PARADISE LOST | JJ Maybank VS Rafe Cameron

TWO

T W O

[age 7]

SHE JEALOUSLY WATCHED THE OTHER KIDS JUMP OFF THE DOCK AND SWIM IN THE WATER. It wasn't usually a big deal for Juliette to not get to participate in activities that would tire her out pretty quickly, but swimming was something she'd always wanted to do.

Over by the safe side of the docks, she sat with her legs hanging by the edge and her bare feet dunked in the cool water. There was a paper boat in her hands, she'd spent the past ten minutes trying to fold it as perfectly as she could. Now — it was all ready to test out.

     Juliette glanced over at her dad's boat and found her father sitting with a few of his friends drinking beer. She caught his father's gaze and she laughed at the sunburn on his nose. He'd taken the baseball cap off and had unruly, windswept hair that he kept pushing away from his eyes. He waved at her and she proudly brandished the paper boat at him.

     "Good job, honey!" she could hear him call out to her as she smiled to herself, happy to get his approval.

     Making sure the boat was puffed out just enough to be able to float, Juliette reached over to put it on the water until a voice stopped her.

     "Why are you dumping trash in the water? My dad says that's called littering and it's illegal."

     Her head whipped around, nearly jumping in fright at the sudden appearance of a boy. He looked to be her age, around eight, and was staring at her innocently with big, blue eyes the color of the ocean waves. He was wearing swimming trunks and was barefoot, water dripped down from his hair and all over his thin body.

     "I — I'm not littering!" she spluttered out, baffled at the accusation. "It's a paper boat; it can float on the water."

     The boy's head tilted to the side in confusion. "No, it can't. It's paper. Paper can't go on water — it gets all wrinkly and tears right off."

     "That's different from a paper boat, because of buoyancy." Juliette patted the space next to her. "Come here, I'll show you." He made to sit down, but she added, "Just make sure you don't get my clothes wet. This is my favorite shirt."

     He nodded and was careful to keep a good distance from her. He listened intently to Juliette explain the principles of buoyancy, and though he didn't quite understand nor grasp the concept, she knew he was enraptured by the idea of it.

     "Are your hands still wet?" she asked.

     He glanced down and rubbed his fingers together. "No, they've dried off."

     She handed him the paper boat. "Here — you can be the first person to put her in the water."

     He reached over and lowered the boat on the surface, then sitting back up as he watched in amazement as the boat stayed afloat. "Woah, you were right! It does float."

     Juliette smiled brightly at him. "Yeah, I know — cool, right?" She reached a hand out between them. "I'm Juliette. But people call me Julie. What's your name?"

     "I'm Rafe," he said, pursing his lips before adding, "But people call me Rafe." At the girl's laugh, he grinned and shook her hand. "We should have a cool handshake like the other kids do."

     She nodded eagerly, ecstatic to make a friend. Now whenever she'd go to the docks, she won't be alone anymore. "We can make one up tomorrow! Or any other day," she swiftly corrected herself before he might think she's going to become clingy. "Whenever you want."

     Rafe thought about it for a second. "We can make it tonight. My sister Sarah twisted her ankle yesterday, so she couldn't come swimming with me today, and insisted I play Monopoly with her tonight. You could come to my house and play with us, if you like."

     Juliette pressed her lips together to contain the huge smile threatening to burst. She was about to have another friend — all in one day. "Sure, that sounds fun! I'll have to ask my dad, but I know he'll say it's fine."

     "Alright, cool. Let me know before you leave so I can have my dad tell your dad where I live."

     She smiled at that, watching this boy who'd just suddenly entered her life. If only she knew how important he'd become to her one day. He sat there next to her in the docks the next few hours instead of going back in the water to join his friends. He stayed until the sun dried all the water off him, and Juliette could see the lightness of his blond hair with dark brown at the roots. It was a perfect contrast with his ocean eyes — Juliette thought he looked beautiful.

     "So why don't you wanna go swimming with everyone else?" Rafe asked, noticing the way her eyes would drift over to watch the others periodically. "Do you not know how to? I can teach you."

     Juliette's shoulders deflated as she mumbled, "It's not that I don't wanna swim; I'm not allowed to."

     Rafe cocked his head to the side, making his bangs tumble across his forehead and over his eyes. "Why not?"

     "I have a weak heart," she finally explained. "When I was born, I had a condition called aortic stenosis. It's when the heart's blood vessel that pumps blood throughout the body is too narrow. So they replaced it back then, and told me to avoid anything that could bring my heart rate up. Like swimming."

     "Oh." Rafe scratched the back of his head. "That sounds dangerous. Good thing you're not out here swimming then." He brightened up visibly. "That's okay — you'll like hanging out with me better than swimming. Come on," Rafe said, getting to his feet and stretching a hand out for her. "Let's go get ice cream and you can teach me how to fold paper boats."

     Juliette accepted his hand, and she knew from that day on that she would love this boy.