Childhood Summers and Ring Pops

"Come on. It'll be fun." Jonathan coaxed his friend, pulling her along towards their park.

"But we're not allowed." Ten-year-old Jan worried, looking around for the tell-tale voice of an adult. "What if we get caught?"

"Relax. We won't get caught." The boy grinned as the two friends made their way under the huge wooden platform supporting ladders, slides, and obscene teenage graffitis.He pointed at the latter, smug. "What's one more marking to the whole thing?"

Jan nodded reluctantly, and together they hunted for a bare spot on the wood that wasn't too high for them to reach. They finally settled on a beam in the middle of the module that had no marking exactly at eye-level. "So did you bring a Sharpie?" She asked.

Jonathan grinned again, and her eyes went wide as he pulled out a small Swiss knife. Small or not, she recognized any blade as danger.

"Are you crazy? I'm not using that!" She exclaimed, scared. "Where did you get that?"

"It's Dad's." He explained, his grin dropping a little. He didn't want to scare her, far from it. He wanted her to be proud of him, in awe at his courage and rebel-ness. He didn't think it wouldn't be the case. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. Look, we'll use the tiny blade." He pulled out the smallest blade of the set, waiting for her approval.

Jan was somehow reassured at her friend's words, but still was unsure. Finally they agreed on one point: Jonathan would write his name first and, if everything went well, Jan would hurry up to write her own before someone showed up.

It took more time than they had anticipated, and by the time Jan finally got the Swiss knife in her grasp, it was already getting dark.

"Hurry up. We won't be able to see anything soon." Jonathan urged.

She started her own work, both her nervousness and her poor use of the blade making the letters sloppy, although Jonathan's weren't much better.

"Shoot. I forgot an 'N'." Jan said, already halfway through the final 'Y'.

"It doesn't matter. You're almost done."

After twenty minutes of digging the tiny blade through the rough wood of the playground attraction, both kids stood back to watch their art in the fading sunlight.

"This way, we'll always be here, no matter how old we get." Jonathan stated, putting the Swiss knife back in the pocket of his sport shorts.

Jan simply stared at the smallJonny & Jany before her, carved forever at the place they both spent most of their time. 'We'll always be here together." She thought. "Even when he goes back home, he'll still be here with me..."

"So are you coming to the parade?" Jonathan inquired innocently, digging his heels in the sand.

Jan turned her attention from the flawless starry sky to her friend sitting on the swing next to her. After only a week back in the quaint town of Sainte-Marie, Jonathan had quickly adapted to the changes made in his second hometown, and she had been pleasantly surprised when she noticed that the awkwardness between them had completely evaporated. Okay, maybe not completely; he still was slightly more... mysterious, she would say. His thoughts, which he used to share openly with her, now were jealously stashed in his own head.

She pursed her lips, thoughtful. "I don't know Johnny." She shrugged, swinging slightly. "I don't follow hockey at all. I'll just stand there like an idiot 'cause I don't belong there."

"You can't seriously think that." He said vehemently, snapping her drifting gaze back to him. "You're my friend. Practically the only one I have around here. You're the first one I expect to see."

Jan cocked an eyebrow. "I think your family would be there before me..." She said half-jokingly.

Jonathan rolled his eyes towards the sky and sighed in mock-exasperation. "You know what I mean."

She giggled, causing him to smile at her. They stayed silent for a while, simply content with swinging their legs back and forth under the only light of the moon in the empty, old children's playground, where a sloppy Jonny & Jany was carved under a rickety wooden module.

"Who's coming anyway?" Jan asked finally, curious.

"Mom and Dave, that's for sure. Granny and Papy too. The whole population of Sainte-Marie..." He grinned at her, making her laugh.

"More like the whole region."

"Probably." He agreed, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. He obviously was proud of his accomplishments, and Jan felt a small pang of guilt at not knowing anything about the sport he obviously loved. "Oh, and Patrick of course." He finished.

Her brows knotted in confusion. "Who's Patrick?"

Jonathan blinked, caught unawares by her reaction. "Patrick Kane?" He tried.

She continued to look as confused and clueless as ever, not knowing who the hell Patrick Kane was. Finally he chuckled. "You don't follow hockey at all, right?"

Jan felt, once again, the familiar heat rise to her cheeks. She was blushing too much these days. "Not at all, no. Sorry." She added.

"No worries. Pat's a teammate of mine, and a great friend. I'll uh, introduce you."

Silence fell around them once again, calm and soothing to their now always-reeling minds. As kids, silence was synonymous to boredom, and they tried to avoid that at all costs. But with their relatively new adulthood (barely) lifestyles, a little peace and quiet from time to time was more than appreciated.

"So what's up with your dad?" She asked softly.

Jonathan shrugged, staring off into space. "I dunno. Talked to him today, says he's doing alright. That's good." He looked down, using the toe of his shoe to play with the sand at his feet. "I know Mom and Dave appreciate the time off, but... I miss him, you know?"

Jan nodded at her friend's words. "Yeah, I know."

He looked back at her, the moonlight creating a dark shadow over his eyes. "How did you deal with your parents divorcing?"

"I couldn't understand why my father was leaving. Sure, they were fighting all the time, but being innocent as I was, I thought it would pass." Jan answered, letting herself fall back in the memory. "After I realized that he wasn't coming back, I couldn't stay alone."

Her friend smiled, remembering. "I think that was the year we spoke the most."

"You were the only one I could talk to, really. All my other friends listened to me absently, wanting to talk about their own problems instead. But I knew you'd listen to me. That, and Mom felt so guilty that she told me not to worry about the phone bills." She laughed, trying to put humor in the situation.

Jonathan smiled weakly, looking up at the sky. "It's for the best, I guess. And it's not like I won't be able to see him." He looked back at his friend, smiling more genuinely now. "He's supposed to come down for the parade too, so that leaves you no excuse to miss it."

Jan rolled her eyes, her grin giving away her playfulness. "Urgh, I guess I really have to go now. Thanks Mr. Toews." She said at the sky, making Jonathan laugh at her silliness. "Are you excited though? I mean, after the big parade in Chicago, this one has to be nothing."

"I'm sure this one'll be even more special than the one in Chicago" He countered, looking at her in the eyes. "Here, I'll be surrounded by the people I care the most for, and that is what will make it so special."