The next day while I was eating breakfast, I decided I had to tell Sam about my run-in with Jeremy. I headed out to find her, and didn’t have to go far, as she was heading up the path to our trailer.
“Hey, how’s it going?” She smiled at me. I stammered, “I think we need to talk.”
We went out into a more secluded area, and I told her everything Jeremy had said to me. When I was done, she just smiled and shook her head, “I don’t see why he’s so mad. Why do boys always fight over girls? You guys need to learn to share.”
“How does that work? You can’t have more than one boyfriend at a time.”
“Says who? The groan-ups? They don’t even know how to get along with each other, why should we trust what they have to say on anything? I can have as many boyfriends as I want, and you can have as many girlfriends as you want.”
“But that’s not how it works!”
“No, that’s not how it works for them, but that’s how it works for us!”
At nine, my comprehension of relationships consisted solely of what I’d seen in the park, at school, and on TV. What Sam was proposing seemed entirely wrong, or at least different to what I thought I knew, but at the same time, made perfect sense. I wasn’t sure I was ready for such a radical change in what I considered “the rules”, but if Sam believed in it, I’d follow her to the ends of the Earth.
While I was at home having lunch, Sam apparently tried to explain her rules to Jeremy. Well, let’s just say he wasn’t quite as open to the idea as I was. Sam, with tears in her eyes told me about it, saying his final reply had been: “There can be only one.”
While I was sad at the loss of someone I’d considered a friend, and Sam was obviously crushed by his outright rejection, we somehow managed to carry on. The next couple of days consisted of lots of swimming, playing and exploring for Sam and I.
It was on the fourth day after the lake incident that I decided to take Sam to the secret place. We headed down the path by the creek, over the dirt hill, and down in the small grassy valley where the world ceased to be Earth, and became the magical land of Zigadu. I showed her the sword in the stone, and the amazing cave of Knights. We spent a good part of the day fighting goblins and terror troops, before collapsing on the floor of the cave in exhaustion.
Sam wiggled over and snuggled up next to me, putting her arms around me. I turned to look her in the eyes. Sparkling emeralds and sapphires reflected not an image of myself, but a world of magic and peace. Her warm smiling mouth was partially opened when she brought it to mine. I closed my eyes and just basked in the moment. A moment that will forever stay within me, as will the one that followed.
It was there, with my eyes closed, and my lips locked in a gentle kiss with a girl I’d known only a few months, but whom I trusted with my soul, that my entire life changed in an instant. The serenity and bliss came crashing down in an instant when the sudden loud voice broke the moment and jolted my eyes open. “This is our place!”
Billy was back from his vacation.