Grizzly's Time Travel
Grizzly wanders back through time and Ally is there too. Why they are there together in her fantasy she doesn’t understand, even in the dream, she feels five years older and not wiser or stronger, and she wants Ally out of her thoughts. Maybe if she had paid for the beer her sister wouldn’t be crashing her daydreams too.
She watches the easy way sixteen year old Ally moves through this age, how she remembers to study for math tests, makes straight A’s except for one B in band. And this is because Ally is not a fan of the music for the spring concert and she refuses to audition for the first flute part. Ally excels at everything except boys. And Eddie is there. He wears his loose and baggy smile but this time Grizzly ignores it. She tries on Ally’s band uniform and presses the flute to her lips and thinks it can’t be that much different than kissing.
“Your sounds are all wrong,” Ally says.
“The boys never told me that.” Grizzly grunts and blows harder into the flute.
“Try to purse your lips.”
Grizzly pretends the flute is a boy she doesn’t really want to kiss and at first there is not enough air and as she tries harder there is too much and after many tries she makes it all right, the perfect boy. And unlike Ally, the spring selections are fine, wonderful even to her ears and any flute part will do - even through her brain reminds her she went here years ago and has already graduated, married, and has a child.
“I’d like to try out,” Grizzly says.
She puts her hands up high in the air and waives it. She wants all the shoes in her sister’s closet. But this is silly. She watches Ally’s hand go up before she finishes the thought. And when Eddie slides up next to her and says, “You’re the most gorgeous thing I ever saw,” Grizzly forgets all about flute parts and leans in.
She watches the easy way sixteen year old Ally moves through this age, how she remembers to study for math tests, makes straight A’s except for one B in band. And this is because Ally is not a fan of the music for the spring concert and she refuses to audition for the first flute part. Ally excels at everything except boys. And Eddie is there. He wears his loose and baggy smile but this time Grizzly ignores it. She tries on Ally’s band uniform and presses the flute to her lips and thinks it can’t be that much different than kissing.
“Your sounds are all wrong,” Ally says.
“The boys never told me that.” Grizzly grunts and blows harder into the flute.
“Try to purse your lips.”
Grizzly pretends the flute is a boy she doesn’t really want to kiss and at first there is not enough air and as she tries harder there is too much and after many tries she makes it all right, the perfect boy. And unlike Ally, the spring selections are fine, wonderful even to her ears and any flute part will do - even through her brain reminds her she went here years ago and has already graduated, married, and has a child.
“I’d like to try out,” Grizzly says.
She puts her hands up high in the air and waives it. She wants all the shoes in her sister’s closet. But this is silly. She watches Ally’s hand go up before she finishes the thought. And when Eddie slides up next to her and says, “You’re the most gorgeous thing I ever saw,” Grizzly forgets all about flute parts and leans in.
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