The Madison Review

"Wonder Twins"

by Jennifer Bryan

Boy in the Green Trunks takes me around the pier.  The lights on the boardwalk filter through the wooden slats.  The water is calm and silvery.  The moon a thin crescent.  He takes my hand as we step over driftwood and through slimy seaweed washed onto shore, I've forgotten shoes, and if I step on glass and cut my foot I'll be in trouble.  I try banishing those Jessie thoughts and be Jessica instead, the fearless girl who sneaks out of the house and I realize Boy in the Green Trunks is holding my hand and I've never held a boy's hand.  My cousin Squirrel doesn't count. 

the madison review, Volume 27, Number 2, Spring 2006

Cover Art: Kelly Doering