Finding an Ally
It’s a long walk from our front steps through the ball fields, to the city pool in the park. I cross the baseball field of dirt and sand, and slip around the chain link fence that keeps the fly balls out of the parking lot. I try to walk on the white lines painted on the asphalt, as the black asphalt feels hot through the bottom of my thin flip flops. Looking up, to gauge the distance to the road that is the border between the pool park, and the Little League fields, I step in sticky black tar at one of the repaired seams. I nearly fall, as my shoe sticks to the pavement. Hopping, on one foot, and retrieving the stained coral flip flop, I look around, hoping that no one has seen me stumble. But, no one is near.
