white and blue , before darting off in a new pursuit . There were hundreds to find among thousands of graves in this patriotic town . He loved the pursuit .
Technically , it was two cemeteries , divided by a thin fence that didn ’ t fully stretch the distance between them . The side they entered was newer , started in the mid 1800s with dignified plots set in even lines . If you looked closely , you ’ d see that some of the headstones repeated as if selected off the rack of available designs . It made the grounds feel neater , even if there were occasional empty beer cans and single-serving liquor bottles scattered in the shadows .
The older cemetery hearkened to Newport ’ s colonial past with headstones jutting out at angles more ragged than the boy ’ s milk teeth . Usually , the pair stayed in the newer side , somewhat contained by the orderly rows . Whenever the boy managed to find the gap in the fence and squirm across the divide , he ran wild , heedless of small stones and ruts in the ground , all flags forgotten . It was best to avoid the haggard field .
That evening , nothing went as planned . Early in their journey the boy veered from his normal path and through the fence into the older cemetery . The mother , who ran 5Ks in better times , couldn ’ t quite catch him , despite his little legs . He ran off , curls trailing behind him as he screamed and giggled in wicked delight .
Julie Zack is a writer and mom currently living in Rhode Island . Her work has been published in HuffPost , The Navy Times , Newport Life Magazine and more . Julie spends her leisure time taking her two sons on adventures around New England .
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