Page 58 of Courageous Hearts

“It’s not far,” I assure them. “Five minutes tops. It’s worth it, believe me.”

“I do,” they say, looking over at me with those bright blue eyes.

I reach out, grabbing ahold of Bo’s hand, and they latch on tight, walking with me in companionable silence as we step under the canopy of birch trees and pines. At this time of night, it’s quiet, save for the soft sounds of the evening. A few birds. Crickets, maybe. The rustle of our shoes against dirt and leaves.

Before long, the ground under our soles turns to sand and an opening appears up ahead. I give Bo’s hand a squeeze, and their head lifts as we come out from the tree line.

“Oh,” they breathe, stopping beside me at the top of the small sand dune.

Lake Michigan spreads out before us, deep blue in the waning light and rolling gently like a sentient body. The sky is quickly turning dark, but there’s enough light to see by for now. The sand in every direction is pure tan, the granules clean and free of litter, and tall grasses flank the sides of the dune as it glides downward toward the edge of the water.

It’s beautiful, and there’s not a soul in sight.

I let go of Bo’s hand to slip off my shoes and socks, and after a moment of gawking, Bo does the same. Neither of us say a word as we walk down through the sand, the grains cooler now than they would have been during the day while still sun-warmed. The waves lap gently at the shore, the steady whooshing a soothing balm.

In silent unison, we stop a good ways before the ground turns wet and sink down to our butts.

“So this is what you meant,” Bo says quietly, as if they don’t want to disturb the peaceful air.

“What do you mean?” I ask, looking sideways. Bo’s profile is kissed by shadows, their eyes dark like the water.

They turn to me. “When you said you liked the beach, this is what you meant. I wasn’t doin’ it right.”

Again, I’m perplexed.

Bo seems to sense it. They smile gently, looking out over the water again. “I went to Navy Pier recently. I was curious about what you said ’cause I’d never really gotten the appeal. But it wasn’t this.”

Navy Pier is its own kind of special magic, bright and alive and steeped in iconic history. But no… “It’s not this.”

“I wasn’t doin’ it right,” they repeat.

“This is right?” I ask with a smile, loving how enamored Bo seems to be. How they’re awed, almost. Quiet and taking it all in. Absorbed in the water and the waves and the crisp breeze off Lake Michigan.

They look toward me again. “Sure feels right.”

Bo holds my eye, and I don’t miss their meaning. My heart skips, trying, it seems, to bound right out of my chest. Something inside of me tugs, but then Bo shivers, and my attention is waylaid.

Hopping up, I slide behind them. They turn their head to watch my change of position, and when I settle at their back, hooking my legs around the outside of theirs, they smile a little shyly, eyes downcast.

“This okay?” I check.

Bo nods before gazing back out over the water. I wrap my arms around their midsection, and a moment later, they rest their weight against my chest.

I inhale deeply, taking a mental snapshot as I brand every piece of this moment into my mind—all that I’m feeling, all that I’m seeing, smelling, hearing. I don’t want to ever forget a single detail.

I don’t know what it means that, not once, have I brought another partner here. But I’m not surprised I brought Bo.

“How’d you know about this place?” Bo asks, gently breaking the quiet of the night.

“My dad,” I answer. The waves roll softly in front of us, their melody a constant. “He’d bring us here when we were kids.”

“You and Grant?”

I nod. “And our mom.”

A smile flits to my face, thinking about those summer days. The big blanket Mom would spread out. How, no matter how hard we tried, it would end up full of sand. Swimming in the cool water, and Grant and I competing to see who could bodysurf the furthest. Always getting a little red and sunburnt, even though Mom made us put on SPF 50.

“My dad was in the Navy when he was younger, before he met my mom,” I explain to Bo. “He was always drawn to water. I think he might’ve been half fish.”

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