A swimming pool lifeguard is mocked by a spoiled rich boy on vacation with his family, but the next day he shows his worth.
Jonathan Tremaine stretched out on his recliner and cast an interested eye on a couple of pretty girls in bikinis sitting by the edge of the pool. He gave them his most irresistible smile, the one that flashed his dimples, but they looked away.
They were leaning their heads together and giggling, whispering. Were they laughing at him? Then Jonathan realized they hadn’t even seen him! All their attention was focused on the young man on the lifeguard’s chair.
It was outrageous! Jonathan knew he was extremely good-looking, with a perfect body he worked on religiously three times a week at his private gym — and anyone who checked out his gear knew he was rich.
What was wrong with those girls? They were smiling and tossing their hair and trying to catch the attention of a guy so poor and insignificant he had to spend his whole summer watching others having fun!
Jonathan turned his own attention to his family lounging on nearby stretchers. His dad was lying back and trying hard to relax while his mom was chattering to his baby sister Lisa.
Lisa was twelve and at that shy gawky stage. She wasn’t particularly pretty, Jonathan thought critically, but considering their father’s wealth, she wouldn’t lack for boyfriends.
Jonathan, on the other hand, believed he would have been popular under any circumstances. He was tall, slim, and a star on the swim team. That was when he had an idea.
People who do their jobs well deserve respect.
If the girls were impressed by swimmers, he’d show them! He got up in one fluid movement and ran to the edge of the pool, then he leaped into space and dived in smoothly, right into the middle of a group of romping kids.
Jonathan’s hands parted the water and he dived deep, then surfaced far from the edge. He drew his hands through his wet hair and looked at the girls. Yes! They were looking his way…
Then he heard a strong voice call out: “Please don’t dive bomb into the pool like that! There are children present that might have been hurt!”
Jonathan swam to the edge of the pool and looked up. The lifeguard was looking down at him sternly. “You dived in right next to some small kids. You could have hurt them,” he said to Jonathan.
Jonathan saw that the girls were staring at the lifeguard with open-mouthed admiration and a wave of anger and embarrassment filled him. “Who do you think you are?” he asked arrogantly.
He stood up and strutted towards the lifeguard, then wished he hadn’t. The young man was a little older than Jonathan, maybe twenty or twenty-one, and he was taller.
Jonathan was forced to look up at him and he resented it immediately. “What’s your name?” he demanded. “I’m an important person in this town. My father is friends with the Mayor, and he pays your salary!”
The young man had dark, tranquil eyes, and his voice was calm. “I’m David Canden,” he replied. “Whoever you are, the safety of the people in this pool comes first. I think as someone who is friends with the Mayor safety would be a priority to you too.”
“You loser!” Jonathan screamed. “Who do you think you are? You sit there watching your betters and think you can order me around?”
Jonathan’s dad got up and walked over. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“This man.” Jonathan waved a disdainful hand at David. “He was mouthing off at me for diving into the pool. AT ME!”
“Young man,” Jonathan’s dad said coldly. “I’ll have you know that my son is a champion swimmer! He’s a state champion gold medalist. You bully my son again and I’ll have your job!”
“Yes!” shouted Jonathan angrily. “And you think you’re so good? I can swim circles around you! I can cross this pool before you can get up from your chair. We don’t need you!”
David listened to their ranting calmly. “Please act sensible,” was all he said. “So we can all have a safe summer.” Then he turned his back on the fuming father and son and walked back to his chair.
The next day, Jonathan and his family were back by the pool. Jonathan kept an eye on the lifeguard who ignored him completely, as did the cute girls.
His sister Lisa got up. “Mom, come for a swim with me!” she said.
Jonathan’s mom sighed. “Honey, I don’t feel like it…” she said. “Ask daddy.”
“You know daddy doesn’t swim!” Lisa pouted. “Please mom, I hate going in alone.”
“Jonathan?” his mom asked. “Want to go in with Lisa?”
Jonathan stretched himself out more comfortably and sneered: “As if! She’s a brat! She’s old enough to go into the pool on her own.”
Jonathan’s mom sighed, shook her head, and got on her feet. “Come on, Lisa!” she said kindly. “I know that as soon as you make some friends you’ll be just fine!”
Jonathan watched as his mother and sister walked to the edge of the pool and got in without a splash. He quickly lost interest in watching them and was looking at the girls when he heard a scream.
Lisa was struggling in the water! Jonathan knew she was a good swimmer, so he couldn’t understand her panic. But she was hitting her arms on the top of the water, and as he watched, her head went under.
His mom was right beside Lisa and immediately reached for her, but in her panic, his sister threw desperate arms around his mother’s neck and was clawing at her shoulders. His mom too was going under!
“Jonathan!” his father screamed. “Help them!” but Jonathan was frozen in horror. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t act.
He panicked as if the water was flooding his own nose, filling his throat. Then a slim figure streaked past and dove smoothly into the water.
Within seconds, David had Lisa’s head out of the water and was towing her towards the edge of the pool. He handed her to Jonathan’s dad, then dove in for his mother.
He brought her up and carried her out. He quickly laid her out and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. Jonathan’s mom started sputtering and coughing and breathing raggedly.
“Lisa,” she cried breathlessly. “Where is Lisa?”
“Lisa is alright,” David said gently and pointed to where the shivering twelve-year-old was sitting wrapped in a towel. “You are both safe.”
“Thank you,” sobbed Jonathan’s mom. “I don’t know what happened! She’s such a good swimmer, then she clutched at me and we both went under!”
“My leg hurt!” Lisa sobbed. “I couldn’t move my leg, I couldn’t swim!”
David nodded. “That’s a cramp,” he explained. “The next time that happens, take deep breaths. Don’t panic, OK? Float on your back and call for help.”
“Ok,” Lisa said, looking up at David adoringly. Jonathan’s dad came forward and shook David’s wet hand.
“Son,” he said. “You saved my wife and my daughter and I owe you two lives. Let me reward you…” Jonathan’s dad took out his money clip and started peeling off $100 bills.
But David shook his head and held up his hand. “No thank you, sir,” he said. “I was just doing my job.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan’s dad said with tears in his eyes. “Thank you again and again. A thousand times thank you…”
By the next day, Jonathan was sick and tired of hearing about David and hearing him praised by his mother and father and mooned over by Lisa who now had a major crush on the lifeguard.
“PLEASE!” he sneered. “Can we stop talking about a guy who earns $13 an hour as if he was a bloody hero?”
Jonathan’s dad was not happy. “There was a time I would have been happy to earn $13 an hour, Jonathan,” he snapped. “Being poor is no disgrace. In fact, I’ll have you remember that YOU’VE never earned a cent in your life on your own merit. What you have and enjoy I worked for, and I worked hard. People who do their jobs well deserve your respect — be it a cleaner, a brain surgeon, or a lifeguard!”
That afternoon, Jonathan’s dad talked to the Mayor and learned that David worked summers to pay for his college education. He set up a college fund for David and nominated him for a medal for his work as a lifeguard.
