Bonfire

The evening was a little warm, and a little sticky. But there was a cool, pleasant breeze that didn't blow smoke in anyone's eyes. It was Miriam's first bonfire of the year - well, it wasn't hers per say. It was the first this year she'd gone to. She and Hady were in folding chairs, and Hady's young daughter was using hedge clippers to gather and strip some good long bamboo shoots for marshmallows. Bobby and Stacey, who were hosting, sat opposite, and Stacey's mother was talking to Hady's mother about how much they disliked Common Core math.

"...so now you've got all these parents who don't know what they're looking at!"

"I know, and it's so disillusioning to the kids, too. They'll find out their parents aren't perfect later, there's no need to break their worldview when they're only nine."

"I know! It's not even necessary, it's just a little mental trick most people learn on their own as they grow up and start needing to make change in their head for their cup of Starducks."

Miriam tuned them out by watching the crackling fire (which was contained in an upcycled dryer drum) listening to Bobby's stories about weird customers until she was offered a stick and the marshmallow bag. "Isn't anyone who goes into a Spencer's a little weird, though?" She asked, skewering two fat marshmallows on her stick.

"Yah, bro, sure, but a bucket of ketchup?"

"I mean.....you and Cheddar Wizzy."

"Check mate, Mimsy."

"Hey where's Bradley? I thought you two would ride together, isn't he coming?"

"Oh, nah, he couldn't make it. Lots of essays to get through. I'd guess that right now, he's either grading, or winding down from grading."

"Hey - Isn't bamboo invasive?" Hady asked, turning the shoot over in her hand.

Stacey answered her, "It is! But it makes great skewers. It's sturdy, but nice and bendy, and the green ones don't catch on fire as easily. Speaking of skewers, you know that it grows so fast that it's said to have been used as a method of slow and painful execution in East and South Asia? There's no historical evidence to back it up, though, just anecdotes- Oh, Mir! Your marshmallow's on fire!"

"I know! I like it that way."

Hady rolled her eyes, "She has this whole thing about the perfect marshmallow."

"It's an art, Hadassah." Miriam sniffed, carefully sliding the crispy confection onto a graham cracker and blanketing a piece of chocolate in it. "The trick is, you want it to melt in the middle without catching on fire early. Too long, and it wants to fall off. You have to get it to catch on fire at just the right moment for it to be crispy and caramelized on the outside, and hot and squishy on the inside."

"I know there's a dirty joke in there somewhere." Bobby lowered his glasses as Stacy punched him in the shoulder. "You're a dirty joke."

"You were right, Stacey, this is a really good stick." Miriam said, seeming to have ignored the exchange. "It's so long and thick. Hefty, even."

"And hard." Hady supplied with a grin and a nudge.

Bobby watched the next marshmallow start to cook and couldn't resist. "Your tip's swelling up, too."

Caught completely by surprise, Miriam burst into raucous laughter. "I didn't think it could get better, but it did!" She was too busy laughing to make her next s'more, so Hady made it for her, this time with a peanut butter cup.

"Oo! Oh, oh what's this?"

"Reeses s'more," Hady said around a bite of her own.

"Good, right? They're Bobby's favorite. I never would've thought of it, but it turns out you can put any kind of candy in a s'more."

"You should try Twix, dudes."

"Sounds like it negates the need for a graham cracker."

Bobby shrugged. "No one needs any part of a s'more, babe, make 'em how you like 'em. Enjooooy it!" And he crammed a handful of melted marshmallow and peanut butter in his mouth.

"That's so wise..." Stacey sighed.

Miriam and Hady just grinned at each other.