The peach-fuzz hair on his
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Wilhoite fam
skin glowed in the sun. He
covered his face with his
almost made it,” then did a
Maxwell Smart impression and
held his thumb and forefinger
an inch apart. “You just
missed it by, uh, that much.”
Six-year-old me laughed
just as I’d been laughing with
him my entire life—I laughed
because I knew he wanted me
to.
I remembered hearing
the thump-thump-thump of
footsteps in the hard sand
behind me before I turned
around and saw my mother in
her bikini running toward us.
“Good Lord, Kathy,” she said,
breathless from her sprint.
“Are you all right, baby? Oh,
honey. You’re bleeding. Let’s
natural.”
“She’s a mess.”
a bunch of times, waiting
I kissed her goose-pimply
until he could stop smiling
belly and burst into tears.
before he looked at us.
I think she knew how
Finally, he raised his
disappointed I was as she
head. “Ah, Ginger, she
walked me back to the house.
She’s got to get back up
offered as consolation, “Ya
“No, she’s not. She’s a
elbow and said he was sorry
wiped out. It happens.
all right, kid. You just …” He
great big board.”
on that board now.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
He looked at me, trying
Dad called after us. “Ginger!
She needs to get back on that
board.”
My mother waved him off,
and we never turned back. I
to make eye contact, but I
had wanted to impress my
wouldn’t look back at him,
dad that day so much, and I
until I couldn’t help it. I
wiped out. Not only that, but
had to admit, it must have
at