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The burn from the blistering sun takes over my skin as the musty smells of sweat and dirt follow me. That is what over 100-degree weather in Texas does to the kids that are told to go “play outside”. I take a deep breath and swallow thickly to help coat my dry throat as I watch my older brother, Liam, with his friends behind the toolshed of our local neighborhood park. My sister runs to her high school boyfriend and pulls him to the nearby snow cone stand for one last sweet treat.

Dragging my feet in the dirt, I make my way to find one of the few grass patches under the shade of a large oak tree next to the basketball courts. I look around the green area to collect at least fifteen yellow dandelions and sit next to the base of the tree where plenty more flowers are scattered around me.

I press my thumbnail into the stem of the first flower I picked and split it enough to form a slit, creating a small hole. I set the flower on my lap and picked up the next one to do the same thing. Picking up each dandelion, I thread the stems together, pulling the flower’s stem through the next until they are all linked. I spin the crown around, examining my work, hoping that it would make my Mimi proud. My Grandma Maeve was always into art and gardening and taught me when I was visiting her in the summers up near the water in Muskoka, Ontario.

The scraping sound of roller blades on the concrete basketball court in front of me has a small smile spreading across my face, but today, I can’t make myself look up and run over to my best friend. I finish up the flower crown and secure it on my head, hoping it provides some extra strength to face my friend. Peeling my eyes up to see his deep brown eyes lock on mine. His eyebrows crease into a deep V as he goes side to side on his skates.

Shawn and I have lived next door to each other since we were four and over the past six years, we have become inseparable. This summer his parents were a little late for sports registration and the only sport open here in Texas for the summer was hockey. So, he comes here to practice his skills outside when he can’t be at the only local ice rink within a forty-five minute drive.

He speeds over to the edge of the court and pushes his oversized helmet up to see me a little better as he wipes the sweat dripping off his forehead, concern in his eyes, but a smile still takes over his face. He waves as an attempt to get me onto the court like we normally do.

I wish today was a normal day. I swallow again, trying to suppress that growing lump that seems to have made itself a permanent fixture in my throat.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly point up to the flower crown in my sun-kissed hair so he knows I’m going to work with the plants around me today. His smile widens, giving me a proud thumbs up as he goes back to work on the court. He flies on his blades, his dark brown skin shining in the sun. As he sped past, the wind blew my hair wildly as I slowly stand and walk in his direction. I only see him for a moment as he speeds around the corner like a shooting star, so I close my eyes and make a wish. I want to remember my time with Shawn and hope that we are always in each other’s lives forever. He is my best friend, and I never want that to change.

He cuts tight on the edge of the court before getting to the grass in front of me and makes the sharpest turn I think is humanly possible for a ten-year-old. I jump up and start clapping.

“You did it, Shawn. That turn was killer!”

He unclips his helmet and puts it on his hip.

“Did you see that, Lee?” He says, almost stunning himself.

“Of course I did. You’re going to blow them all away in a few weeks at tryouts!”

“Nah, I still need more practice on the ice. They’re all going to be so good, just like your brother.”

“Just remember to stay up on your feet, keep your head up high.” I tap under my chin, standing up straighter.

He laughs and swallows it back as he squints back at me.

“I think that’s the point of skating, Lee.”

I giggle again, nodding as my shoulders slump down.

Shawn catches me up on how his little sister, Sonora, is doing. She is only seven, but she is already my height, and I’m pretty tall for my age, but we both have nothing on our brothers. The conversation stalls, and I cough, not knowing how to tell him. I don’t want to tell him. I want to take the stick in his hand and slap the small ball on the ground across the court and make him chase me.

Looking back at me, he takes off his glasses, cleaning them as he says,

“How are your Mom and Dad?”

There it is, my opening to bring it up. It’s like he knew I couldn’t start this conversation, so he is helping me get it out. I look down at my feet, kicking the dirt nervously.

“They’re fine.” He looks at me, confused.

“Just fine?”

“Well, yeah, I guess they’re doing fine now,” I say as I fidget with the flower crown on my head.

“What do you mean? Were they doing…* he coughs* …not fine?”

I look up and see his expression go from concern to tenderness, encouraging me to keep going. I gather up all my flower crown's confidence and let it all come out.

“Um, my parents need to, I think, work at a new place, so they said we need to go stay with my Mimi for a while…you remember Mimi? She came to the park last fall when we were making mud for our flower stew, and she blew the dandelion fluff into our stew for extra spice.” I ramble to avoid the next part of what I need to say.

“Lee...”

Shawn cuts in, and I blurt it out before I can take my next breath.

“We are moving there, and we’ll be there for all of 5th grade, or grade 5, whatever it’s called.” I try to recall what my mom said Canadians call it. His head sinks lower.

“So, you won’t be here anymore…I got you.”

I peek one eye open, seeing his head nod up and down.

“Are you mad?”

I ask, trying to see how he is processing the news that feels life-shattering to me. He immediately looks up in confusion.

“At you? No, not mad! Just a little sad you won’t see me become the best hockey player from Texas.”

He adds, trying to put a small smirk back on his face as he nudges my arm. I laugh so hard I snort a little, which only makes him laugh more. A wave of peace takes over me, the kind that only he brings me when life is hard.

“As long as you tell them I taught you everything you know when you get to the NHL Books!”

Liam comes up from behind me.

“Come on, Ains. We need to get back to the house to finish packing.”

My family always calls me Lee, but for some reason, Liam wanted to call me Ains. I think it’s because his name starts with Li, and Lee was too close to his name. He wanted something that was just his.

Middle child thing is what my mom called it.

I look over at Shawn as my eyes mist over. How do I say goodbye to my first best friend? My neighbor who waves to me every morning and plays with me at the park every evening. The one that always had me laughing after a fight with my sister.

My heart picks up its pace as it soaks in that I will live a completely different life 24 hours from now. My panic is interrupted by a soft whisper.

“I’ll miss you, Lee.”

Breathe, Lee. This isn’t goodbye , this is ‘ see you in a few months’ . So, I force a bright smile on my face and say, “I’ll miss you more, Shawn. See you around; I’ll be back.”

He takes a big gulp, and I see his eyes gloss over, which causes my lower lip to quiver. He clears his throat as he sees me trying to keep myself together.

“Yeah, see you around. Hey, and maybe I’ll get to make my way up there. Canada has some great hockey!”

My head picks up with newfound hope.

“Yes! That would be so fun! Kick butt and before you know it, you’ll be playing for the Toronto Blades.”

He places his hands on my flower crown, securing it in place before I turn to go meet up with my brother and sister. His clammy hand gently touches my shoulder, and I stop, slowly turning back to meet his eyes. One tear has made its way down his cheek as he chokes out.

“You’ve been the best friend I could’ve ever had, Lee. Never stop adding sunshine into the lives of everyone you meet. Sometimes, it’s the only sunshine they will get.”

My eyes pool with tears, slowly rolling down my cheeks, and I quickly wipe them away, plastering another painted-on smile.

“Don’t you worry, I’m going to walk around passing out sunscreen to everyone because I’m going to burn them with all the sunshine I give out!”

He lets a small chuckle leave him, leaning closer to me.

“Bye, Lee. Love ya all the way to the Sun.”

He holds out a pinky towards me. I hook mine around his smallest finger.

“Love ya all the way to the Moon.”

We both lean in and kiss our thumbs on either side of our pinky promise. Then I pull him in for a hug so hard it feels like we won’t have to actually let go.