Paul and I drew water from the lake in plastic buckets and dumped it on the coals. Steam rolled skyward. From her perch on a nearby log, Susie clapped. Paul lifted his bucket as if to throw water on her. “Don’t you dare!” Susie darted away across the sand as he chased her with the empty bucket.

I guess that was when I knew. So it was no big surprise when she let him walk her home.

I carried the buckets back to the cottage. Behind me, on the beach, hope like some great bird flapped off into the night.

I wrote this story for the 100 Word Challenge #340 at Velvet Verbosity.