A Step Behind

                                                                               Young summer was the very best time of year in Verona, Arkansas. It was warm enough to wade in the river when you went fishing, but the heat hadn't scorched the grass and shriveled the river into a trickle yet. It was a young boy's dream, summer in Arkansas. Especially in a country town like Verona, where your nearest neighbor was likely a mile or two away. There was plenty of space to ramble, and explore, and pursue all the activities boys delighted in. Although, it may have been a little lonesome when school let out for the summer without all the playground chums to scheme with. Some boys got lucky and their neighbors happened to have a kid or two close to their age to spend the summer romping with. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for young Liam Anderson. He had a pesky little tag-along brother, but no summer chums.      Imagine how excited Liam had been when he had heard his Mamma talking about her old girlhood friend moving back into the Miller Place. Her old friend who was moving back home with his wife, and their kids!  The Miller Place was about five miles away from the Anderson home by dirt road, but just across the holler by foot. Well, across the holler and through Mr. Perkin's field. It was about a 20 minute walk for Liam. It was even less than that if Mr. Perkin's cranky Herford Bull, Charlie, spotted him and took up chase. Either way, Liam was thrilled at the possibility of having at least one partner in crime for the summer, and as soon as he could make tracks he headed for the Old Miller Place.     Liam had been to the Miller Place by his shortcut dozens of times. Old Mr. and  Mrs. Miller were nice folks that liked the company of kids once in a while. Liam, and sometimes his little brother, Chance, would come by to visit. Mrs. Miller always had some little snack and kool-aid fixed up for them. Her kool-aid tasted better than anyone else's. She said it was because she added lemon juice to it and extra sugar, but Liam thought it was because of how her eyes lit up when she watched you drinking it. Mrs. Miller was one of those ladies that liked kids, just because they were kids. She always knew exactly what a kid really wanted too. After she had fed her little visitors, she would asked them if they would please go up to the treehouse and make sure it was still in good repair. Of course Liam and tag-along happily obliged her. They adored the tree-house and swing behind the Miller Place, but it would be rude to invite themselves into it. Dear Mrs. Miller never let them suffer for long before suggesting with a wink and a smile that they check it out for her.  "Things often fall into disrepair when neglected." She'd say kindly, as if the boys were doing her a favor by playing in it for a while.     When Mrs. Miller passed away suddenly, Liam had felt as bereft as if she had been his own grandmother. Nothing was the same at the Old Miller Place after that. Not the cozy kitchen, not the little country store that the Miller's operated, and not even the treehouse. Mr. Miller was nice enough, but he couldn't seem to muster up any enthusiasm for his young neighbors with his beloved wife gone. He opened his store, closed it promptly at 5:00, then went home to sit on his porch alone until dark and that was it. Liam tried to visit a few times, but the vacant look in Mr. Miller's eyes made him feel like running away. It squeezed his heart in a funny, painful way that he couldn't understand. Worst of all, Mr. Miller never asked him to check up on the treehouse. Eventually Liam stopped coming altogether. The Miller Place without Mrs. Miller was like a Christmas Present without the wrapping paper. The gift was the same, but the magic was missing.     Liam was whistling a tune and chewing on a stem of grass that he plucked from Mr. Perkins field as he ducked under the barbed wire fence that marked the beginning of the Miller's property. There was a small patch of dense woods that gave way to the backyard of the Old Miller Place. A trail that he and Chance had beat out led straight to an old oak tree that held the most magnificent tree house in the county. Liam could hear laughter, children's laughter, and it sounded like it was coming from the treehouse. He broke into an eager run. He was excited to meet his new neighbors, especially the younger ones, and he was excited to see the old treehouse again.  The path broke out of the woods, and Liam could make out four kids playing. He had been right, they were at the treehouse. He grinned and kept up his run. A little girl around Chance's age was leaning over the porch railing watching as a boy Liam's age scurried up the rope ladder. As he neared the top, the girl squealed and ran inside the treehouse. Below them a tall boy was pushing another girl on the wide swing. Laughter bubbled out of her chest and she flung her head back to let her brown hair trail behind her. For some reason he couldn't explain Liam stopped dead in his tracks, frozen. He couldn't take his eyes off of that girl and his mind suddenly went blank. All he saw was her, all he could think about was her. Her pink denim overalls were rolled up to her knees, and she stretched her bare toes out in front of her as she sailed through the air, almost touching the branches above her. She had brown hair that was cut just under her ears and flipped out at the ends. Liam had never seen a more beautiful girl, not even close.  Then, as if she could feel his gaze the girl turned her head, her big chocolate brown eyes meeting Liam's instantly. Her laughter ceased and she skidded her bare feet on the ground to stop her trajectory. The tall boy followed her gaze and spotted Liam as well, but nobody said anything. They were all frozen, Liam and the brown-eyed girl never breaking eye contact.    Liam didn't know if he believed in love at first sight. In fact, he'd never given the notion any thought at all. He was too busy with fishing, and fireworks, and army men, and all the other joys an 11 year-old boy reveled in. He never had time to consider girls and when he did, it was to scoff at and tease them. What did he care about love?  He still didn't care about other girls, just her. He still didn't know about love at first sight, but he felt in his soul that he loved this brown-eyed girl with the dark freckle on her left cheek and the cute nose. He understood that he would do anything for her, and that would never change. Most of all, he realized that he had a heart, and this girl had the power to destroy it.