Page 54 of The Apple Tree

It was just a song with a catchy beat. I wouldn’t mention it or make direct eye contact and we’d be fine.

Josh and Kyle were playing catch with a Nerf football in the front yard.

“Heads up!” Kyle called, throwing the ball to me.

I caught it, and his grin swelled to the corners of his eyes, which I told myself not to look at. Then I threw it back to him, and that grin faded.

“Nice duck,” he said, catching the wobbly ball.

“I’m out of practice.”

He laughed.

“Ready to skip to the creek?” I held out my hand to Josh.

He took it, and we skipped toward the far end of the orchard and the hill that led to the creek while Kyle followed us.

“Look!” Josh pointed to the hut I built from old branches and brush near the bank. He let go of my hand and ran to it as Kyle stopped beside me.

“Your dad said that hut needs to go before spring when the creek floods.”

I nodded. “Yeah. My dad is a fun spoiler.”

“Or practical.”

“Same difference.” I shrugged.

He smirked, watching Josh peek through the branches inside the hut. “What do you do in that hut anyway?”

“Hide from bears.”

Kyle shook his head. “Eve, you’re … something.”

“Where’s Josh? I can’t find him,” I said.

Josh giggled as I pressed my hand to my brow and inspected the area. “Josh?”

Again, he giggled, and I walked a few feet in one direction and then in another.

“I’m in here!”

I jumped. “Oh! I didn’t see you. Can I come in?”

He pushed on the branches I tied together with rope to make a door. “Daddy, you come in too.”

“Oh, I don’t know, buddy. There might not be enough room for all of us in there.”

“There is,” he insisted as I crawled into the far corner and hugged my knees.

Kyle squeezed into the tiny hut, hugging his knees too, and the sides of our bodies touched at every point.

“Don’t move. I will hunt for food,” Josh said with a big smile.

“Uh, don’t go too far, and stay away from the water,” Kyle said.

Josh climbed over our feet and shut the door behind him. He grabbed a stick and held it like a gun. “Shh, don’t scare the deer,” he whispered, pointing toward an old, dead tree stump.

“Hope you’re not claustrophobic,” Kyle mumbled.

---