“Come here, my sweet boy,” Esme said as she sat down in one of the chairs. I sat down opposite her and held her hand. “Do you remember when you were twelve and we went on vacation at the lake?”
“Yeah, I do. Got the worst sunburn,” I snickered.
“Yes, you did. A lovely pink. My lobster boy,” Esme giggled. “Anyhow, do you remember that little girl? The one with the sand castle?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “That was the first and only time I stood up for someone before I met Bella. She spent all afternoon working on that sand castle. Perfecting the turrets, adding a moat…it was an awesome castle. Then, three boys came and stomped on it. Ruining her work.”
“I never saw you move so quickly. Even being so sick with sun poisoning,” Esme said as she cupped my cheek. “You pushed those boys and screamed at them something fierce.”
“I don’t remember what I said, but I was livid. I hated that they ruined her sand castle that she spent so much time on. Yes, it was made out of sand, but she was still proud of it. They ran away with their tails between their legs,” I smiled. “I never felt so powerful.”
“And then you spent the rest of the afternoon helping that little girl rebuild her sand castle,” Esme said with a wistful smile. “So sick and yet, helping this stranger. What was that girl’s name?”
“Ashley,” I mused. “She thought I was a superhero. I wasn’t. I was just being nice.”
“In her eyes, you were a superhero,” Esme said as she ran her fingers through my hair.
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