This morning I waited out the wind, pale blue sky tinged with dark grey, chipped white paint on the fence, a cold blustery wake to begin the time of summer, now, oddly the coldest day this week.
But also the longest.
The days get shorter now-
Don't say it.
It's a fact.
Well, it's wrong. I remember endless summer as a child. The days grew longer and longer and only heading into back-to-school did the stars come out while kick the can and bonfires on the path in the woods were still in force. But they didn't get longer as school was ending in June. They just didn't. Summer was celebrated properly and not like this, already on a downhill slide.
You didn't have a good grasp of time when you were little.
I don't now.
It's fine.
No it isn't. Now I feel like I've squandered all of this...light.
He bursts out laughing. You did have a good grasp of the dramatic.
I wonder why.
Summer's just beginning, Bridge. This is the first day. You haven't wasted it. It's just arriving now. It's waiting for you. It's yours to spend.
What should I do?
Anything you want.
Let's stay up all night.
Seriously?
No. Remember when you would tell me we were going to and then you'd tell me it was three and then five and then six and I did it so I should go to sleep now or I'd miss everything later in the day and I believed you and it was only ten-thirty?
You knew?
Of course I knew. I could always tell when you said something to protect me. Your expression would be different.
I was just trying to keep you safe-
Like right now. There it is. That face.
But also the longest.
The days get shorter now-
Don't say it.
It's a fact.
Well, it's wrong. I remember endless summer as a child. The days grew longer and longer and only heading into back-to-school did the stars come out while kick the can and bonfires on the path in the woods were still in force. But they didn't get longer as school was ending in June. They just didn't. Summer was celebrated properly and not like this, already on a downhill slide.
You didn't have a good grasp of time when you were little.
I don't now.
It's fine.
No it isn't. Now I feel like I've squandered all of this...light.
He bursts out laughing. You did have a good grasp of the dramatic.
I wonder why.
Summer's just beginning, Bridge. This is the first day. You haven't wasted it. It's just arriving now. It's waiting for you. It's yours to spend.
What should I do?
Anything you want.
Let's stay up all night.
Seriously?
No. Remember when you would tell me we were going to and then you'd tell me it was three and then five and then six and I did it so I should go to sleep now or I'd miss everything later in the day and I believed you and it was only ten-thirty?
You knew?
Of course I knew. I could always tell when you said something to protect me. Your expression would be different.
I was just trying to keep you safe-
Like right now. There it is. That face.