the sunday we met lucía

there was a recent sunday, i wore a favorite dress: rosebuds, jadeite buttons, 1930s white cotton. we walked through prospect park– a bottle of rosé swinging at my wrist, a recycled greek yogurt container full of watermelon speckled with my kitchen windowsill mint, strawberries. eventually we found s. & s., baby lucia. a red and white picnic tablecloth, yellow knit baby slippers, the sun seeping through lucia's sunhat as she napped. after we parted, t. and i found a spot in the summer grove. long strings held kites, children joined frisbee games, we mused how we should have brought the baseball and mitts my parents gave us last christmas. the sky was the color of my father's eyes in summer, pale blue with a grey cloud pierced with light.