“Look at that sky, Lilly.”
Ross pointed. “All those stars…”
“How did they get there, Grandpa?”
“Well, let’s see.
Maybe there’s this great big blanket covering the sky. And every time we do something good, God sticks
a shiny star on that blanket.”
Lilly smiled. “Like
my spelling tests?”
“Yep. Or maybe…” Ross thought a moment. “Maybe God gathered up a big bunch of
diamonds and tossed them in the sky.” He
made a throwing motion.
“But how do they stick there?”
Ross rubbed his chin.
“Well, I dunno’. What do you
think?”
She shrugged. “Superglue? Daddy uses that to fix everything.”
Except his marriage,
Ross thought. “Superglue it is.”
“Dad, stop filling Lilly’s head with nonsense.” Karen knelt before her daughter. Began blah-blahing on the laws of the
universe. Ross sighed, patted the child’s
head and left the room.
* *
*
“Tea, dear?” Ross
turned on the stove beneath the copper kettle as his daughter entered the kitchen,
arms crossed.
“Please.”
“Lilly get off to sleep all right?”
“Well, no. Not actually.” Karen yanked open a drawer and pulled out two
spoons. “She’s counting the stars,
Dad. She wants to know how many good
things she’s done.”
Ross chuckled. How
wonderful it was to have a little poet in the house again.
“How am I to explain shooting stars to her?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Karen. You always do.” He handed her a mug. “How’s school coming?”
She shook her head. “I
never knew it would be this difficult.”
She stared out the window. “Despite
all of our science, the universe largely remains an enigma.”
He nodded. “Perhaps
that’s for the best. Maybe some things aren’t
meant to be teased apart by science.”
“But that’s how we understand the universe.”
“You understand
the universe, Karen. Lilly and I love
it.”
She shook her head. “Loving
the universe doesn’t pay the bills. I
have to study.” She sat at the table and
cracked open her book.
Ross went outside to study the stars.
Labels: fiction Trifecta Writing Challenge