Sweet as Candy: A Novel in Verse

A Family Cookout

Izzy, Alex, and I spend the afternoon cooking seemingly endless heaps of hamburgers and hot dogs

Laughing all the while.

I find myself enjoying our mindless conversation in spite of myself

As the midsummer sun comes a bit too close to cooking us along with the meat.

“We should get a pool before next summer,” Izzy tells Alex as she rubs sunscreen onto my shoulders.

“Don’t you think?”

Alex chuckles.

“Doesn’t really sound like something that would be my choice, considering I don’t live here,” he says.

“You should ask Candace.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes before obliging.

“What do you think, Candace? Should we get a swimming pool next year?”

I smile, flipping my hair over my shoulder.

“Sounds good,” I say.

“I could use some regular excercise before I leave the nest.”

She swats at me playfully in response to the last part.

“We aren’t talking about any leaving the nest today,” she says.

“You can’t do that to me at my own cookout, Candace. It makes me sad.”

“So sad,” Alex agrees.

“Even I tear up just thinking about it.”

I roll my eyes

Biting my tongue to avoid mentioning that he probably couldn’t wait for me to get out of here so he could finally have Izzy to himself.

“Okay, okay,” I say.

“No talk about leaving the nest. Got it.”

Izzy and Alex smile and nod in contentment

And we carry on with our day.