Winner (February 2026) "Lady Flaps-A-Lot and Lord of the Rings"

Unfortunately, the summer heat was brutal, and her air conditioning just couldn't keep up. Climate change was real, and she'd seen the data to prove it. Since she hadn't signed up to teach summer school, she didn't even have work to escape to. She stood at the large window of her second-floor kitchen and gazed out at the cool, blue swimming pool past the picnic area with grills and a pizza oven. It looked inviting… And hardly anyone seemed to use any of it. The complex was so new, almost no one else had even moved in.

But she couldn't remember the last time she'd worn a bathing suit in public. Maybe ten years ago, when she celebrated her fortieth birthday at that conference in Miami? Did she even own a bathing suit at this point? Well, she knew just how to fix that: order one online. Gotta love same-day delivery. And maybe she'd order a fun pool toy while she was at it.

The heat was oppressive to Jason. Was the air itself sweating? After a long day of sitting in front of his computer in his new, too-warm townhome, he couldn't wait to get into the pool and relax. In his suit, with his towel over his shoulder, he was pleasantly surprised when he came around the corner of the building and saw another resident at the pool. He enjoyed his remote software engineering job, but it could get lonely.

The woman was about his age and stood at the edge of the pool, wrestling with a giant bright pink something. It was half-inflated, flapping randomly and sagging like a defeated balloon animal. But the woman was clearly determined. The scene was both hilarious and adorable.

"Who's winning?" he asked with a smirk. The scent of chlorine suffused the hot air.

"The flamingo." She let go of the creature, and it flopped onto the pool deck.

"It looks like it needs CPR." He dropped his towel on one of the lounge chairs.

"It's supposed to be fun and majestic." She glared at the limp bird. "But right now it looks like roadkill."

"Do you want a hand? I'm pretty good at resuscitating pool toys." He reached hs hand out.

She raised her eyebrows. "Is that a skill on your resume?"

"Of course." He couldn't seem to stop smiling at her. "In the special talents section. Right under 'can grill a perfect steak.'"

She laughed, and the generous crinkles near her eyes showed she loved to laugh and had done so often in her life. The decades shook off her shoulders, revealing the girl she used to be and was still, inside. He was totally captivated.

When she finally quieted, she sighed and pointed at the air pump. "Go for it. Be my hero." For some reason, the heat didn't feel nearly as oppressive anymore.

He knelt and started working the pump while she held the bird steady. "I thought moving here would be quiet. I didn't expect to meet someone battling wildlife."

"Not wildlife," she said. "I'll have you know this is a luxury leisure accessory."

He nodded and snickered. "I stand corrected."

The flamingo puffed to life, standing proud and ridiculous. "There, madam. Your majestic accessory awaits."

"Thank you for your kind assistance, sir." She leaned down, staring at the 'leisure accessory,' and then glanced back at him. "If I drown riding this thing, I might have to hold you responsible."

"Well, in that case, I'll have to stick around and make sure you're safe." He put his hands on hips, standing like a superhero.

She gingerly got on the flamingo and pushed off from the side of the pool, moving into the deep end. She waved and called out, "Looks like I don't need your lifeguard skills, after all."

Darn it. He nodded and gave her some space.

The next afternoon, Jennifer was as hot as ever and rushed over to the pool at the same time, hoping to see her helpful neighbor again. But he wasn't there. Darn it. She shouldn't have waved him off yesterday.

Nonetheless, she closed her eyes, relaxing in the cool water. This felt nice. It was just what she needed on the steamy day.

"I see Sir Flaps-a-Lot is back on duty," a man said from the pool deck.

She opened her eyes. He was back! And he seemed happy to see her with a warm, kind smile. That was a great smile.

"Obviously, she is a lady." She grinned at him. "She's such a bright pink color."

"My mistake." He grinned back at her. "Lady Flaps-a-Lot seems to be a reliable as well as a majestic steed."

She nodded. "She is."

He dropped a tote bag onto one of the chairs and took out his own deflated flotation device. He started puffing into it, cheeks full, face turning red.

She'd hate to see her new potential friend have some kind of coronary event while blowing up a pool toy. "You got that?" she called out.

He nodded, and slowly an inner tube took shape. Once it was fully inflated, he placed it in the water and got on top. Somehow, he ended up near her and Lady Flaps-a-Lot.

"So, if this is Lady Flaps-a-Lot, who is your majestic steed?" she asked.

"Obviously, this is the Lord of the Rings," he said seriously. And then he guffawed.

She couldn't help joining in. "Obviously."

The two of them floated in the cool blue water, companionably next to each other.

"I can't remember the last time I did this," she said. "Just hung out, chatting and laughing."

"Why not?" he asked.

She shrugged, her gaze drifting over to the empty townhomes. "Life got complicated. Work. Divorce. Trying to prove I could stand on my own." Yikes, did she just say that?

He nodded. "I get that." His voice softened. "After my divorce, I thought I'd never feel normal again."

Her eyebrows raised. "You're divorced, too?"

He nodded.

"And when did you feel normal again?" She couldn't help asking.

The corners of his mouth quirked upward. "Not yet. But evenings like this… They feel like a start."

She appreciated his honesty, his vulnerability. "I appreciate you saying that."

"I'm Jason, by the way," he said after several minutes.

"I'm Jen," she said and held out her hand. When he took her hand, she felt a spark of something she hadn't felt in a very long time. This was all feeling very intense. Too intense. "So, what's up with this complex? Why are there so many empty units?"

"Well, it is new, but maybe it's the name?" he said. "'Mountain Horizon Townhomes: Where new beginnings meet breathtaking views.'"

"Yeah." She chuckled. "They might as well call it: Move Here After Your Divorce."

He chuckled, too.

And then, their conversation turned to more mundane things. That was a good. Right?

Image Description: Pool toys float atop the water. The pattern at the bottom of the pool is made up of tiny blue squares. The main floatation device is shaped like a bright pink flamingo. Next to it floats a lime green tube and pink and blue rectangles.

Credit: Toni Cuenta, Pexels

As Jason and Jen chilled in the pool, unfortunately, the sun eventually slipped down behind the foothills to the west. The time had just zoomed by. "I guess that's it." He wanted to keep talking to her forever. "Time to go in."

"Yeah, I guess so," she said.

They both looked at the large sign, 'Mountain Horizon Pool. Residents Only. Open Sunrise to Sunset. No Lifeguard On Duty.'

He wanted to suggest they meet over at the picnic area and he could show off his grilling skills, but…he wasn't sure she'd go for it. She seemed cautious. He was guessing her divorce was a lot more recent than his.

She started paddling over to the stairs. "Nice chatting with you, Jason."

Darn it. "Nice chatting with you, too, Jen."

If he saw her again tomorrow, he would be prepared. After he showered and ate dinner, he texted his ex: 'Do you still have all those floaties in the garage? Can I have them?' They had two grown sons, now approaching thirty. They'd collected a ton of inflatable child armbands for them and their friends when they were little.

She texted back: 'Help yourself. They're on the shelf. I'll leave the garage door open for you.'

He picked up the floaties. The whole interaction with his ex had been without drama. Huh. Maybe he was over his divorce. He should tell Jen it got better.

He stopped at the grocery store on the way home, picking up a couple of nice steaks and some wine. He wanted to be prepared in case he convinced Jen to eat dinner with him.

What else could he do to make her laugh? She had such a great laugh. When he got home, he ordered a bunch of floating flamingo drink-holders. Heh, heh, heh. This was going to be great.

The next day, he went to the pool a little earlier than usual and deployed all the floaties and drink holders. Most of the pool was filled with some kind of floating device. It was pretty funny, if he did say so himself. Waiting for Jen, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so excited.

He floated on his inner tube in the center of the pool and tried to chill out. The cool water felt as great as ever during the continuing heatwave. He kept checking the time on his waterproof watch. Shoot. She was late. What if she didn't come tonight? The sun sank toward the horizon.

Chill, Jason.

His chilling was eventually interrupted by peals of laughter. Jen stood on the pool deck with Lady Flaps-a-Lot, doubled over with laughter. Mission accomplished. He loved watching her obvious joy.

She eventually stopped laughing enough to talk. "Wow. A lot of reproduction, mitosis, or something, is going on here in the pool."

"Welcome to the grand opening of the Mountain Horizons wildlife sanctuary." His arms encompassed the menagerie.

She mounted Lady Flaps-a-Lot and got into the pool with him. "Thank you for the flamboyance."

She mounted Lady Flaps-a-Lot and got into the pool with him. "Thank you for the flamboyance."

"A group of flamingos is a flamboyance." She smirked a little. "Maybe I didn't mention I'm a science teacher?"

"A science teacher, huh?" he said. "That might come in handy."

She nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "For all those science emergencies, like flamboyances."

He snickered. "Yes."

"Tell me about your friends." She waved her hands at all the ring-shaped floaties.

"These are ring-bearers, of course." He was amused by his own jokes. "And, obviously, together they are all the Fellowship of the Rings."

She laughed again. "Obviously."

He sobered. "I was starting to get worried you wouldn't show today."

Image Description: Steak searing on the grate of a grill. Flames take up the air around the food. A pair of tongs reach out to flip the meat.

Credit: 𝗛&𝗖𝗢/Pexels

Jennifer frowned. "Sorry about that." Wow. He seemed disappointed he wouldn't see her today. He genuinely seemed to like her and wanted to spend time with her. Her nerves started to ratchet up again. Breathe, Jen. In. Out. In. Out. Feel the cool water. "Do you want to know the truth?"

"Yes." Now he seemed totally serious. "Truth is good. I'm a fan of truth. Truth me!"

"I guess I was afraid. I don't want to get hurt again." Breathe in, out. "You seem so great…" She realized she wanted to spend time with him, too. A lot of time.

"I am pretty great." He rubbed the top of his balding head. "Even if I'm not as in-shape as I used to be and I'm a little follicly-challenged..." He trailed off.

Everyone had their insecurities, didn't they? "I saw a display at the zoo that said in the future homo sapiens will be bald. It's a sign of intelligence."

He snorted. "In that case, I'm getting smarter all the time!"

"Congratulations." Her mouth curved up.

"I would never hurt you, Jen." He paddled closer to her.

She believed he believed that. Unfortunately, good intentions weren't a guarantee.

"Will you join me for dinner? I bought steaks." He looked so hopeful. "You may not know this about me, but I'm an excellent griller."

She snickered. "I heard that about you."

"C'mon," he said. "Dinner sounds fun, right? We'll be right over there." He pointed at the picnic area.

The sun was almost down.

In the dimming light, she looked into his eyes. "Okay."

"Yay!" He threw up his hands in victory.

"Give me a couple of minutes to take a shower." His enthusiasm was contagious. "And I'll bring some salad." She didn't know if she was crazy to do this, but she did know she was excited.

They both paddled over to the pool stairs.

After about fifteen minutes, she sauntered over to the picnic area in her cutest, coolest sundress, with a big bowl of salad.

Jason was already there and had ignited the gas in the grill. He carefully placed two ribeyes on the grate over the flames. "Hi, Jen. This might be the first time anyone's used this." He pointed at the grill.

"Hi, Jason. You do look like you know what you're doing." She was impressed.

"I said I was a fan of truth, didn't I?" He took a step toward the picnic basket on the picnic table. "What would you say to a glass of wine?"

She had a playful glint in her eyes. "Hello, wine?"

He took two wine glasses and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon out of the picnic basket and got to work opening the bottle.

She glanced around the picnic area. There were some bistro lights hung above them, lightly illuminating everything. The almost full moon seemed to be rising in the east/southeast. The temperature had dropped a little since sunset, and a light cool breeze was blowing. She sat down at the table. "I can't believe I haven't come out here before. This is lovely."

Jason handed her a glass of wine and sat down next to her. "Yes, you are."

Her cheeks flushed. When was the last time that had happened? She covered her embarrassment by taking a sip of wine. She tasted back current, black cherry, green pepper? Whatever it was, it was delicious. "Yum."

Jason put down his glass and turned to face her. "Can I kiss you, Jen?"

Suddenly, her pulse was racing like photons flying through space. "But what would Lady Flaps-a-Lot and the Lord of the Rings think?

"They'd be in favor." His face was inching closer and closer to hers.

She met his gaze, and for a moment, the air between them felt fragile, like glass, like possibility. "In that case, let's fla-mingle, she whispered."

They kissed.

And just like that, their laughter and companionship changed into something deeper. They stared into one another's eyes for a moment.

"Wow," he whispered.

She nodded, swallowing hard, her heart thudding in a way she hadn’t felt in years.

The steaks sizzled and Jason jumped up to attend to them. "What's flamingle?" He turned down the gas and grabbed the tongs.

"Flamingo and mingle combined together," she said. "It's a portmanteau."

He stopped turning the steaks and pointed the tongs at her. "I can tell you are going to keep me on my toes." His eyes seemed to twinkle. "I like it."

"And now you can put 'flamingling' in that special skills section of your resume." She gestured his way with her wine glass.

"You can never have too many special skills." Then, he shot her a look that made her think he had many, many special skills--skills she was very curious about.

A blush rose from her chest, up her neck, suffusing her face. "Is it hot out here?" She fanned herself with her hand.

Jason grinned at her.

She grinned back.

And apparently, you were never too old for a new adventure.

About the Author

  Lesley L. Smith (she/her) has an MFA in creative writing. Her short fiction has appeared in various venues, including "Fiction River: Wishes" and Flame Tree Publishing's Gothic Fantasy "Detective Mysteries Short Stories." For more info, please see: lesleylsmith.com.