Comfort And Joy

“Hey, we just got into town yesterday. We’ve barely settled in.”

“And today here you are out and about, enjoying our frosty air.” She put a hand on his arm to stop him. “I can see you’re already looking for an excuse to get out of the house.”

She had him there.

“Do you want to talk?”

“What’s this we’re doing?”

“I mean, about your homecoming.”

“No.” With Lydia Marshall’s old home in sight, he picked up the pace.

“So what about the Turkey Trot?” Olivia asked. Gabriel remembered that as a girl she’d been tenacious.

“Five K, you say?” He tamped down his frustration. Aimed for a reasonable tone of voice. “The twins are little, and we don’t have a wagon or bikes.” He didn’t want to sound surly, given her enthusiasm for the event, but he didn’t feel ready to plunge into the fishbowl that was small-town life, either.

“I believe there’s still a Radio Flyer wagon in my garage,” she replied, as if she wasn’t in the least deterred by his excuse. “I’ll bring it with me the day after tomorrow, and you can pull the boys in it.”

He’d learned to mistrust seemingly generous offers. “Thanks, but—”

“It’s the same wagon we used when we tried for the speed record down Packard Hill.”

“Good God.” The memory jolted him. “I still have the scars on my knees and elbows.” He remembered how frightened he’d been, not because of his own injuries, but at the possibility that she’d be as badly hurt.

“Luckily, I don’t have any reminders of my concussion.”

“And you want me to put my boys in that demon wagon?”

“The parade route’s flat. I promise,” she said, her eyes sparkling, as if she knew he was running out of excuses. “And I’ll introduce the boys to any of their classmates we meet on the way. So Monday won’t seem like a sea of strange faces.” She smiled. A radiant smile. “In front of City Hall, Friday, at one?”

He didn’t know what persuaded him. That smile, or the persistent memory of her earlier fearlessness. Of her tenacity. Her aunt’s generosity. His lost innocence and childish optimism.

“Sure,” he said, before he could figure out what he actually might be getting himself into.

CHAPTER THREE

THE OLD RED RADIO FLYER at her side, Olivia stood in front of City Hall amid a crush of Turkey Trot racers performing their warm-up stretches, and neighbors jovially complaining to one another about how they’d overeaten the day before. She wondered if Gabriel would show. Had her excitement at seeing him again—especially later, alone—come across as unprofessional? Having had forty-eight hours to question her motives in asking him to join her, she almost hoped he’d decide against it. But then the twins would miss out, and she didn’t want that.

So what did she want? She’d been so unaccountably antsy the past few days that she’d be hard-pressed to give a reply.

“Olivia!” Lynn Waters, director of the community rec center, squeezed through the crowd, confidently wearing a headdress of turkey feathers and a necklace of miniature gourds. “When can we get together to begin work on the pageant?”

“Anytime.” The annual children’s winterfest pageant was one of Olivia’s favorite volunteer activities. No matter how precisely she and Lynn planned or how many times they rehearsed the kids, their charges always did something so spontaneous, so kidlike, so delightful at the performance, that no year was ever the same as the year before. And every one was memorable.

“I’m thinking of using real animals this year,” Lynn said. “Ty Mackey’s offered any or all of his.”

“Even the potbellied pig?” Olivia laughed. “Does nothing frighten you?”

“Not having enough singers frightens me. I’ve gone over the list of kids who’ve signed up already, and we’re still short on boys.”

Olivia spied Gabriel making his way through the crowd, with Justin and Jared clinging to his side. It surprised her just how pleased she was to see him. Them. “I know two more boys who might be persuaded to join us,” she said, thinking the camaraderie of the pageant might be what the twins needed to help them fit in and feel at home. “But I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

“Shall we have a planning session Sunday afternoon?”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Hi,” Gabriel said, stopping in front of them. The one syllable slid over her senses like the intro to a mournful blues ballad. His eyes said he didn’t want to be here. “I thought we might be too late.” Wishful thinking?

His sons pulled at his hands. Justin glanced sideways at Olivia through lashes as thick as his father’s, but Jared simply stared at the ground.

“Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?” Olivia asked.

“We survived,” he replied.

For a moment Lynn studied Gabriel with interest, then raised an eyebrow and shot Olivia a silent, Well?

“Where are my manners!” Olivia exclaimed. “Lynn Waters, this is Gabriel Brant. And Justin and Jared Brant. Gabriel recently moved back to Hennings. His boys are going to be in my class.”

“You’re lucky,” Lynn said to the twins. “Ms. Marshall was my daughter’s first teacher. And she’s still her favorite.”

“Is your daughter five?” Justin asked.

“My daughter’s now fifteen and in high school.” Lynn looked directly at Gabriel. “And she babysits, if you and your wife…”

“We’re not babies,” Justin said, standing tall. “And Grampa watches us when Daddy can’t.”

Olivia could see the wheels in her friend’s head spinning. Taking in this all-male scenario. But before Lynn could get the 411 on Gabriel’s marital status, Olivia frowned and cleared her throat in warning.

“Well, I’d better find my husband,” Lynn said. “He and his buddies at the Shamrock are trying to revive the lawn-mower brigade. They’ve sworn off alcohol until after their performance, so we’ll see if that improves their synchronicity. Nice to meet all of you.” She dimpled innocently at Olivia. “The wagon’s a nice touch. It makes you look so…approachable.” As if the Radio Flyer was some clever trolling device. “Bye!”

“Is that your wagon?” Justin asked, sparing Olivia the need to look at Gabriel.

“It is. Your dad and I used it when we were a bit older than you and Jared. I brought it today so that you can ride in the parade.”

“Parade? Like Mardi Gras?”

“Not quite,” she replied, suppressing a chuckle at the thought of the forthright women of Hennings baring their breasts for beads in near-freezing Turkey Trot temperatures. “But hop in. If we’re going to take part, the first thing we need to do is get ourselves over to the face-painting station.”

“Cold, wet paint on my face sounds really inviting,” Gabriel said, pulling the zipper of his windbreaker as far up as it would go.

“It’s just a dab,” Olivia said, laughing. “It’s kind of like a badge of honor, showing how tough we Hennings folks are. I’m thinking I’d like a pumpkin vine on my forehead.” She turned to the twins. “How about you?”

“Can I get Spider-Man?” Justin asked, clambering into the wagon first and then helping Jared, whose eyes, despite his silence, registered real interest.

“I don’t know if they’ll have superheroes,” Olivia replied, “but we’ll check.” She handed the wagon handle to Gabriel, who’d been listening carefully through this exchange. “How about you? Are you up for a superhero? If I recall, your favorite when you were ten was the Hulk. You told me my personal fave, She-Ra, was a wimp.”

He took control of the wagon, but didn’t exactly appear comfortable. He looked as if he didn’t want her as a tour guide, pointing out highlights of the past. What was she thinking? She was presuming upon a very slight acquaintance. Apparently, it hadn’t meant much to him then, and now it didn’t engender the same warmth and ease it did in her.