Page 113 of The Time It Takes
“What?”
He investigates the water. “My eyes get red when I cry too.”
I reach up and touch my face. “Where are your parents?”
He giggles as if I’ve told him an inside joke.
“Fair enough,” I say. “What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I asked you first.”
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
I suppress a smile. “That’s good. You shouldn’t. I’m Willow—like the tree.”
His smile grows from ear to ear. I sigh. “If you don’t tell me your name I’m just going to start guessing.” He keeps his lips zipped and I grin. “Hmm, let’s see…” I tap my chin. “Is it Dirk? You look like you could be a Dirk.”
His face scrunches as he shakes his head. “My name is not dirt!”
I laugh, unable to suppress it. I slow down the word for him, “D-i-r-k. Geez, someone needs a hearing aid.”
He throws his head back and laughs like a monster. It sounds ridiculous.
“How about Rambo?” I guess.
He shakes his head, still giggling. “No!”
“Steve?”
“No!”
“Donald?”
“No!” He holds his hands up in defeat. “It’s Finn—like…what sharks have.” He looks out into the water as if now considering the possibility of a shark coming near us. My stomach falls slightly at his name even though I already knew it.
“You look just like your mom.”
Finn’s eyes dart back over to me. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh, yes you do.” My voice comes out deep on emphasis.
“Do not.”
“Do too.”
“Do not.”
“Do too.”
“Do not.”
“You’re a real blast, you know that?”
“Yeah,” he says as if I’m serious. I sort of am. “My dad was right about you.”
I angle my head to the side. “What did he say about me?”
