First Born

by Mary Cassidy

Darien smiles. Inside, the baby dances, her tiny feet pressed against his fingers. He whispers to her of secret things – things a boy will teach his sister: which stones to skip, which rocks to climb and how to scoop your hands to capture jumping crawlies. She kicks his hand, and the laughter bubbles up inside him. Momma smiles, her joy wide as the sky. He wants to hold it – this moment with momma intent on him; her belly filled with baby.

6S

Mary Cassidy is a sometimes writer living in Vermont with her husband and two children. This is her first six.