Sweat dripped down
the little boy's face
and he was out of breath
after a long race.
He was with his friends,
but smiled at the girl
running the lemonade
stand, admiring her curls.
“Three of them,”
he said. She grinned wide,
showing off her missing
teeth, and ran inside.
He thought for a moment
that she left him there to die
in the heat, but she returned
with cups and he could have cried
as she poured the drinks.
He paid her three,
although it cost two dollars.
His friends laughed by the tree.
She tried to hand a dollar
back, but he just leaned in
and kissed her cheek.
Then he ran again.
