Hold on to Hope

Her uncle knelt down. “Sure is, Sweet Pea. This is Evan, and he’s really special to me, so I hope you spend the whole day playing with him because he doesn’t know anyone else here.”

Frankie made the sign she and her mama had practiced so much last night, her belly feeling a little worried because she wanted to do it just right. She lifted her hand and put it to the side of her forehead and pulled it away like a little wave.

HI.

And then the boy signed it back with a big grin that made Frankie grin even wider. Oh, she did like him, the way his eyes were big and funny and he kinda looked like a froggy.

And then he was moving his hands at his mommy.

His mama said, “Wonder Woman.”

Frankie laughed out in glee. Wonder Woman was what her daddy called her and it was the best name in the whole world and made her feel special, too. She liked it that her new friend called her that.

Her uncle Kale looked at Evan. “Yeah, buddy. This is Wonder Woman.”

Her uncle looked at her and swept his hand toward the boy. “And this is my little Hulk.”

Giggles came floodin’ out of her. “I likes the Hulk . . . but he’s not as strong as my daddy and my uncles! Thor and Cap’in ’merica.”

The boy didn’t look a whole lot like the Hulk, she thought. He wasn’t very strong. But that didn’t matter none. She liked him, anyway.

“Wanna play? I gots my puppy and he’s so fast and he likes to jump and lick and he’s so funny!” she rambled, pushing the curls out of her face when the hot breeze came blowing through, and then she was rememberin’ that her mama told her to talk slow because Evan had a special super power and it was that he could read lips!

And oh man, she thought that was so, so cool because she could barely even read a whole book that had ten pages.

Evan nodded fast, and he dropped her uncle Kale’s hand and chased right after her.

He clamored down the steps, his feet pounding to keep up, and she rushed out onto the lawn. Her puppy raced between them, darting around their ankles, running out ahead and running right back.

She laughed.

Laughed and laughed.

She gave it all she had as she ran across the yard, and Evan chased her, a funny noise rushing up his throat.

It was rough and strange, but when she looked back, she saw that he was laughing, his head tipped toward the sky, those sounds scraping up his throat and riding on the breeze.

Frankie thought she liked that sound, too.

The little dots on his face glowed bright in the sun, and she wondered if she could count high enough that she could count them all.

He chased her and they zig-zagged and they hid and they played, and she was sure she’d never had so much fun.

Finally, she slumped down onto the lawn, all out of breath.

Evan’s breath was super loud, too, huffing and puffing, and he fell down onto the ground beside her.

“You tired?” she asked where she was on her belly and looking over at him.

He nodded frantic. “Rest.”

He made a word come out of his mouth and Frankie squealed.

Nothing but delight.

“You can talks, too!?”

He held up two fingers, just a pinch.

“And you gots a new heart?” she asked, remembering her mama telling her he was even more super special because he got a new heart when he was a baby and she thought that was weird and scary but kinda cool.

And she thought her uncle had it all wrong.

He wasn’t the Hulk. He was Iron Man.

Evan nodded again, let her put her hand on top of it, and she liked it even better when he put his hand over hers and pushed tight so she could feel it go boom, boom, boom.

He felt warm and safe, her eyes dropping closed as she felt the way his chest thrummed and beat.

Finally, she peeled open her eyes to see him staring at her really close.

“That’s so, so good you gots a new a heart.” Her voice came out a whisper. “You want to be my best friend?”

Because Frankie was sure Evan was her favorite, favorite.

He nodded again, so fast that it made her laugh.

She gave him a thumbs up.

He laughed that sound again and gave her one, too, his breaths loud and hard.

And she felt so happy and full, and she rolled onto her back. Milo curled up to her side, sniffing along the grass, digging his paws into the dirt until he got comfy.

She gazed up at the clouds that rolled slow across the sky, a gazillion different pictures written in puffs of white and blue, blue, blue.

And she wanted to tell her new best friend so many things.