Summers without Her

-10

July 4, 2008

--rthday dear Riley . . .

Happy birthday to you!

The crowd goes into more verses about Riley being blessed by the good Lord, but I tune them out, thinking about the night ahead.

I refocus when Riley blows out the ten candles on her cake. Everyone cheers and claps when she gets them all on the first try. Of course she does, I think. Riley is good at everything.

Later that night, after the gift opening, and most of Riley's family and friends have left, Riley asks me the question I had been waiting to hear all night. "Ready for the fireworks show?"

I can't contain my happiness as I smile broadly at her. "Yes!" I practically scream.

Riley's melodious laugh comes to my ears as I hear her say, "C'mon! Let's stargaze while we wait!" She grabs my hand and pulls me with her to the blankets her mom had laid out on the grass.

After laying in silence for a few minutes, I point out the big dipper. "That one reminds me of you, Riley." I then use my other hand to point out the little dipper. "And this one is me."

Riley turns her head towards me. "How come?" she asks.

I turn to meet her gaze. "Well, it seems like you're so much bigger than me, age-wise at least, you know? Some of those gifts you got tonight, such as the drone, I would never be allowed to have." I look back up the sky with a frown on my face. "And I don't know, it just seems like you know so much more than me too."

Riley reaches over and taps my face, getting me to turn and look at her once again. "Hey, that's not a bad thing. Of course you're going to seem younger than me. It's because you are younger than me," she says. "You're only eight."

"That's exactly it." I breathe out into the night air. "I'm only eight."

<3 ash | 7.8.16