Fall Afternoon (Blogophilia 48.9)
It took fifteen minutes to find a parking space. The wind was cold against Emily's face as Kristy undid the buckles of the seat. With a tug, the pink jacket untangled and the little redheaded child tumbled to the ground, but she wasn't one of those whiny kids. She immediately bounced up and brushed the rough sand from her knees and inspected her tights. No tears, good. As she began to look around, the huge granite rock smiled at her over the tops of the trees with their red and yellow leaves. Emily excitedly pointed at it. "Ooh, look at the big rock, Daddy." "Yes, Sweetie. That's Stone Mountain." "Can you climb up to the top?" "Yes, you can and maybe we will another day. We're doing something else today." "But I want to climb to the top!" Her face flushed. Jimmy knelt down to her level and in a quiet voice he said: "If you act like that, we'll go home and you won't see...