Page 29 of Wish You Faith

“Are you coming with us or not?” Rosie’s words hung in the air.

“What?” Evan turned to find Rosie flanked by Daryn and someone else.

“Daydreaming again?” Rosie chuckled. “You have that faraway look in your eyes.”

“I was thinking about life and such.”

“Oh?” Rosie started walking. “The cafeteria is this way. It’s not far. I think we can see the garden lights if we can get a table by the windows.”

“Feel free to join us,” Daryn said.

Of course Evan wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to sit next to Rosie at dinner.

However, he was thinking beyond that to the campfire night. After the evening lighting event was over, Evan would like to give Rosie a ride home to her house. He’d rather not drive the delivery truck at that juncture.

Small sacrifices required.

He decided to skip dinner at SSLR so that he could take the delivery truck back to the tree farm and pick up his own vehicle. He grabbed a sandwich at a fast food drive-through located between Tybee Island and Christmastown Tree Farm and finished it before he reached the tree farm garage.

When he returned to SSLR an hour later, Tybee Island was washed in twilight. He entered the dining room, looking for Rosie. He felt anxious when he didn’t see her, but then he heard a familiar laughter. He followed it until he reached a round table.

Rosie was wiping her eyes with a paper napkin, laughing the entire time. Lorenzo was talking the entire time in a deadpan tone. Sitting next to him, his wife only smiled. Perhaps she had heard the same joke before.

“You should do stand-up comedy.” Rosie wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh, my jaw hurts from laughing too much.”

Lorenzo saw Evan first. “Grab a chair. We’re still eating desserts.”

Daryn got up. “I’m leaving. Setting up the fire pit for the s’mores outside. You can take my seat.”

“Thanks.” Evan sat down in Daryn’s chair, which was next to Lorenzo, but across the table from Rosie.

Rosie looked up. “Hey, you’re back. How’s traffic?”

“Rush hour here isn’t as bad as Seattle. I can manage.” Evan didn’t say that he was worried he couldn’t get back soon enough to prevent Daryn from spending more time with Rosie.

“Is Seattle traffic bad?”

“Downtown. Lots of tourists.”

“Like Savannah. But then again, traffic here is not as bad as it is in Atlanta.”

“I’ve driven through the metro area,” Evan said.

“Christmastown is expanding to Atlanta, but I don’t think any one of us wants to move there,” Lorenzo said.

“Speak for yourself.” Rosie drank some water.

“You mean you’d move to Atlanta if Cyrus or Amy asked you?” Lorenzo’s eyes widened.

So did Evan’s. He was still getting to know Rosie, and had no idea what she would do after her mother passed away. Her mother’s terminal cancer was such a sensitive topic that Evan dared not even ask what would come afterwards.

All he knew was that the road would be long and hard, and he wanted to be there for her.

“I meant that just because you and I love Savannah and would stay here, it doesn’t mean that other Christmastown employees feel the same way. If given the chance for a better pay or promotion or a change of scenery, wouldn’t some of them move?” Rosie explained.

Oh, she was thinking of others, not herself.

That was yet another thing. Rosie’s life seemed to revolve around making her only parent comfortable.

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