I had no idea what I was going to do about my husband.
chaptertwenty-one
Noah
Students will be able to play it cool even when situations heat up.
I wasan awkward mess the second I pulled up at Twin Tulip and climbed out of the truck on Saturday night.
Shay walked out of the house in jeans that hugged her thick hips and a sweater I wanted to get both hands under, and I couldn’t speak. Her hair was different, maybe a little wavy, and the makeup she’d used on her eyes made it seem like her lashes went on forever. All I could do was stare at her for a long, long moment.
She stopped at the top of the porch steps. “What is it?” She glanced down at her sweater, her jeans. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. You’re—you’re perfect.”
She ran her hands down her thighs. “Then what are you looking at?”
A flashback of all the times I watched you go to festivals and dances and dates with someone else. All the times I never thought I’d get a chance to be the one taking you with me.
Instead of saying that, I jogged up the steps to meet her. “You look nice. Your sweater. It’s really—nice.”
“Oh. Thank you.” She glanced up at me. “You’re still giving me a weird face.”
Yeah, well, it was weird getting all the things I’d ever wanted. Somehow, I still didn’t feel like I was doing this right.
“What are you guys waiting for?” We glanced up to find Gennie leaning out the window, sword aloft. “Comeon! We’re gonna miss it!”
“No, we won’t.” To Shay, I said, “She’s been sitting in front of the door and asking if it was time to leave yet for the past two hours.”
“So, she’s excited.”
“You could say that.”
She smiled and leaned in to bump her shoulder against mine. “Let’s not keep her in suspense.”
* * *
I heldfour five dollar bills just out of Gennie’s reach. “This is twenty dollars,” I said, “and it’s more than enough for all the games and rides.”
“What about lemonade?” she asked.
“That too. Make good choices. Don’t spend it all in one place. And don’t start any fights.”
“Those fuckers better not start any fights with me.”
I pulled the cash back. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” she muttered. “No fights.”
“Good.” I handed over the money and watched as she tucked it into her fleece jacket’s interior pocket. “Stay where I can see you.”
I watched as Gennie ran, arms outstretched, toward the game stalls. Beside me, Shay laughed, saying, “You know she’s going to win the biggest stuffed animal here and you’re going to have to tie it down in the bed of your truck, right?”
“I’m betting on it. I need something new to scare foxes away from the henhouse.”
She motioned to the area packed with local vendors and artisans as we strolled by. “Do you need to do anything tonight?”
“No, thank god. We scheduled crews for the entire day and cosponsored the event but I didn’t have time to sign on for anything else. Something always comes up, you know? The boosters always have a last-minute emergency. They need gift basket donations for a silent auction or someone to rig up a generator or more hands to help with ticket sales. And that’s just the event side. You wouldn’t believe the mayhem involved in planning these things. There’s always a committee or a board in need. Last year I started sending our marketing person but they’re not happy unless I show up to these infernal things. Like I want to sit around someone’s dining room table and talk about themes for the holiday bazaar.”
