Page 30 of (La)Crosse My Heart

I sit on the sand, not wanting to move too quickly.

“What if instead of having me hang from things, we build a sandcastle or something? Is this exercise trying to get in touch with my inner child?” I ask, struggling to keep a straight face.

Jessa frowns and shakes her head. “No. I just thought of the playground so you could do something while distracted from the camera.”

“Well, it turns out it was almost too good of an idea. Anyway, what question did you ask before I tumbled into a concussion?”

Her eyes go wide, and she says, “Please tell me you don’t have a concussion. Coach will kill me.”

I chuckle a bit and say, “I didn’t hit my head, and I’m pretty sure Coach would pick you over me.”

“He’s only met me twice.”

“Exactly,” I say, laughing. I take a couple handfuls of sand and bring it together. It’s too dry, so I dig deeper, finding the sand that will stick together.

“Okay, so the question was your neon shorts. Did you finally give them up? Or did your mom keep them to make you a quilt later?”

“That’s a good idea, actually. She’s kept all of my jerseys over the years, but I don’t think the neon fabric would go well with the rest of the colors.”

“Your mom can do some incredible things with fabric and a sewing machine.” Jessa digs in the dirt, which is surprising because of her nails. They’re not super long, but they are well taken care of. “Have you been back to see her recently?”

I nod, thinking of the trip I took over for Christmas. “She seems to do well. I told her to move out here by me, but she’sgot so many activities with her ladies’ civic club and the quilting stuff that it’s easier for her to stay there.”

“She’s always been a busy lady. I’m sure she appreciated having you visit.”

“I’m not sure. I wonder if I actually hinder her schedule when I’m there. How are your parents?”

“Also enjoying being empty nesters. I hear from them twice a month. I’m sure they’ve been around the world at least six times in the past eightish years.”

“Do you see Brock very often?” I ask, doing my best to shape the sand into a square. This is a lot harder to do without those plastic molds.

“Sometimes. He’s dating a gal, and I think they do a lot with her family since she’s from Chicago and they live close.”

I shake my head. “That’s right. I was going to visit him this past weekend, but I was so flustered from my botched acting abilities I forgot most of the things I needed to remember.”

“Are you happy here?” Jessa asks, turning her head to tame one section of hair that fell out of her ponytail. The action is graceful and makes me want to lean over and kiss her. Except we’re sitting in a big kitty toilet. Not the best place for something like that.

“Yeah, I like it. There are a lot of things I miss about the East Coast, but there’s plenty to do, depending on the season.”

“That’s good.”

I construct the next part of the small tower I’m working on, but the base isn’t completely sturdy.

“So, um, what happened with Dan?”

Her eyes grow wide, and she takes in a deep breath before she looks away.

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing?” I ask, stopping my building so I can watch her expression.

“I mean, there’s nothing to tell because we rarely did anything of note.”

“So what made you break up?”

She breathes out, letting the bits of sand fall to the ground as she watches it.

“I wanted more. I want more. I don’t want to be stuck in a cycle out of convenience. If I’m going to be with someone, it’s because I’m learning and growing with them, not tugging them along to do anything.”

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