Better sun than rain for Pirates and Paintball. I toweled off after a long shower, knowing I wouldn’t get another one until late Sunday night. As I packed, I imagined Trent tapping on my window with his pirate sword and asking if I thought this was the year he’d win. This would be the first Pirates and Paintball without him. I whispered at his memory. “Sorry, friend. This isn’t the year.” My phone buzzed. Max: I might need some help with my pirate costume. Me: Okay. Max: You ready? Me: I hope. Max: See you soon. I took some extra time to assemble my pirate costume and waited for five p.m., when all four families would descend on the McCalls’s house. Mom watched for the Adlers and Garrisons through the living room window and clicked off the living room light when they arrived. Five on the dot. “All right, Sadie baby. Get your game face on,” she told me. I traced the scar up from my mouth. “Do I look tough?” “You take everything too literally.” “You take everything too seriously,”
