We Lucky Few

The fun

"Oh! Let's do that!" Calliope's eyes lit up as she pointed at a field littered with obstacles to our right, an explosion of colour and lights against the darkening evening sky. She took my wrist before I had the time to react and pulled me after her with that child-like enthusiasm I had come to love so much. I felt my heart lift up, caught in the whirling bundle of giddiness that was Calliope and I laughed while we raced to the field. As we neared it, I saw that it was a water balloon field, giant slingshots included. Callie bounced up and down and clapped her hands excitedly. It was a hot summer evening, and the water would be a nice way to cool down.

I bought two tickets and Callie slipped in first with a grin. I ran after her, feeling as giddy as a schoolboy. She ran left so I swiftly ducked beneath the wooden sling on the right. A staff member brought each of us a bucket of waterbombs and before I had even time to load my sling, a fat balloon exploded against the thin, wooden pickets that served as my rather flimsy cover. Water splashed in my face and soaked my shirt, and I gasped at the coldness. I heard Callie's giggle from the other side.

"Oh, you just wait, wildcat! You will so regret this."

"Bring it on, honey!" she yelled back.

I pulled the sling as tight as it would go and aimed it high. She squealed and tried to step away, but the waterbomb exploded against her top cover, and the cold water cascaded down on her, flattening her hair against her head instantly. I laughed as I rummaged around in my bucket for the biggest waterballoon I had. With a wet splash, another balloon exploded at my side, right next to me, in the confines of the wooden pickets that formed a protection to the front, the sides, and the top.

How-?

I whirled around with wide eyes which landed on Callie's mischievous grin.

"Cheater! You are not supposed to come around here, you're supposed to use the slings!"

"Says who, James?"

My jaw slacked, completely thrown by her lack of respect for the rules. Callie burst out laughing.

She laughed.

At me.

I grabbed two water balloons out of the bucket and her eyes widened when she guessed at my intent. She turned and ran, but my aim was true. An orange balloon hit her straight in the back and I heard her gasp as the cold water drenched her shirt and coloured her light blue jeans dark. The next balloon followed suit and exploded at her feet. She jumped on the spot, squealing and laughing. Her light burnt brighter than ever in these moments.

When our buckets were empty, we were both thoroughly drenched. We exited the field laughing, and the warmth in my heart felt like it was enough to dry me in an instant. We passed an ice cream vendor and Callie's eyes grew round, her mouth forming an almost comical "o". I chuckled as we walked over and chose our flavours. While I contented myself with two scoops, Calliope's ice cream cone was overstuffed with five, whipped cream and hot chocolate sauce included. Before she even had the first lick, it dripped down her cone and over her hands.

"Can I try yours?" she asked, while trying to catch all the ice cream drips with her tongue.

"Don't you have all hands full already?" I tried not to get too distracted by the enticing movements of her tongue.

"Yeah, but I want to try it all."

I smiled. It was such a Callie thing to say, and I wondered whether she realized that she had just unconsciously summed up her character perfectly. A thought lit up in my head, my ego still not over her blatantly unfair attack on the waterballoon field.

"Oh yeah? You do, don't you?" I asked and she threw me a suspicious sideways look before she nodded. I held out the cone to her innocently and she approached it, her eyes never leaving me. When she had almost reached it, I gave the cone a hard shove and Callie's nose buried itself into the delicious pistacchio ice cream. I drew back, laughing at Callie's glare.

"That was a waste of perfectly good ice cream, James!"

Her stern look changed into a mischievous grin faster than I could follow. Then her arm dashed forward and she dragged her cone of dripping ice cream cacophony over my face with a giggle. 

"Ah, no, Cal. Stop it!"

I retreated, but she followed suit, so I found I had no other possibility than to retaliate. I grabbed her in a chokehold and held my ice cream in her face.

"You done?"

Through her wild laughter, she held up her arms in surrender. "I'm done, I'm done. Let's call it a draw."

I released her and wiped some of the ice cream off my face. Callie giggled again, and I couldn't prevent the laughter that escaped my throat.

"We should really look for a bathroom. There's some in your hair, too," I said as my eyes took in the smeared mess.

"You owe me an ice cream, Carlton!" 

I hooked an arm around her neck and drew her into my side as we marched off. Unable to resist the temptation, I leaned down and licked my tongue all over Callie's face. She squealed and put her hands up to fend me off.

"James!"

"What? There was ice cream all over your face!"

She shook her head, and her eyes twinkled with mirth. "You are impossible!"

"Says Peter Pan, incarnate."

I leaned into her and brushed my lips against hers. Callie's arm slung around my waist, and I didn't even really see the looks the other people gave us. Screw them. When I was with Calliope, the world shrunk to the two of us. I had always thought I was quick to loose myself in my work, but with Calliope, it didn't even take a conscious effort. It was as natural as breathing, as easy as walking, as innate as my heartbeat.

Calliope never failed to show me how to have a good time. She brought out a side of me that I had lost somewhere under the weight of thick, scientific books and in between stale, white labs, a side that most adults leave far behind in their fervent quest for responsibility and adult-ness. If not earlier, it disappeared at the latest somewhere under the stacks of bills that had to be paid, the planning of meals and grocery shopping or it slipped away with the first tax declaration, the latest car check-up, or the impossible weight of disillusionment that came with a job one hated.

But it didn't actually get lost, irrevocably. No, it just hid out of sight, and if you were only to look more thoroughly, you would find it like a lost friend. Calliope had managed to keep hers. She had managed to bury it deep inside of her, where the bitterness of adult life could not reach it and she treasured it. Being with Calliope unearthed mine, a bit rusty and shabby from lack of use, but I soon found that all it took was a bit of polishing, a bit of reacquainting for it to shine as brightly as it once had. And I never tired of showing it off when I was with Callie.