secret revealed

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” I ask.

“Guess taffy flavors?” he teases.

I nudge him with my elbow.

“No.
Build a sand castle.”

“My dad.
We spend a lot of time at the beach.
He lives here in Newport.”

“You live with your mom?”

He starts digging in the sand,
and I wonder
if the questions
are getting too personal.

He nods. “My parents are divorced.”

“Mine too,” I say.

He pauses.
Stops digging,
and our eyes meet.

“Yeah. I know.”

“What? How?”

Wait.
Of course.
The news.
It’s been national for a while.

He goes back to making
his hole in the sand.

“Did you know it was me?” I ask.
“When you first saw me, did you know?”

He shakes his head.
“You looked familiar.
But I couldn’t place you.
Until lunch.”

Two little kids
with their mom
stop to admire
our sand castle.
I’m thankful
for the momentary
distraction.

The kids look
as if they wish
they could shrink
to the size of tiny crabs
and climb inside.

I wish I could climb inside.

Me, the princess,
and Cade, the prince,
saving me from Jeanie and Allen,
the big,
bad
dragons.

“When do you leave?” he asks.

I barely get the word out.
“Tomorrow.”

And then I reach
for another piece
of taffy.