
Like there was something to see

Like maybe a tree sprouted up
Somewhere along the road
That he should take notice of

'I don't have anything to give her' he said

It didn't seem to me like she was looking for anything
But I kept my mouth shut

My last night working at the diner
I told everybody I was going to jump in the pond
Naked and laughing

Even though it was August
And fall was already starting to bite

Cathy brought her camera
And Chris slapped a twenty in my back pocket
Like I was his kid

'Don't forget to eat, asshole' he said

Then pulled me in for a hug
That felt like it shouldn't have ended
Until one of us dissolved

'Hey, smile' Cathy said, 'Not like we're ever going to see you again'

She was only half-joking

The Ponds Diner was a transient place

Transients came, and transition was the cure
For any lingering sentimentality

I was headed to Chicago
To try sorting things out with my brother

He was going to get me a job in his office
And I was going to take lessons from him
On how to be taller

When one am rolled around
I climbed up on top of the roof
With the diner staff all around the edges of the pond
Looking like they were going to pull it at its edges
Like a blanket

Like I was a man jumping from a burning building
Into the safety of the blue below

Then I heard--'Hey Asshole!'

I turned to see Chris coming up onto the roof with me
Stripping off his shirt and pants as he made his way up

'I hope one of you fools hits the bottom and turns into a toad,' Cathy yelled, but she had tears in her eyes

I think she was going to miss seeing me
Dirty up her ashtrays

Chris and I stood there
Not a stitch on us
And he yelled out to Cathy--

'Hey Cat, you wanna get married?'

I saw Cathy take two steps into the pond
So that the water was cuddling up to her toes

And she said--

'To you?'

Everybody laughed

Then, just for a second
I saw her give a nod

That was all Chris needed

He dove into the pond
And I went in after him

When I hit the water, it was cold
But the cold felt appropriate

I went down, down, down
Something like leagues
Underneath the surface

And when I came up
The staff was patting me on the back
And calling me a real jerk

Someone gave me a towel to wrap around myself
And then everybody turned to see a car
Pulling up to the diner

Cathy grabbed my face
Gave me a kiss on the forehead
And went inside
To do her job