The lights come up in the park

We brought the puppy down to the music last night, its first time out in a crowd. The evening came in misty off the lake, and we found a patch of grass with a blanket and a lantern and settled in.

There is a cover band on the little stage on Thursday nights through the summer, and the whole town turns out for it. As the dusk came down the fairy lights strung through the maples came up, and the park went from an ordinary green to something out of a dream.

Off to one side the kids ran the playground until it was too dark to see, every swing and slide and ladder of it. On a blanket near ours a knot of children traded Pokémon cards by lantern light, heads together, working out the deals. Down at the water the fishermen came and went from the marina, in from a long evening out or heading for one, the way they always do.

It was one of those nights that does not need anything added to it. The mist, the lights, the music, the town enjoying each other’s company. We sat with the puppy between us and let it happen.