Page 43 of Twice Shy

“No,” he could hear Ollie saying as he, Rory, and Luis headed back towards the grill. “You can have it after you’ve eaten your sandwich and that’s final, Rory.”

“But it’s notfair.”

“It’s perfectly fair. And if you keep this up, you won’t have it at all.” He gave Joel an apologetic look, as if it was somehow his fault that Rory was a six-year-old.

“You guys looked great out there,” Joel said, hoping to distract them. “Fantastic costumes.”

“I’m a punkin,” Luis said.

“Yes, you are.” Joel laughed; he hadn’t heard Luis speak so well before. “You’re a real cute pumpkin.”

“He can’t say pumpkin right,” Rory said, the world-weary older brother. “He says punkin.”

“Well, he’s learning. That’s okay.” Joel glanced at Ollie, nodding towards the burgers in query. Ollie equivocated for a moment, and then shrugged and nodded. “Hey,” Joel said to Rory, “you want a burger before you have your candy?”

“Can I?” He looked up at Ollie.

“Go on. Special Fall Festival treat. But you need to eat your carrot sticks too.”

“I will.”

With the parade over, people were beginning to head back inside and, Joel suspected, head home. The field was emptying out by the time Ollie got Rory and Luis settled to eat their lunch on the grass—a scarecrow eating a burger, and a pumpkin munching on finger-sized cheese sandwiches. Adorable.

“You want a burger too, Ollie?” Joel smiled uncertainly, aware of the unresolved tension between them and wanting to ease it. “We’ve got a few going spare.”

Ollie’s eyes met his, warm but cautious. “Sure,” he said, blowing on his chilly hands as he came to join him at the grill. “Actually, I’m starving.”

Given that they were cheap grocery store burgers, they tasted pretty good. But maybe that was the company. They both tucked in, watching the kids eat, and after the awkwardness of earlier it felt…comfortable. Right.

And the wind started rushing past Joel’s ears as he fell faster and faster.

“I’m full,” Rory announced eventually, holding up his half-eaten burger. “I don’t want any more.”

“I guess it was a big burger,” Ollie conceded. “Bring it here, I’ll finish it.”

“Can I have my candy now?”

Ollie gave an arch smile. “You’ve got room for candy, huh? I thought you were full.”

“I’m full forburger,” Rory explained, as if Ollie was being deliberately obtuse. “But I’m not full for candy.”

“Uh-huh,” Ollie said. “Tell you what, let’s get you out of this costume and go find Mateo. Then, when you guys go to Mateo’s house later, you can take your candy with you. How about that? Give your burger time to go down.”

Rory wasn’t convinced by the deal but when it became clear that Ollie wasn’t changing his mind, Rory let himself be led inside to change. Ollie dithered for a moment, watching Luis who was still working happily on his lunch. Joel said, “I’ll watch him, if you like.”

“Is that okay?” Ollie’s grateful smile was devastating, a bright flash in his lovely brown eyes. “I won’t be long.”

Keeping one eye on Luis, Joel began to clear up. The exodus was faster now, and soon he saw Alyssa and Cam walking back from the haystack maze carrying signage and a couple of plastic school chairs. They both looked cold but were still smiling. Relationship goal, he thought, as he watched them laughing. He didn’t know how long they’d been together, but Nia was sixteen, so it was at least that long. Helen had been Joel’s longest relationship, at eight years in total. And looking back, he wasn’t sure they’d ever had the easy closeness he saw between Alyssa and Cam.

Something tugged at his foot and he looked down to see Luis playing with his shoelaces. “That again, huh?” He crouched, smiling into Luis’s wide eyes. “Let’s see if we can find something better to do.” Picking him up, he moved out from behind the grill to meet Alyssa and Cam. “You guys heading home?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna skip out without Jackie noticing. We can’t stay for clear up tonight, Nia’s got a party and we’re on taxi duty. Also”—she held out her hands, her fingertips pale—“literally frozen stiff.”

Cam rubbed her shoulder. “How’d you guys do over here? Sell much?”

“Not bad,” Joel said. Luis squirmed, and he shifted him, readjusting him on his hip. “We had some help from these guys.”

Alyssa grinned and reached out to chuck Luis under his chin. “Bet you were a real help, huh?”

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