Page 95 of Hand Picked
She did a pirouette in the front hall, showing off her jeans and the purple-and-yellow Pick-a-Book T-shirt she wore under her hoodie. Then she jammed a baseball hat on her cropped white hair that read “I Scrolled For Love In Little Pippin Hollow.”
“Oh, Mom,” I groaned.
“Oh Mom what? I think this scroll business is the cutest excuse for two humans to fall in love that anyone ever invented,” she said firmly. “People meet their match in all kinds of ways—through internet dates, and reality TV shows, or because they happened to be on the same airplane at the same time—so why can’t fate operate through a scroll and some centuries-old laws?”
She had a point, but I shook my head resolutely anyway. “Don’t buy in to the hype. Whatever Webb and I are… it’s not what Hand-Fast Watch makes it seem like we are. It’s not real.”
Her voice lost its usual sweetness. “Don’t tell me what’s real and what’s not, son. My lungs might not be the greatest, but my vision is just fine. You might needyoureyes checked, though. Because as far as I can tell, Hand-Fast Watch is only saying you and Webb are two idiots in love… and I think that’s pretty accurate.”
My face went red, and I grimaced. She was half right, anyway.
“Please don’t overdo it today, okay?” I pleaded. “I know you’re feeling better, and maybe I’m a little overprotective, but you seemed tired last night. And… it doesn’t feel like that long ago that you were really sick.”
“I know what I can handle, kiddo.”
Outside, a horn beeped, and when I glanced out the window, I saw Drew and Marco pulling up in a gigantic old Ford convertible with the top down. Marco was sitting in the middle of the front seat, and Drew had an arm over his shoulders.
“What in the world?” I said, bewildered. “Where’s he been hiding that beast? That thing isnoteco-friendly. Frankly, it looks like it might collapse halfway to town. You know what, why don’t I drive you—”
“Nonsense. Sue!” Mom called excitedly. “Hurry it up. Our dates are here!” She pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I don’t know why you never told us just how amazing this town was, honey. I would’ve visited a long time ago.” She walked out the front door with no hesitation.
“Maybe grab a warmer sweater!” I called. “It’s not nearly as warm as it looks out there!”
She ignored me, and I could’ve sworn I heard Aunt Sue snicker as she ran out the door after her.
I shook my head as I watched my mother and aunt climb into the back seat of the car before the car went careening down the driveway.
I wondered if this was what parents felt like when their kids went off without them. But gosh, how much worse must it be for someone like Webb, who had at least half a dozen people he must worry about like that?
I’d known from the beginning that Webb was responsible for a lot of things and people, but it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment just how heavy that responsibility must feel. No wonder he wasn’t eager to jump into another relationship, especially with a person he’d only really gotten to know a few weeks ago, anda man, at that.
My fear of rejection was making me impatient, but it didn’t have to be all or nothing. Not right now anyway. I could be patient for Webb. I could show him how good we could be together. And once the time ran out on this handfasting business, once his custody situation was nailed down… well, then we would see.
I was in a much better frame of mind when I got to the town common than I’d been when I woke up, but it would’ve been impossible not to be cheerful anyway, once I saw how transformed the usually empty park was.
It looked like a traveling flower festival and the Las Vegas Strip had a baby… but in the best possible way.
White festival tents were set up across the center of the grass in neat lines like regiments of soldiers, each decorated with a giant numbered flower hanging above the opening, and volunteers were already buzzing around like honeybees, setting up their booths. One whole corner of the parking lot had been roped off, and someone had laid down straw for a petting zoo area. Even though there were hours to go until the fair opened, when I opened my car door, I found the air already redolent with the scents of coffee and sugary fried things.
“Morning, Luke!” Em Sunday called before I’d even had a chance to orient myself. “Need some help unloading?”
“Hey! No, I think I…” Before I could finish my denial, a couple of teenagers were already opening my back doors and lifting out my boxes. “Oh. Well. Okay, then. Thanks.”
“Coordinating the festival is our senior service project,” Em explained with a wink. “You’re kind of obligated to let us help, or we won’t be able to graduate.” To the teens, she added, “Luke’s in booth fourteen, the Pick-a-Book tent. I assigned you one of the best booths in the place, right across from the elementary school’s PTA splash booth. Gets lots of traffic, so hopefully you should be able to give out lots of books and get lots of donations.”
“Aw, thanks! Do I want to know what a splash booth is?”
“Oh, it’s like a dunk tank, sort of? People—usually little kids—buy a couple dollars’ worth of beanbags to throw at a target, and if they manage to hit it, a bucket of water falls on the head of the person—usually a volunteer parent—who’s sitting underneath.”
“But… it’s way too cold for that! I want to help the PTA as much as the next guy, but I’m not willing to risk hypothermia for it. Maybe in July…”
“Eh.” She shrugged. “Feels pretty warm out here to me. Besides, it’s a small bucket of water, and most kids are shit at throwing. There’s hardly any actual splashing happening.”
“Ahhh, I see.”
“Every once in a while, you see an adult step up to the booth to settle a grievance, though, and that’s always fun.” Her smile turned a little evil. “I might convince Webb to take a turn later, just FYI…”
“I’ll have my dollars ready,” I promised.
