[5:59]John:no problem
[5:59]John:heading to the museum soon, just going to grab pizza
[5:59]John:want me to see if they sell paper cups/plates?
Yes!!!I type frantically.That would be so—
My fingers still on the word.
Helpful.
That would be so helpful.
I bite hard into my lip. Dammit. Talking to Mrs. Finnamore was supposed to warn me off of John, not make him seem more appealing.
With a resigned sort of sigh, I delete my half-written text and start again.
[6:01]: Yes, please!
[6:01]: That would be great.?
16
All right, then. This is it.
Saturday. Event day.
Or, as I’ve taken to calling it—
B-day.
(And yes, I know that usually stands for birthday, but today it stands for barrel day, okay?)
I’ve been at the museum with Trey, Rose, and John since sevena.m., and to say I’m being extra would be the understatement of this still very young century.
“Do we have enough ice?” I ask. “Do the balloons look okay?”
None of them answer me, which is probably because I’ve asked both questions fifteen times already. I don’t mind being ignored. I’m pretty sure I’m only talking to try to expel some of my nerves.
By ten a.m., we’re ready to go. And I don’t want to sound braggy, but this place looks really good. Like really,reallygood.
I shelled out a hundred of my own dollars to buy decorations from the dollar store, and I’ve gone with a red and gold theme. The museum entrance is framed with red and gold balloons, the trees in the backyard are artfully draped in red and gold streamers, and all the barrels in the backyard are adorned with red and yellow construction paper chains (I couldn’t find gold construction paper, so yellow is the best I could do). I wanted to put a paper chain on the barbecue, too, but Trey pointed out it probably wasn’t a good idea to put flammable material over an open grill.
The best bit, though, is the new exhibit, which John and Trey finished last night. It’s basically a huge stack of barrels fitted into the wall, but they’re placed so that someone can pose underneath them, pretending to carry them all. From the other side of the room, you can take the perfect picture of your child or friend pretending to have superhero strength. John and Trey even fitted the barrels into the wall so some of them look like they’re about to tumble off the top of the stack.
And look, I’m not saying it’s a work of genius or anything, but it’s cute and funny and I think tourists will really like it. I think even Jean Shorts Girl might approve.
While Rose and Trey fire up the barbecue and John helps his friend George set up the speakers for his guitar, I head to the front desk alone to officially open the doors. I haven’t looked outside for the last thirty minutes because I was too scared I’d see an empty parking lot, but when I swing open the door...
There’s a line.
Aline!
I mean, okay, it’s not like a queue for Taylor Swift tickets or anything, but there are at least five families and a big group of older tourists. A few of them are clutching Barrel Into Summer flyers, and someone’s kid is throwing a temper tantrum about the wait.
I beam at all of them. “Welcome!”
For the next two hours, I only leave my post to help people take pictures of themselves at the new wall exhibit. It’s absolutely adorable watching everyone come up with funny poses with the barrels. My favorite is a young girl who does a handstand underneath, so it looks like she’s balancing all the barrels on her toes. The atmosphere is bright and happy, the barbecue smellsabsolutely delicious, and Trey’s station is a huge hit with all the kids. The scavenger hunt is going really well (even if one kid did accidentally tip over a barrel looking for a clue), and Rose came up with a fun activity for them in the backyard, a kind of ring-toss game where kids try to throw rings into barrels.
