Mary pushed her hands down on Luke’s head, squeezing her fingertips down in a drum-like rhythm. “Come on! We’ve got to get closer, I want to see the fireworks go over the bridge.”

“Oof.” He adjusted his balance and shuffled through the tightly packed audience. “Quit grabbing my hair.”

Mary grinned wildly and squeezed her legs until her heels nipped in at his ribs, “Ya!”

Luke pursed his lips and drew them to the left. “I am not a horse.”

“You’re right. You’re more like a bull. Charge!” she rocked with impatience, the movement jarring her short hair along her jaw.

He gripped her calves and edged closer still to the railing. Luke took the annoyed stares of the jostled in stride. A crazy woman was driving him, what could he do?

Mary released his hair and drew deeply of the night air, the delightful smell of spent fireworks heavy in the July heat. “Oh wow. We’re gonna be able to see everything.” when Luke didn’t answer, she continued on. “I’ve always wanted to see this. The last time we were in the back of a truck, remember? It was so weird. We were all crushed together but ..”

Luke twisted his head, trying his best to see her expression above him.

“But we couldn’t even hold hands. It was tough back then, wasn’t it? All those people looking at the sky and we still didn’t have the nerve.”

He spread his feet a little wider. “You know, you could stand. We’re at the edge. There’s no one in our way.”

Mary’s knuckles rapped on his head. “But I wanted to see everything. I want to see the stars fade to black when the big fireworks start. I want to see that moment where they both exist. It means something to me, seeing man’s creation blooming beneath God’s.”

Luke raised his arms and hooked them into her armpits. Mary protested, “Don’t put me down yet! It hasn’t even started.” Regardless, he steadily plucked her from his shoulders and rested her down beside him.

Her lip trembled and she looked at him as if she had been betrayed by being unseated. “It doesn’t feel as real down here.”

He brushed his arm up along side her own and wound them together until their hands became entangled. “It’s real.” he said quietly, having felt hushed in the sudden silence around them. The crowd had collectively ceased their jubilation, anticipating the renown finale.

“But if I can’t see both, what’s the point. I want back up there.” she pointed to above his head.

Luke reached for her other hand and held it with the same tenderness.

“You can see both.”

Mary looked at him inquisitively, “How?”

Luke lowered his head until his forehead pressed against her own. “You could look at me.”

The shower of fireworks went off in a series of rapid fire shots, creating a waterfall of white light that poured towards the dark river below. It illuminated everything and turned the glow between their lips to gold.