Page 43 of One Touch

“We absolutely do. It’ll be like camping.”

“Let’s not, beca—”

Ava interrupted us. “Did someone say marshmallows?”

***

Watching Ethan light a campfire in the backyard stirred something ancient and primal within me, a part I didn’t know existed. The idea of a man creating fire from nothing was unexpectedly erotic. The ease with which he shredded sticks into kindling, the assured way he built a pyramid of logs, and the confident manner in which he nurtured the tiny flames into a roaring blaze captivated me.

“You know,” he said, “stargazing is a lot easier if you don’t have any light at ground level.”

“Yeah, but it’s a lot worse without marshmallows.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Ava said, putting her hands on her hips. “Marshmallows are kind of the point of stargazing.”

“Yeah,” I echoed. “They’re kind of the point.”

“I’m glad you two are getting on so well,” he said, sarcastically. “There’s suddenly a lot of feminine energy coming my way.”

“Shut up and toast our marshmallows!” Ava said, thrusting a hand into the sky.

Ethan laughed. “Yes, my queen.”

I brought out blankets and we took turns toasting the gooey treats, looking up at the sky and discussing the few constellations we recognized.

“That one’s definitely the . . . big dippy thing,” said Ethan.

I pointed. “And that one there is the Depressed Swan. I’m sure of it. Oh, oh, and there’s the Droopy Caterpillar.”

Ava snickered. “I’ll be sure to tell Miss Brown we saw those.”

After eating so many marshmallows our teeth were coated in sugar-flavored cement, we lay down on the blanket, Ava snuggling between Ethan and me. The night sky stretched above us, an inky canvas dotted with twinkling stars.

I got an app on my phone that showed us a live version of the night sky, and we looked up at the patterns together.

“I’m so glad you’re here for this, Lily,” said Ava. “Dad would never have found that app. Or any app.”

Ethan laughed. “I found you the big dippy thing. What more do you want, kiddo?”

Ava pointed up, her small finger tracing shapes in the sky. “Is that a planet?”

“According to the app,” I said, “it’s Venus.”

“Venus, huh?” Ethan said, impressed. I felt him looking at me. Staring at me. I didn’t dare stare back. I felt like if I did, he’d see how much I was enjoying this moment. The three of us here, together.

“I can’t believe we’re looking at another planet!” Ava gasped. “We could be looking at aliens right now.”

“They’re probably out there thinking the same about you,” Ethan joked.

“Let’s take some photos!” I said, opening up the camera app. We fiddled with it for a while and found the astral photography mode.

I let Ava take a few shots, then she said, “Daddy, smile! I’m taking one of us!”

“Wait, what?” Ethan said.

“Too late, took it!”

I looked at the screen. There was a very blurry photo of the three of us, Ava and I smiling, and Ethan, who was moving at the time, looked like he had about six eyes.

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