A/N: For my dear friend Mandy as a belated birthday present. Happy thirteenth and remember we all love you!
Oh, and as a notice to any of my readers, I won't be posting any new stories under Casa Bonita Rocks My Socks for a while. I need a fresh start, so to speak- I've been through a lot and need a little change of pace.
They were bright red.
Massie fell in love with them instantly. The sunny, happy, color seems to say, 'Look at me. Aren't I pretty?' Nothing more, nothing less. The reflected luster on top reminded Massie of her mother's tubes of lip gloss- sparkly and Not To Be Touched.
Looked at the dull, wet pavement. Splashed in the grey puddles, a fine mist of rain wetting her hair and soaking her wool coat.
For five year old Massie, there was no greater joy than to splash in puddles on a cold, rainy day, all alone.
But she soon discovered a greater joy- finding a companion.
"Look!" said the boy, flashing a toothy smile underneath the brim of a New York Yankees cap, "His name is Earl." He shoved the slimy brown toad under Massie's nose.
"Ewww!" She squealed and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Earl's not scary. He likes you." The toad made a sound that could only be described as a harrumph. "Just touch him. He won't bite or nothin', I promise."
Hesitantly, she reached out and jabbed him with her index finger, shrieking and pulling back the second her fingertip touched his bumpy brown skin.
"Here." The boy put the toad down on the slippery sidewalk, water running in a rainbow of colors from washed away chalk drawings. "He can do tricks too."
He pulled a penny out of his pocket, "Catch, Earl."
The toad harrumphed and rolled over on its back.
Massie poked its white underside. Earl did not move. "I think he's…..dead."
The boy's lower lip trembled and Massie felt a surge of guilt. "Here." She handed him a cherry lollipop. "You wanna have this?"
He took it and popped it in his mouth, his tongue already turning bright red. "Thanks."
Two pairs of galoshes. One red, the other blue. Together, purple. A dead toad and a cherry lollipop. Splashing in puddles; a new friend. A single moment of joy which Massie would never forget.