The dishes can wait. It is August, the evening has finally let go of the heat, and she is on the back step humming a tune nobody on the street can name. Somewhere in the second verse it stops being humming.
The porch light does not come on until the song is finished. The moths have made their peace with it.
She believes she only sings when no one is listening. The whole block is listening and not one of them minds. The church choir alto, the aunt who will not surrender the karaoke mic, these are her hours. The Tide Pool keeps the slow end of summer for her.
Pods swim together, eat together, and show up at each other's birthdays with wet hair, and this is the shirt you buy in two. The Comfort Colors 6014 is a heavyweight 6.1 oz long sleeve in 100% USA-grown ring-spun cotton, garment-dyed for that faded, sea-worn color that looks like it has already been on a few tides. A relaxed unisex cut and rib cuffs keep it cozy for the first cold lake walk of the year (the one nobody else wanted to take). It gets softer every wash, which is more than the ocean promises. Mermaid Dayz made it for the one who holds your tow-float and your secrets.