Free Our Heart by Brian MacLearn

when Dad saw the picture, he was sold. Mom had to do a little more research, but I think she knew too. Sometimes the bigger cities aren’t as friendly, and you get tired of driving in all the traffic just to get somewhere. I liked the idea of things being a little slower, and who knows, maybe I’ll even get a chance to play on some of the sports teams. I really like basketball, but I never would have gotten an opportunity to play where we came from. I’m hoping I can make the team here.”
    I started laughing. At first she smiled with me then she started getting an “are you laughing at me look?” I felt like I was walking a tight line so I stopped and said, “I’m not laughing at you! They only had eleven girls on the team last year and there aren’t any tryouts; everyone who goes out makes the team.” I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t grasp what I thought was so funny, then it dawned on her and her bright green eyes shone even more spectacularly. She looked at me and grinned. Every second I spent with Allison drew me in more and more and put me farther out on the tightrope in my mind. I noticed every little detail about her, the kindness in her smile, the freckles that ran across the bridge of her nose, and the enticing scent of her perfume. Each and every trait would be firmly engraved forever within my memory.
    Over the next hour we walked and talked, much like her mom and my grandma must have done earlier this morning. We had probably even followed fairly close to the same path they had taken themselves. We stopped often, as I introduced her to my friends, and all of the people we encountered, who I knew by growing up in a small town. By the time we finally ran into Matt and Nick, Allison and I must have talked to nearly the whole town. Nothing made me more ecstatic than when one of the guys from school saw me and give me that knowing smile. I just returned it with my own slight nod, the one that said, “Yep, she’s with me!” It was a nod that got easier to give as the day moved from late morning to afternoon; I even started to believe it myself. We stopped and ate brats from one of the food booths and had homemade, iced lemonade from another. I even let her talk me into cotton candy and did my best not to make a mess with it. With some people, conversation and comfort come easily and naturally; it was definitely like that between Allison and me. In the space of a few hours and in the midst of a small town celebration, I had found a certain, special someone with whom I “clicked.”
    Matt and Nick hung around with Allison and me most of the afternoon. By the time we headed over to the flour-baggy war games, she was pretty comfortable having them around. Several times she used her quick witticism to take a jab at Nick. At first, he was uncertain how to take it, but soon he was all in. The four of us were making snide remarks back and forth and Allison played her part well. A couple of times, Nick tried to make a noticeable and not so subtle move towards Allison, nothing too strong, kind of testing the waters. Both times his hook came back empty, even more appropriately, snapped off at the end of the line. Nick recovered from the errant cast and the group talk turned to some other topic, but I felt my spirit soar a little higher each time.
    Matt took one brief moment, when Allison stopped to use the restroom, to put his arm around my shoulders and say, “Way to go, Man…she’s sure into you.” I just nodded and smiled my best “and don’t you know it” grin.
    By the time we got in line to do the flour-baggy war, Allison was an official member of our team. We counted the number of people in line ahead of us and figured we were going to be in the third group, which meant we might be standing in line for another hour. Most of the time, the participants went through their bag ammunition pretty quickly; sometimes, though, you’d get a couple of people who’d choose to hide behind the