“Nah,” Emerson said. “You two go along without me. Just sitting in one of these chairs and staring at the lake is enough adventure for me.”
Lizzie turned to me. “What else do you guys do when you’re here?”
“Hiking,” I said. “There’re a couple trails around here. My dad and I saw a bear once.”
“Wow,” Lizzie said. “That sounds cool.”
“And we make s’mores at night,” I said. “It’s a tradition.”
“I’ve never done that before,” Lizzie said. “Only seen it on TV.”
“Then we’ve got a lot of stuff to do this weekend,” I said. “Let’s get to it.”
I made burgers on the grill, and we ate in front of the fireplace.
Lizzie sat in the armchair between us, just the way I used to sit between my mom and dad when I was little. We would watch the fire and talk about what we did that day, and I would ask my dad questions about insects and anything else that crossed my mind.
“It’s so hot during the day but cold at night.” Lizzie shifted her chair closer to the fire.
I walked to the cabinet near the house and pulled out a couple of blankets. I handed one to Emerson first, who gave me a soft smile, and then gave another to Lizzie. “This should help.” I took a seat again and observed them get bundled up and watch the fire.
“Can we do s’mores now?” Lizzie asked.
“Good idea.” I grabbed a couple sticks, squished the marshmallows on top, and then passed them around. “They’re the best when they’re a little brown and crunchy, so you’ve got to keep rotating them like on a rotisserie.”
Lizzie copied me.
Emerson purposely caught hers on fire then brought it close to blow out the flame. “I like mine a little burnt.”
Lizzie continued to mimic me so our marshmallows would be the same.
Emerson put her s’more together and took a bite. “Oh yeah, that’s good.”
“Okay, I think they’re done.” I pulled mine out, and Lizzie did the same. “Now we build our s’mores. So, we take two graham crackers—”
“Like this?” She put two squares of the graham cracker on the plate, along with a piece of chocolate on each side. Then she placed her marshmallow on top of half and pushed the s’more together.
I smiled as I watched her. “Yeah, exactly like that.”
Lizzie and I sat in the shadow under the canopy with our fishing lines in the water. She looked around at the lake, the waves lightly tapping against the stern of the boat. It was quiet, the occasional hawk screeching in the sky. “So, we just wait?”
“Yep. Fish aren’t biting today.”
“Maybe they’re too smart.”
“Maybe.”
After she stared across the water for a while, she turned back to me. “You and Mom seem happy.”
“Yeah, we are.”
“Good. She’s herself again, which I really like.”
“Me too.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t agreed to marry you.”
I shrugged. “She will when she’s ready.”
“Are you going to ask her again?”
“I will…when the time is right.”
“If she doesn’t say yes, I’ll pull her hair until she does.”
I chuckled. “Thanks. But I kinda imagined she would say it without being extorted.”
“What does extorted mean?”
“Being forced, basically.”
She nodded in understanding. “What are you working on right now? Is the rover thing done?”
“I handed that off to NASA a while ago.”
“Then what project are you working on now?”
I really liked talking to Lizzie because she was curious about all kinds of things, but she had the ability to communicate like an adult. She had low self-esteem sometimes, but she was so smart. “Actually, I’m working on the rocket again. I think I’m almost done.”
“You are?” she asked in surprise. “Mom said you kinda just gave up on it.”
“Yeah, I did. But I’m back on it.”
“Cool. I’m sure it’ll work this time.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Liz.”
We sat in front of the fire, and Lizzie was knocked out so cold that she was snoring.
Emerson touched her arm and gently shook her. “Lizzie, go to bed.”
She didn’t even wake up.
Emerson shook her again. “Lizzie?”
Lizzie turned away and pulled her blanket higher without waking up. Her snores continued.
“We had a long day,” I said. “I’m not surprised. I always tried to stay up late, and I failed every single time.” I rose out of the chair then kneeled to scoop her into my arms.
“You don’t have to carry her, Derek. She’s old enough to take herself to bed.”
“I don’t mind.” I held her against my chest and carried her into the house and up the stairs, placing her in the bedroom where I used to sleep when I was little. I set her on top of the bed then pulled the covers over her.
She still didn’t wake up.
“Night, Liz.” I turned off the light, shut the door, and then returned to the patio.
Emerson had moved into Lizzie’s chair so she could sit beside me in front of the fire. She smiled at me as I came back and sat beside her. The glow of the fire hit her beautiful face perfectly, becoming a memory I would cherish forever.