Page 28 of The Wedding Toast
And when he asked, “Do you want to do this?”she could only hope that her enthusiasticyesdidn’t give away the fact that whatever kind ofthishe might be referring to, she’d be up for it.
~ ~ ~
Reaves veered off the path, following the sound of laughter, finding himself smiling as he went.It was impossible not to.But although he could hear the girl, he couldn’t see her anywhere.
He stopped in his tracks when a little voice called, “Are you a good prince or a bad prince?”
He looked all around, trying to figure out where she was but still unable to see her.
“I’ll call the growly dragon if you’re a bad prince.”
“I’m not sure that I’m a prince, but I’m not bad,” he spoke loudly, still looking around.
Finally, he got a bead on her when she giggled.She had to be hiding behind the tree.
“Do you promise that you’re not lying?”she called.
“I promise.”
A moment later, she dashed out from behind the tree, a blur of dark curls and a long flowy dress.She disappeared behind the next tree and giggled again.
“Do you want to play?”she called.
He turned away and went to sit on the low wall, running his hand over the warm stone, not sure that he did want to play.But she was certainly entertaining.
“Do you want to talk?”he called back.
There were a few beats of silence before she reappeared from behind the second tree, moving more slowly this time.Her arms hung loosely by her sides as she approached.When she stopped several feet away from him, she blinked, tilting her head to the side to study him closely.
“What do you want to talk about?”she asked eventually.
Reaves shrugged.“I thought you might have some ideas.”
At that she closed the final distance between them and hopped up onto the wall to sit beside him.She surprised him by taking hold of his hand and running her little fingers over the back of it.
“Do you really want to talk to me?”she asked, sounding thoroughly surprised.
“I do,” he nodded solemnly, since it seemed important to her.“Why would I not?”
She shrugged, bringing her shoulders all the way up to her ears and holding them there for a beat before letting them drop again.“People don’t usually want to talk to me.”
He frowned.“And why is that, do you think?”
She pursed her lips.“Grown-ups are too busy with problems of their own, mostly,” she said with the air of one who knows.
Reaves didn’t know if it was a comment about her mom or an observation about people in general – and he didn’t think he should ask.“Well, I don’t have any problems this afternoon and I have time on my hands.So, I’d like to talk to you.”
He held his hand out.She rested her chin on her fist, staring up at him for a moment, making him feel more deeply scrutinized than most adults ever had.He was relieved when she finally took hold of his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“Then we shall talk,” she announced with a nod.“My name is Zia.What’s yours?”
“I’m Reaves.”
She wrinkled her nose.“That’s a funny name.”
“I suppose it is, but it’s mine.”
She smiled at that.“Do you have more names?”
