Stay Here

“Why can’t we just stay here?” Chris asked the question like there was even a real answer to it. Melted around that campfire with the smoke blessing each of them, he hoped to speak it into existence. The clouds that shrouded them during the day had been pushed away and bright stars hung above their heads like glimmering crowns forged by God. They were royalty around the campfire with staffs of shining aluminum.

“We have jobs,” Tanner replied, following a long cold sip out of his can. He couldn’t let his friend know that didn’t want to stay in that night around the fire with him. He wanted to go back, to the night that previous summer when all was well and the stars shone brighter and the campfire burned, somehow, even hotter.

“What if we just stay here and this night never ends?”

“It doesn’t work like that, bud.”

“I wish it did.”

Reaching down into the cooler beside him, Tanner said, “There’s three left, one for each of us.” He handed the first can to Chris and put the second in the cupholder of his faded lawn chair.

“I wish Beau was here,” Chris said to his friend.

“Me too.” Tanner placed the final opened can on the damp grass between them.

The drinks were finished, the fire burned to embers, the stars grew dim, and the sky turned purple on the horizon. A new day was beginning for Chris and Tanner, but Beau stayed in that starry summer night before.