Biker's Virgin

Cole, Declan, and I continued to make our way toward the beach. There was a big crowd of people, and we moved slowly. At one point, I realized that Declan had woven his way through the crowd and was several feet in front of us.

“Declan!” Cole said sharply. “You can’t just run off like that. You’ve got to stay with either me or Allie at all times, okay? There’s way too many people here for us to get separated. And, it’s dark out. Do you know how easy it would be for you to get lost in a crowd like this?”

Declan looked down at his shoes, then slowly nodded.

“I know you’re excited,” Cole said. “We’re excited, too. We’re having a good time. But I can tell you that we most certainly would not be having a good time if we lost track of you. So you’ve got to stick close, okay? If you don’t want to hold a hand the whole time, that’s all right, but you need to stay nearby. We need to be able to see you. Even if you see a friend, or someone that you know, you can’t just go running off without first telling an adult.”

“I’m sorry,” Declan said.

Cole nodded. “It’s okay,” he said. I could tell that he felt bad now, for raising his voice. “I didn’t mean to yell after you like that, but it scared me when I looked up and didn’t see where you had gone. But no harm done. Let’s just keep on having a good time.”

We continued walking down toward the lake. Cole took a deep breath and shot me a look. I reached over and patted his shoulder.

We were able to find a good spot not too far from the water. The air was heavy with anticipation as the sky continued to get darker and darker, and then there seemed to be a pause, like everyone was collectively holding their breath.

It was like we all heard it at the same time: this high-pitched whistling sound, barely perceptible, and then an explosion of color in the sky, followed by a boom that seemed to shake the ground beneath our feet. Everyone clapped and cheered.

The fireworks were stunning. I’d seen fireworks before, of course, but never like this. Maybe it was because all the fireworks I’d ever been to had been in the city, so there was always plenty of competing light, or maybe this night was just spectacularly clear and dark, but the fireworks seemed brighter and more magnificent than should even be possible. The full spectrum of colors exploded across the sky, in huge bursts followed by loud booms, in short little spurts, in shapes, like flowers and even flags. Everyone oooh’d and aaah’d, and the kids clapped their hands. When the grand final

e went off, I felt goosebumps down my arms. It really was one of the neatest things I’d ever seen, and when Cole looked over at me with a smile, I grinned back, happy that I was there with him.

It was late when we finally made our way back to the car. Cole hoisted Declan up onto his shoulders since he was too tired to walk, and we hadn’t even made our way out of the parking lot when Declan was sound asleep in his car seat.

As we drove, Cole reached over and put his hand on top of mine.

“I had a great time tonight,” I said. “Those fireworks were really something.”

“They do a good job,” he said. “And I had a nice time too. So did Declan.”

We were quiet for the rest of the trip home, though the silence was comfortable, like we could just enjoy being in each other’s company without the need to fill the empty space with talking. When we got back to the house, Cole carefully extricated Declan from his car seat and carried him inside to bed. He came down a minute later.

“He is zonked out,” he said. “I don’t think he woke up at all.”

“It was a busy night for him.”

Cole yawned and stretched. “I could go for a beer. You want one?”

“Sure,” I said.

He went over to the fridge and got out two bottles of beer, which we took out onto the deck. He lit a citronella candle, and we sat next to each other as we drank the cold beer and looked up at the sky, which was dark, speckled with stars.

“Some lady tonight thought that you were my husband,” I said. “I didn’t correct her.”

He smiled. “Does this mean you want to get married?”

“No.”

He put a hand to his chest and winced. “Oh, you’re breaking my heart.”

I laughed. “Oh, stop it.”

“I’ll at least take it as a good sign that you didn’t try to correct her.”

“Well, she just seemed so enamored with the idea of us as this little family that I didn’t want to shatter that illusion.”

“We do make a nice little group, don’t we?”

“Yes,” I said, happy that he said that.