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No one knew nor saw when the boat lifted itself out of the water and onto the sheet of ice, rust screeching against the thick layer, and the ice beneath it cracking into shreds and slush.
The first time Hayden heard the ice on Lake Michigan c***k, she was seven. Her fathers had finished a minor legal battle with her elementary school to change her paperwork to her proper gender and her father, Shane, took her to empty Bradford Beach at five in the morning to celebrate their victory. Being woken up so early didn’t bother Hayden at that age. Hayden and Shane crouched down by the edge of the sand where the frost turned to ice, Hayden tucked between his knees to keep her warm, and he said—
“Listen.”
Beneath the melting snow, underneath the black-blue water and seagulls crooning o
