He always did. He’d pause at the summit of the "Dragon Tail" slide, looking back with a grin that showed off a missing front tooth. He’d wait until her hand gripped the safety rail before he took the plunge into the woodchips below.
In high school, the cry changed. It became a text message sent from a library cubicle while Leo practiced for varsity soccer. Wait for me? she’d ask, hoping for a ride home. He’d linger by his car in the parking lot, long after his teammates left, just to see her walk through the double doors. Playmates: Wait For Me
Then came the summer before college. The air was thick with the scent of cut grass and the looming silence of departure. Leo was headed west for engineering; Maya was staying local for art. He always did