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The playground was still wet from the morning rain, the black rubber beneath the swings shining in patches and the grass around the edges dark enough to soak the toes of their shoes if they strayed too far from the path. Andrea had been on the climbing frame for less than a minute before she had worked her way to the highest platform, one hand wrapped around the rail while she leaned over to see where Eimear and Kayleigh had gone. Eimear was climbing the steps beneath her at an unhurried pace. Kayleigh had stopped at the bottom of the rope ladder, studying it with both hands already curled around the lowest knot, as though she wanted to understand exactly what it would do before trusting her weight to it.
Andrea leaned farther over the rail. “Come up this way, Kayleigh. It’s good.” Kayleigh looked up at her, then down at the rope again. She put one foot against the first knot and pulled herself a little higher. The rope shifted beneath her and she stopped, gripping tighter. Andrea stayed where she was. Eimear reached the platform, glanced down and moved away from the opening so there would be plenty of room when Kayleigh reached the top. Kayleigh tried another step, discovered that the rope moved less if she kept her body close to it, and climbed again. By the time she hauled herself over the top edge she was pink-cheeked and serious, but the seriousness broke almost immediately into a pleased little smile.
“I did it,” she said, looking first at Andrea and then Eimear.
“You did,” Andrea said, already moving toward the slide.
The three of them squeezed along the platform together, shoulders bumping lightly as they crossed. Andrea dropped onto the slide first and flew down with her coat flaring behind her, landing at the bottom with enough speed to make her run several steps before she could stop. Eimear followed more neatly, sitting straight and keeping her feet together. Kayleigh watched them both before sitting down herself. She held the sides for the first foot of the descent, then let go. The slide carried her faster than she expected and she reached the bottom with a startled laugh, boots hitting the rubber hard as she landed.
Andrea had already turned back toward the ladder. “Again.”
Kayleigh ran after her without thinking about whether she was supposed to. That was becoming easier. During the first weeks of knowing them she had sometimes stood at the edge of whatever Andrea and Eimear were doing and waited for one of them to notice. They always did, but the waiting had remained. Today it was already beginning to disappear. Andrea scrambled up the normal ladder this time, Eimear took the steps, and Kayleigh went back to the rope because she knew now that she could manage it. She climbed more quickly, reaching the platform just after Andrea, and when all three of them went down the slide again Kayleigh did not hold the sides at all.
They abandoned the slide for the bars, then abandoned the bars for a line of low stepping posts set around the side of the playground. Andrea jumped from one to another with her arms spread wide, landing crookedly on the second and recovering without stepping down. Eimear followed with smaller, careful jumps. Kayleigh watched the distance between the first two posts and stepped rather than jumped, both arms lifted for balance. Andrea waited on the third one until Kayleigh reached the second. She did not tell her to hurry. She merely grinned across the gap and jumped onward.
Kayleigh followed them around the curve. By the fourth post she was jumping too. Her first jump was hardly more than a long step, but she landed with both feet firmly on the wood. Her second was wider. The third made her wobble enough that Andrea reached a hand toward her, though Kayleigh caught herself before needing it. She straightened with a quick breath, looked at Andrea’s outstretched hand, then smiled and jumped to the next post.
At the end Andrea leapt down and ran for the swings. Kayleigh came after her, with Eimear close behind. Three empty swings hung beside one another, their chains dripping tiny beads of water. Andrea chose the middle. Eimear took the left and Kayleigh the right. For a while they concentrated on getting themselves moving, feet scraping, knees bending, each swing finding a different rhythm. Andrea rose highest first. Kayleigh watched what she was doing and copied her, leaning back when her legs went forward and folding herself in as she swung back.
“That’s it,” Andrea said as Kayleigh’s swing climbed.
Kayleigh tried harder. The ground dropped away beneath her for an instant and her stomach gave a little jump. She laughed and did it again. Soon she was nearly as high as Andrea, the two of them moving forward at slightly different times while Eimear built her own slower rhythm beside them. Kayleigh’s hair lifted from her forehead each time she reached the top. She stopped looking sideways to copy Andrea and simply swung, pumping her legs harder because she liked the rush of climbing and the soft floating pause before gravity brought her back.
They stayed until their legs tired. Andrea dragged her shoes through the rubber to stop, and Eimear did the same. Kayleigh let herself sway a little longer. When she finally stepped off, she pushed the empty swing away from her and watched it travel forward once before turning toward the climbing frame again.
Andrea had found a low horizontal bar and was hanging beneath it with both knees bent. Eimear stood beside her counting. Kayleigh came closer just as Andrea dropped down.
“Ten,” Eimear said.
Andrea rubbed her palms together. Kayleigh looked up at the bar. It was low enough that she could reach it without jumping. She wrapped both hands around it and glanced toward Andrea. Andrea stepped beside her, but did not touch her. Kayleigh lifted her feet.
Her arms immediately took all her weight. She gave a little gasp, more surprise than fear, and tightened her grip. Eimear began counting. “One, two, three…” Kayleigh’s legs swung gently beneath her. At five she looked strained; at seven she was smiling; at nine her elbows were beginning to tremble. Eimear reached ten and Kayleigh held on for one more second before dropping to the ground.
“Ten,” Kayleigh said, staring at her hands.
“And nearly eleven,” Andrea said.
Kayleigh’s smile spread. “I’ll get eleven next time.”
Andrea nodded as though that were settled, then ran beneath the climbing frame and ducked through the little tunnel built into its base. Kayleigh went after her. The tunnel was barely long enough to deserve the name, but once Andrea crawled through it became a hiding place, then the entrance to something only the three of them understood. Eimear came through after Kayleigh and they emerged on the other side one behind another, only for Andrea to turn and crawl straight back through again.
Kayleigh laughed and followed. This time she came out first. She pushed herself upright and ran around the side of the frame before Andrea could catch up. Andrea changed direction and came after her. Eimear joined them without asking what the game was, because there was no real game yet, only running and choosing different paths around the equipment.
Kayleigh darted beneath the bridge. Andrea went over it. They met at the far side, both changing direction at once. Kayleigh squealed with laughter and ran for the steps, taking them quickly enough that she missed one and had to catch the rail. She recovered and kept going. Andrea came up the ladder opposite her. Eimear climbed behind them, smiling as they crossed paths on the platform and immediately turned back.
Kayleigh had stopped worrying about where she ought to stand. She moved wherever there was space. If Andrea climbed one way, Kayleigh might follow or choose another. If Eimear went toward the slide, Kayleigh went with her because she wanted to, not because she was afraid of being left behind. Every time she came around the side of the frame the other two were still there, ready for whatever she did next.
They came down to the ground again and broke into another run. Andrea reached the little bridge first and scrambled over it. Kayleigh was close behind, laughing hard now, trying to catch up while Eimear followed along the lower path. Andrea jumped from the last step and took off toward the stepping posts.
Kayleigh ran after her. “Andi, wait!”
Andrea stopped.The word had come out cleanly and brightly, shaped by nothing except speed and excitement. Kayleigh stopped too, still breathing hard, her face open from laughing. For a brief second the three of them were still. Andrea looked back at her. Eimear looked from Kayleigh to Andrea.
Kayleigh’s smile faltered only a tiny bit as she realised she had said something different. Andrea’s face brightened. Eimear’s did too.
Andrea turned and ran again. Kayleigh chased her. “Andi!” Andrea looked over her shoulder, grinning, and ran faster. Eimear came after both of them.
They reached the stepping posts in a rush. Andrea jumped onto the first and Kayleigh climbed onto the one beside her. Eimear took another route around the outside. Kayleigh stretched for the next post, made the jump and landed with her arms pinwheeling before she found her balance. Andrea reached the end first, but instead of running on she waited while Kayleigh made the last two jumps.
Kayleigh landed beside her. “Come on, Andi.”
They ran for the slide.
The name stayed there without needing anything done to it. Kayleigh used it again a few minutes later when Andrea disappeared behind the climbing frame, then once more when she wanted her to look at something she had discovered beneath the platform. Each time Andrea turned naturally, as though she had been answering to it much longer than an afternoon. Eimear used it once too, simply calling Andrea back when she went toward the wrong side of the frame. Andrea answered her just as easily and then all three carried on.
They climbed the rope ladder again, but this time Kayleigh went first. Her feet found the knots more confidently and she reached the top without stopping. Andrea came behind her while Eimear used the steps. Kayleigh sat at the entrance to the slide, waiting until they were both beside her, then pushed off and shot down. Andrea followed. Eimear came last. At the bottom Kayleigh turned immediately and ran back for another go.
They moved on to a little spring rider near the fence, its painted sides scratched pale in places. Andrea climbed onto it first and wrapped both hands around the handles. Kayleigh and Eimear stood behind her and pushed. The spring rocked forward, then snapped back, and Andrea’s feet lifted clear of the ground. Kayleigh pushed harder and Andrea bounced higher, laughing so much that her grip began to slip.
Kayleigh grabbed the back of the rider to steady it. “Hold on, Andi.”
Andrea tightened her hands and Kayleigh pushed again.
When Andrea climbed off, Kayleigh took her place. She sat carefully at first, boots tucked against the little footrests, but as soon as Andrea and Eimear began pushing she leaned forward eagerly.
“More.”
They pushed harder.
Kayleigh bounced backward, then forward again, her hair falling into her face. She laughed and called for more until the spring squeaked with every movement. Andrea put both hands against the back and pushed with all the strength she had. Eimear joined her from the side. Kayleigh rocked so far that she gave a delighted shriek and clung to the handles, laughing as the rider sprang upright again.
When she got off she was slightly dizzy. She stood with one hand on the rider, blinking at the ground until it settled, then immediately looked toward the swings.
“Can we go again?”
Andrea ran.
Kayleigh ran with her.
They took the same three swings, though this time Kayleigh sat in the middle. Andrea began pushing herself before Kayleigh had properly settled, but Kayleigh soon caught up. Eimear swung beside them, and for a while they were quiet because swinging took enough attention on its own. Their coats moved with the air and the chains creaked in three different rhythms.
Kayleigh pushed higher than before.
Andrea looked across at her.
Kayleigh laughed.
“Andi, look!”
Andrea looked, and Kayleigh kicked her legs forward as hard as she could, rising until the frame seemed briefly below her feet and the pale sky filled most of her view. She came backward with another burst of laughter. Andrea began trying to match her height. Kayleigh saw and pushed harder, not as a competition she had to win, only because Andrea was doing it too and it felt good to move alongside her.
Eventually Eimear slowed herself and stepped off. Kayleigh and Andrea followed. Kayleigh’s legs felt strange after the swinging, light and unsteady for the first few steps. She walked with her arms spread until the feeling passed. Andrea did the same beside her, and without anyone deciding to, all three began walking along the low wooden border around the play area as though it were a balance beam.
Eimear went first. Kayleigh followed. Andrea came last.
Kayleigh kept her eyes on Eimear’s shoes at first. The wooden edge was narrow and damp in places. She placed one foot carefully ahead of the other. Halfway around she looked back and saw Andrea directly behind her, arms out, moving just as carefully.
Kayleigh smiled. “Come on, Andi.”
Andrea smiled back.
Kayleigh turned forward again and kept walking.
At the corner the wood bent sharply. Eimear stepped down and climbed back on after the turn. Kayleigh tried to stay on, twisting her feet sideways, and managed it. Andrea copied her. Kayleigh reached the straight section and began moving faster, her arms still stretched wide. The careful concentration remained on her face, but beneath it was a growing ease that had not been there when they first arrived.
She reached the end and jumped down.
Andrea jumped after her.
Eimear landed beside them.
The three girls ran back toward the climbing frame.
By then Kayleigh was often the first one there. She climbed without waiting to see which route Andrea and Eimear chose. At the top she leaned over the rail and called down to them, eager for them to hurry. When Andrea appeared from the ladder Kayleigh moved over automatically to make space. When Eimear came from the other side Kayleigh reached out and caught her sleeve for a second as she stepped onto the platform.
They sat together at the top to get their breath back. The rain had left drops along the edge of the rail, and Kayleigh ran one finger through them, pushing them into a single little trail. Andrea sat beside her with one knee drawn up. Eimear leaned back against the bars.
For a little while none of them spoke. They could hear other children farther across the playground, the slow squeak of an empty swing and the muffled sound of adults talking near the benches.
Kayleigh looked toward the rope ladder.
“I’m doing that again.”
She stood before either of them answered.
Andrea followed her.
Kayleigh climbed down the rope this time instead of up, finding the knots with her feet while she looked beneath herself. Halfway down she hesitated, then heard Andrea moving above her. She kept going. When her feet reached the ground she looked upward, pleased.
“Andi, come down.”
Andrea climbed after her.
Kayleigh waited until she landed.
Then they were running again.
The afternoon settled into that rhythm: running, climbing, stopping only long enough to choose something else, then running again. Kayleigh called Andrea Andi whenever she needed her attention, the nickname growing more natural each time. Eimear began using it too. Andrea never paused now. Her head simply turned when either of them called.
Kayleigh found eleven seconds on the hanging bar. Eimear counted while Andrea stood beside her. At eleven Kayleigh dropped with a thud and shook both aching hands, beaming. She did not need anyone to tell her she had done better. She knew.
“I got eleven.”
Andrea nodded. “You did.”
Kayleigh looked toward the bar again, already considering twelve, but Andrea had spotted the slide and Kayleigh followed.
By the time the adults began gathering coats and bags, the girls had mud on their shoes and damp marks on their knees, and the cold was beginning to creep back in now that they were no longer running. Andrea’s coat was still where she had left it, half sliding from the bench with one sleeve nearly touching the ground. Kayleigh picked it up along with her own and held it out toward her. “Andi, your coat.” Andrea came over at once and took it while Kayleigh pulled on hers, straightening the sleeves carefully at her wrists. Eimear was already zipped up and ready beside them. Andrea shoved one arm into her coat, missed the sleeve completely and ended up with her hand caught somewhere inside the lining, so Kayleigh caught the cuff and held it open until Andrea’s fingers finally appeared. Andrea wriggled the rest of the way into it, and the three of them headed away from the playground together.
Andrea had only gone a few steps along the path when something off to the side caught her attention and she wandered toward it, slowing to peer down at the ground. Kayleigh kept walking for another pace before calling, bright and easy, “Andi!” Andrea turned immediately. Kayleigh smiled and pointed back toward where they were meant to be going, and Andrea came running back to them, falling into step beside her as Eimear moved closer on the other side. They carried on together, their shoes scuffing over the damp path, Kayleigh between them for a little while before she suddenly ran ahead, full of the same energy that had carried her through the afternoon. A few yards on she turned around while still moving, checking that they were coming, and saw Andrea and Eimear following right behind her. Kayleigh faced forward again and kept going.