Huck's Little Adventure
The back screen door swung open. Huck bounded from his house like it was a prison break.
“Don’t stay out all night,” the lovely Mrs. Barilla yelled from the back door.
“Stop!” screamed a small but distinct chirp of a voice. “Wait for me!”
Ellie, a sweet strawberry blonde girl, darted from behind her mother’s legs and into the backyard. She tried to catch up to Huck, but her little legs couldn’t match his panicked pace as he vanished around the corner.
“It’s not fair, Mom.” Ellie pouted. “He never lets me go with him.”
“Let him have his fun.” Mrs. Barilla laid her hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll even give you more dessert.”
“With extra whipped cream?”
“Of course, dear,” her mother replied.
Ellie smiled and headed back inside.
When Huck heard the door slam shut, he stopped to look back — no adults, no kids, no nothin’. His adventure had officially begun.
The sun was no longer climbing, but there was still plenty of light left before the town grew still. Uncertain of which road to take, he swiveled his head in all directions. Late fall made the woods even more appealing. But why not start with a quiet stroll through the old grass alleyway that cut through the neighborhood?
Huck wasn’t the type to waste time making decisions. If it felt right at the moment, that was good enough for him. And the old grass alleyway felt right.
Huck loved this familiar walk. He could almost smell the horses that once trotted down this road. Now, it was a grassy suburban lane dividing the backyards of houses that lined both sides of the alleyway. The neighborhood kids loved it as much as Huck did. It was a safe passage from one side of the neighborhood to the next. Since the property lines were fuzzy, no adults berated you for cutting through, making the conditions ripe for eavesdropping.
One morning, he saw Mrs. Minnini swinging a broom at a bat hanging from her gutter. The bat played dead but flew off when she tried to sweep it off her deck. She was so frazzled she had to sit down — and Huck was so disappointed he had to run off. He would have given anything to play with that bat.
Another time, he saw Mr. Cavanaugh kissing Mrs. Cavanaugh on the back porch. As uptight as they were, obsessing over flower beds and grass lines, this was a confusing sight and of no interest to Huck.
Even though he never had issues crossing through these backyards, Huck still prowled like it was a secret mission. Ellie, not so much. You could hear her barreling like a thunderstorm a mile away. The gracious adults kindly labeled her hyper. If she had followed Huck now, he would not have been able to enjoy the first highlight of the day, watching safely through Mr. Knox’s white picket fence.
