On "Pool" by Corey Campbell (2702 words) ***

There's something haunting about Corey Campbell's "Pool." It's one of those stories in which not much seems to be happening but which also seems somehow to stick one's skin, sliding over you like water, so that it's not so easy to get off. The piece centers on a young woman named Darla who is fairly new in a relationship with Jon, a man who is good enough for now but who she has no intentions of sticking with. Trevor and Mandy are friends, married, and even younger than Darla. There's an obvious metaphor here regarding "taking the plunge." Darla doesn't want to swim, doesn't want to go in the pool, but it appears that she lives her entire life that way--never willing to totally commit or to dare. Until . . . Read the story here at Anderbo.