A day later Opari and I bought bicycles and began exploring St. Louis the way two twelve-year-old kids should in the summertime. We went everywhere every day and at night we usually went to the ball game if the Cardinals were in town. June and July passed by and Opari and I hardly ever talked about what was approaching; however, we did discuss how many children would make a good family. She wanted three. I told her that was fine with me.
August started hot and has stayed that way. Yesterday was one of the hottest. Today is August 21, 2017. Right now, it’s 1:14 in the afternoon and I’m sitting with Opari next to Baju’s sundial in the “Honeycircle.” Today, a total solar eclipse is occurring along a path from Oregon to North Carolina, passing directly over St. Louis at precisely 1:15 P.M.
Georgie had to work today, but before she left this morning, I told her Opari and I would be growing up now. “Sure, Z,” she said, “and I’m going to be getting younger.”
I just glanced up and it is beginning. The moon is sliding into place. It is getting dark. There are no birds singing. Opari’s hand is waiting for mine.
“Now, my love.”
“Yes. Now.”
“It’s clear as a tear, ain’t it, Z?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEVE CASH lived on the West Coast while attending college, then returned to his birthplace of Springfield, Missouri, to become an original member of the band the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. He is the co-author of the seventies pop hits “Jackie Blue” and “If You Wanna Get to Heaven.” For the last thirty years, he has played harmonica; written songs; performed all over Europe, the United States, and Canada; raised his children; and read books.
The Remembering is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.