Gina’s boot knocked a rock loose and, for some reason, she followed her intrusive instinct to wave at it as it fell.

Greg pushed through the brush at her back, breath heaving.

“You didn’t have to wait for me…” he assured her.

She assured him that she hadn’t. They had simply reached the point of elevation where you could see the world. At least that’s what her dad had said when she was little.

He saw from her vantage and pulled her close for a hug.

“Same…” he wheezed, she looked. “…time…next…year?” He smiled through his red cheeks. She returned it.