I heard a c***k! and a whoosh and a fizzle and looked out the window; saw the flare rising high like a rocket bound for the Moon: just rising and rising and levelling off—even hovering, briefly, like a UFO—before beginning its glorious fall, its sparkling and brilliant demise, its deep and fatal dive into the Big, Vast Nothing.
She rolled her head on the large, dirty pillow. “Is it—is it the Fourth of July? Are we watching fireworks?”
“Yes, sweetheart, we are.” I moved out of her line of sight. “Look at it, sweetie. See how it sparks and shines.”
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “But what—what on earth is that other thing? That sound? It’s like—it’s like thunder, almost. Or an earthquake.”
I moved around to the other side of the bed and got in—nuzzling up against her, holding her so we w
