He realized he was scowling at her and softened his expression.“Thanks.It doesn’t always feel that way.”Miles paused.“I guess I just didn’t expect her to grow upthatfast.I know everyone says it happens in the blink of an eye, but it’s still so easy to miss.”
“It’s because it’s not one blink of an eye.It’s thousands.Thousands of moments you realize they’ve grown up, and the old version of them is gone forever.”
“Yeah.Man, that’s the truth.”Miles shook his head.“You’re a great mom too, you know.”
She cast him a wry smile.“I wasn’t fishing for compliments.I’m a mess.”
“You’re not a mess,” he said firmly.
“I’m a mess,” she reiterated.“I spend half of my time feeling sappy about them getting older, then the other half wishing away the difficult times – the tantrums, the night wake ups, the moods.And all the time feeling guilty.”
“Sounds like a great mom to me.”He turned so he was facing her.“You’re in the thick of it.”
“Yeah,” she said softly.Annie kept her eyes fixed upward.“I already see so many stars.”
He stared at her, the gentle slope of her nose, the delicate eyelashes, her beautiful round eyes twinkling with starlight.
Did she really feel that way?A mess?He wished she could see herself how he saw her.Bold, determined.Endlessly kind in the face of so much unfairness.
“I’ve never seen this many stars in my life,” she whispered.
It was hard to look away from her, the wonderment and delight obvious on her face.
He tore his eyes away and looked up, the sky littered with light.The Milky Way glowed above them, but he didn’t have much interest in stargazing tonight.
“I don’t see any meteors yet,” she added, squinting.“Should I have a wish ready for when I see one?”
“Yes.Keep watching,” he said.“Have lots of wishes.”
“I just have one,” she said softly.
His heart leapt, and he glanced down at her.In this moment, he only had one, too, though he doubted their wishes were the same.
Miles forced himself to look away from her.
“Each meteor puts on its own show,” he said.“They come as streaks of light, some bright, some faint.They’ve been traveling for millions of years, only to catch fire as they enter earth’s atmosphere.”
She gasped.“I see one!There!”
He caught himself staring at her again, this time at her lips.He tried to follow the path of her finger, but he saw nothing.
“I can’t believe how quiet it is.There’s no sound at all!”she said breathlessly.
He took the empty cup of soup out of her hands and set it down.“Here,” he said.“You can lay down.You’ll be warmer, and you won’t miss any meteors.”
She laid back, pulling the blanket to her chin.“Oh, I like this very much,” she said, grinning.
Miles laughed, hesitating.It took everything he had not to reach out and brush the errant strand of hair out of her eyes.His stare lingered a moment too long, and she caught his eye, a puzzled look on her face.
He quickly settled in beside her, his shoulder touching hers.He didn’t say anything about it, and neither did she.
“Another one!”Annie said with a gasp.
This time, Miles saw it, too, an exceptionally bright fireball across the sky, its trail lingering for a few seconds after it blasted apart.
“Incredible,” Annie whispered.
“Yeah,” he said, adding a silent, “You are.”
