“Katy, do you want me to walk with you and the kids to the hot chocolate booth?” Kasen asked. “I’m supposed to meet my mom and dad there anyway.”
“That would be a lifesaver. Thanks.”
Suddenly, Rosie looked up from her mother’s shoulder and asked Will in a groggy voice, “Does it hurt?”
Will wore ahuhexpression for a moment until he registered the little girl peering at his hand.
“Rosie!” Katy’s face reddened, but Will quickly offered reassurance.
“It’s alright.” He held out his scarred palm to Rosie. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. See?” He ran the fingers of his left hand roughly over the right, poking and prodding at the raised tissue. “I had an accident a long time ago, but it’s all better now, even though my hand looks a little different from most people’s.” He made a fist before flexing and stretching his fingers. “It’s okay if you want to touch it. Sometimes it’s less scary that way.”
I doubted many three-year-olds would take him up on that offer, but Rosie was a baller. She reached out and traced the lines across his palm with her stubby pointer. Then she pushed against the stump of his pinky. Not to be outdone, Braxton wiggled for Kasen to lean him over so he could run his tiny finger over Will’s as well.
“This is okay,” Rosie declared. “It doesn’t look very nice, but it’s okay.”
Will nodded seriously. “That’s what I tell myself.”
Satisfied, Rosie turned to me. “Sorry I pushed.”
“It’s alright. I know you were excited and didn’t mean to. It makes me feel better you said sorry, though.”
“Come on, baby.” Katy seemed shocked by Rosie’s apology. “Let’s go get the hot chocolate.”
“With Sen?”
“Yeah. I’m coming,” Kasen said with a smile.
Once they were out of earshot, I patted Will’s shoulder. “That was impressive.”
“Meh. I’ve gotten used to people staring. And kids are always no BS, aren’t they?”
“They absolutely are.” I laughed, thinking of the pieces in my jewelry box Connor and Scarlett had calledhideous. “C’mon. We should go check out the other vendor booths. Grab a peppermint cream donut. I remember them being amazing. You probably shouldn’t do the Ferris wheel with your concussion, but I’d like to get some footage of it for b-roll.”
We turned to walk in the other direction and ran into Marley and James, their volunteer shift complete. Marley caught sight of Kasen, Katy, and the kids drinking hot chocolate and looked from them to me and back again, raising her eyebrows.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I mouthed.
She shrugged and smiled.
Chapter twenty-four
Will
I’d never been to anything like the Holiday Hoopla. Maureen and I walked the length of the event, which extended from the business district to the town’s main park. Intermittently, we held hands, but mostly she needed hers to hold the phone steady as she filmed everything she saw.
We stopped to get donuts and hot chocolate. We played a beanbag toss game to benefit the Rotary Club and entered a raffle to support the local Little League. Several bands played along the park’s long walking trail, and a group dressed in Victorian garb strolled past us singing Christmas carols. There was a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, and a hay bale maze decorated with lights in the shape of stars. The PTSA for theelementary school had a craft booth set up, and kids laughed as they used Mod Podge and tissue paper to make colorful mason jar candle holders.
Underneath the streetlamps, connected by lit tinsel garland, tables displayed handmade ornaments and crafts for sale. The pace of movement along the trails and sidewalks remained glacial, not only because the last of the snow on the ground was melting but because people kept stopping to wish their neighbors happy holidays.
Maureen paused often to chat with carnival-goers—some she seemed to know well and others she didn’t—pulling out the little mic attachment from her purse to interview anyone willing to speak on camera. She asked about their style, the holidays, fashion, Coleman Creek, and whatever else seemed natural.
I enjoyed watching her work and taking part in the festive atmosphere.
I hoped that was what I was, too—a part of it. Not just on the periphery. Not just in Maureen’s life because of happenstance. If I hadn’t fallen, I would have been back in Seattle by now, and I doubted we’d have gotten as far as we had this past week. But however I’d arrived here, it was exactly where I wanted to be.
My thoughts kept going back to what Katy’s very wise three-year-old had said.
It doesn’t look very nice, but it’s okay.
