chin.
Maddie plopped down beside him, leaning in and jabbering away. I
was pretty sure by the look on Uncle Bill’s face that her topic of
conversation had nothing to do with sports—but he smiled and
knuckled Maddie’s head affectionately.
“ Allie! Hi, dear!” Aunt Heidi peeked from around the corner of
the adjacent kitchen. She greeted me with a warm hug.
“ Smells delicious, Aunt Heidi,” I said, returning her
embrace.
“ You always have the best food!” Leah agreed, practically
jumping up and down. No offense to Mom, but culinary arts was
really not her thing. After the divorce moved us to Portland to be
closer to Mom’s side of the family, one of the downsides (besides
my parents’ separation, of course), was not living close to Aunt
Heidi anymore. She often stopped by to drop off meals and treats
that she’d been experimenting with—a skill that Mom most definitely
lacked. Taylor grabbed a roll and sighed in
satisfaction.
Even
with how much food we consumed, we found ways to burn it off fast.
We spent most of Saturday on the lake, either wakeboarding or
tubing. Maddie, who wasn’t quite ready for wakeboarding, joined me
on the tube.
“ Ok, Uncle James,” she said seriously to Dad, “I don’t want
you to take it easy on me. I can handle it.” She flexed her fingers
and readied her grip on the tube handles with
resolution.
Dad hid a smile behind one hand, exchanging a humored glance
with Uncle Bill. “Oh, I know you can handle it, Miss Maddie,” Dad
said. He exaggerated a whisper, pretending like I couldn’t hear
him. “It’s Allie I’m worried about. I’m not sure she can hold on as long as
you can.”
I
laughed with a shrug, playing along. “I’ll do what I
can.”
“ Allie can do anything ,” Maddie defended. “Come
on, we’re ready.” She gave a nod, slightly shifting her position on
her stomach. The tube swayed calmly in the water. I tightened my
grip.
“ Let’s do it!” I exchanged a readied grin with Maddie, her
eyes lighting up with anticipation. She loved a challenge, and Dad
respected her zealous nature enough to give it to her. He jumped
behind the wheel and the boat gradually pulled away, tightening the
slack in the rope. As the boat gathered speed, we bumped along
playfully. Maddie laughed into the wind, letting her hair fly
crazily behind her. After a few minutes cruising easily on the
water, Dad maneuvered the boat so that the tube slid across the
wake, jolting our smooth ride.
I
gritted my teeth, so I didn’t bite my tongue. The boat picked up
speed. Hitting turbulent water, we skidded across the water like
skipping stones. Even my body swayed along the edge of the tube,
threatening to knock me off. “You ok?” I yelled to Maddie,
eventually noticing her playfulness replaced with intense
concentration. Her arms trembled beneath her life vest, but she
didn’t answer. I knew she would never want to admit defeat by
signaling for Dad to stop.
I
grunted as we hit the wake again. Dad was holding true to his
promise of a challenge. In an effort to save Maddie’s pride, I
released my grip. The tube whipped out from under me, and I
plummeted into the water with a painful smack. I popped back up,
shaking water from my face, and watched the boat turn around to
pick me up. When Dad slowed to a stop, he made a few playful jabs
at my tubing skills, though he seemed to know the intentions behind
my fall.
“ Not bad, sista!” I said to Maddie. Her blue eyes sparkled in
the sunlight, and she grinned.
“ Thanks, Allie,” she whispered, as I clambered back onto the
tube.
“ Anytime, Maddie,” I said. “I got your back
anytime.”
“ Higher!” Maddie yelled down to me, pulling herself through
the tree branches like a pro. Only a branch of two below her, I
continued my ascent, passing pinecones that tugged on my hair and
the dry bark that gently scraped against my skin. When Maddie
finally halted her climb, I joined her on the sturdy branch. It was
just far
Maddie plopped down beside him, leaning in and jabbering away. I
was pretty sure by the look on Uncle Bill’s face that her topic of
conversation had nothing to do with sports—but he smiled and
knuckled Maddie’s head affectionately.
“ Allie! Hi, dear!” Aunt Heidi peeked from around the corner of
the adjacent kitchen. She greeted me with a warm hug.
“ Smells delicious, Aunt Heidi,” I said, returning her
embrace.
“ You always have the best food!” Leah agreed, practically
jumping up and down. No offense to Mom, but culinary arts was
really not her thing. After the divorce moved us to Portland to be
closer to Mom’s side of the family, one of the downsides (besides
my parents’ separation, of course), was not living close to Aunt
Heidi anymore. She often stopped by to drop off meals and treats
that she’d been experimenting with—a skill that Mom most definitely
lacked. Taylor grabbed a roll and sighed in
satisfaction.
Even
with how much food we consumed, we found ways to burn it off fast.
We spent most of Saturday on the lake, either wakeboarding or
tubing. Maddie, who wasn’t quite ready for wakeboarding, joined me
on the tube.
“ Ok, Uncle James,” she said seriously to Dad, “I don’t want
you to take it easy on me. I can handle it.” She flexed her fingers
and readied her grip on the tube handles with
resolution.
Dad hid a smile behind one hand, exchanging a humored glance
with Uncle Bill. “Oh, I know you can handle it, Miss Maddie,” Dad
said. He exaggerated a whisper, pretending like I couldn’t hear
him. “It’s Allie I’m worried about. I’m not sure she can hold on as long as
you can.”
I
laughed with a shrug, playing along. “I’ll do what I
can.”
“ Allie can do anything ,” Maddie defended. “Come
on, we’re ready.” She gave a nod, slightly shifting her position on
her stomach. The tube swayed calmly in the water. I tightened my
grip.
“ Let’s do it!” I exchanged a readied grin with Maddie, her
eyes lighting up with anticipation. She loved a challenge, and Dad
respected her zealous nature enough to give it to her. He jumped
behind the wheel and the boat gradually pulled away, tightening the
slack in the rope. As the boat gathered speed, we bumped along
playfully. Maddie laughed into the wind, letting her hair fly
crazily behind her. After a few minutes cruising easily on the
water, Dad maneuvered the boat so that the tube slid across the
wake, jolting our smooth ride.
I
gritted my teeth, so I didn’t bite my tongue. The boat picked up
speed. Hitting turbulent water, we skidded across the water like
skipping stones. Even my body swayed along the edge of the tube,
threatening to knock me off. “You ok?” I yelled to Maddie,
eventually noticing her playfulness replaced with intense
concentration. Her arms trembled beneath her life vest, but she
didn’t answer. I knew she would never want to admit defeat by
signaling for Dad to stop.
I
grunted as we hit the wake again. Dad was holding true to his
promise of a challenge. In an effort to save Maddie’s pride, I
released my grip. The tube whipped out from under me, and I
plummeted into the water with a painful smack. I popped back up,
shaking water from my face, and watched the boat turn around to
pick me up. When Dad slowed to a stop, he made a few playful jabs
at my tubing skills, though he seemed to know the intentions behind
my fall.
“ Not bad, sista!” I said to Maddie. Her blue eyes sparkled in
the sunlight, and she grinned.
“ Thanks, Allie,” she whispered, as I clambered back onto the
tube.
“ Anytime, Maddie,” I said. “I got your back
anytime.”
“ Higher!” Maddie yelled down to me, pulling herself through
the tree branches like a pro. Only a branch of two below her, I
continued my ascent, passing pinecones that tugged on my hair and
the dry bark that gently scraped against my skin. When Maddie
finally halted her climb, I joined her on the sturdy branch. It was
just far
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