“Good evening,” I said. “It’s still empty,” she said, noticing where I was looking. She unzipped it to show me the empty space. It still looked small. “Good evening,” I said again. She smiled. “Good evening. Thank you for inviting me on a hayride.” She lay back and I lay back next to her. The wagon swayed, and the first insects of the evening began to whir and hum. “It’s not hay, though, is it?” “No.” “Bark?” “Arf, arf,” I said. She laughed and rolled closer to me. “This is definitely the loveliest part of my day.”
