Ghost Time

shaded. Knox started to spread out a blanket for us, getting down on his knees, smoothing it out, but then Mel said, Not on a blanket, Dad, I want to feel it. So I told him, She doesn’t want a blanket, she wants to feel the grass, andhe pursed his lips. I don’t know, he said, and then Mel goes, You two are such sissies. It’s grass , she said, and I translated, raising my right hand: You are such a sissy, Knox: it’s grass.
    He looked at us, sighing, and then smiled, knowing he was being silly. He started folding up the blanket again, and then he said, Screw it, throwing it over his arm, before unfastening Melody. She never let me help with this part, she didn’t even like me to look, so I turned away, while he picked her up. Even though the truth is, every time I see him do that, even out of the corner of my eye, I try to remember the last time my dad picked me up and carried me, but I can never remember when that was.
    Knox set her down, and he goes, Is that okay? making sure her face was in the shade. Then Mel goes, Lie down with me, Thee , so I did, scooching myself backward, putting my head next to hers. Then I go, You know what, Mel? and Knox turned, looking at us. Here, I said, grabbing my camera. You want to try? And she goes, How? You know I can’t move , she said, and I hated that fear in her voice. No, I didn’t hate it, but I had to put a stop to it. Easy, I said: you tell me when, and I’ll push our fingers down. Let’s try, so you can feel it, just once? I asked, and she smiled, giving in.
    I pointed the camera upward, and then I took her right hand, curling her index finger and thumb around the lens. I moved it back and forth so she could see and feel the movement, and I told her to tell me when to stop, when the picture looked right. Stop, she said, and I peeked, and it was right. Now, tell me when to take the shot, I said, feeling a breeze start, and she waited,and then she goes, Now! Then I pressed as fast as I could. Look, I said, showing her, and it was good. Way better than my first picture, I said.
    I leaned up, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this kid with a backpack, and I was like, Oh, hey, it’s Ricky. So I called out: Ricky! And I waved at him, and he turned, so I waved him over. Hey, he said, looking a little suspicious—I don’t know if it was us or Knox, but probably Knox. Ricky stepped closer, and I said, What’s up? And then Mel goes, Who’s this? And I go, Oh, sorry, Ricky, this is Mel. Mel, this is Ricky. And this, I said, meaning Knox, not sure what to call him, and Knox said hello, as suspicious of Ricky as I’ve ever seen him of anyone. What are you doing? I said, and Ricky shrugged. I had to take some books back to the library for my brother. Oh, I said, smiling, not sure what else to say.
    He’s kinda cute , Mel said, and I almost started laughing in front of him. Well, see you around, Ricky said, and I said, See you later, and he walked away. Knox looked at me, and I sort of slapped Mel for making me laugh. What? He’s cute, don’t you think? I said, You think so? And she goes, Totally! And did you see how he was looking at me? He wants me, she said, and I busted out laughing. He’s not popular, is he? she asked. Not really, but he’s cool, I said. Thankfully, Knox’s phone rang and it must have been work, because he got up to answer it, walking away.
    Is he a loser? she asked. He’s more popular than I am, I said. Well, that’s not saying much, is it? Ha-ha-ha, I said, pinching her arm, and she said, Are you friends? Kinda, I said, shrugging, and she said, Tell me , and I said, We used to hang out last year, aftereverything went down with that party, you know? Like you hung out at your house? she asked, so inquisitive. No, no. At school. Lunchtime, the library—. Why doesn’t he have any friends? He has friends, I said. But? But he’s got epilepsy, I said, and I could tell she wasn’t going to drop it, so I told her the whole story.
    Right after I moved to town, he had a really bad seizure, standing right in line in the cafeteria. He had a full tray and the food went flying everywhere and people started yelling—I’ll never forget seeing him fall down, and… no one knew what to do. Someone said he had to put a belt or something between his teeth—. That’s not true , she said. That’s totally false—you can strangle someone having a seizure if you block their airway , she said, genuinely upset. I know, I said. Ricky told us afterward.