Nora waved a pink daisy in the air. “Can I have some, please?”
“Of course, you can. What about you, Charlie?”
“No, thanks. I don’t like glitter.”
Unlike Jack’s wreath, Charlie’s was a spontaneous burst of color. He must have used every type of flower Paris had brought to the class. The other children’s wreaths were completely different, but just as lovely. “Who’s ready for their ribbon?”
Four hands shot in the air. “Me!” they said excitedly.
After the first set of wreaths were finished, the next group of children were ready for their ribbons. By the time Paris tied Jack’s to the back of his wreath, he could hardly contain his excitement.
“Dad will think this is so awesome.”
“You’ve done a wonderful job.” She looked around the room and smiled. “All we have to do is clean up.” A series of groans filled the air. “It’s not that bad. The people on Jack’s table can collect the leftover flowers and leaves, and put them in the buckets. Annie and Desiree can collect all the glitter containers, and everyone else can throw the rubbish away. You’ve got three minutes.”
In a flurry of activity, everyone cleaned what they could in double-quick time. Paris would have to stay behind to vacuum, but she didn’t mind. Everyone had enjoyed the class, even if it looked like a glitter bomb had exploded inside the room.
“Okay. If your parent or caregiver is waiting outside, you can leave the room. Otherwise, stay with me.” Everyone’s head turned toward the large window facing the corridor. One after another, the children picked up their wreaths and said goodbye.
When Richard appeared in the doorway, he smiled. “It looks as though you’ve had a busy afternoon.”
Paris stacked the last chair with the others and returned his smile. “It was fun.”
“Look at my wreath.” Jack showed his dad what he’d made. “The blue ball in the center is the earth and the silver ball is the moon. I painted the leaves blue like the ocean and the flowers are the fish.”
“I’m impressed. We’ll have to take a photo and send it to Grandma.”
“Can we do it now? Paris could be in the photo, too. Grandma would like to see her.”
Paris shook her head. “I don’t need to be in the picture. How about I take a photo of you and your dad with the wreath?”
Richard pulled out his cell phone. “I like Jack’s idea better.” When Paris didn’t move, he sent her an amused glance. “Are you camera shy?”
There were so many ways she could have answered that question, but none of them involved the camera. “Your mom doesn’t know me.”
“I told Grandma about you,” Jack said quickly. “She said our flower arranging class sounds like something she’d enjoy.”
Paris looked into Jack’s expectant face and sighed. “Okay. Just one photo.”
Wasting no time, Richard placed a chair beside Jack. “Stand on here. I’ll take the photo before Paris changes her mind.”
“I won’t do that,” she muttered.
Jack handed his dad the wreath while he climbed onto the chair. “I’m ready.”
Richard held his phone in front of them. “We need to huddle closer.”
Paris stepped closer to Jack and smiled at the camera.
After Richard took the photo, he showed it to her.
“It’s great.” She was glad everyone had their eyes open and smiles on their faces. With his wreath in front of him, Jack looked incredibly proud. She only hoped Richard’s mom didn’t think she was more than a family friend.
A noise coming down the hallway was just the distraction she needed.
Shelley appeared in the doorway with a vacuum cleaner. When she saw Paris, she grinned. “Who needs a yellow brick road when you have a path of glitter?”
“You don’t need to do the vacuuming,” Paris told her. “I can do it.”
