As we head down the block, people gawk as we walk by, and I notice others across the street pulling out their phones to take pictures. A few ask to shake Adam’s hand, and more than one gives us dirty looks.
Adam’s sole focus is on his daughter and the fact that he’s finally able to take her trick-or-treating without hiding behind a costume, so no one knows who he is. His only role in life at this moment is being a father, and he’s loving every second.
I’m in awe that he can ignore the comments, looks, and everything that’s happening around him.
After we hit up every business in town, we head to a new part of our city where the streets are fully lit, so she can do some real trick-or-treating at people’s houses. Adam and I stay back as she approaches each house, ready to show off her gown to the people who open the door.
I love seeing her joy as she runs from house to house with a group of kids we ended up hooking up with. She doesn’t know them, but their common quest for candy was all they needed to welcome her into their fun.
I notice one of the parents who attends our church.
“Sarah, is that you?” she says, covering her eyes from the overhead streetlight to see me better.
“Hi, Danielle. Is that Joey in the baseball uniform?”
She smiles with pride. “Sure is. I guess it saves money if he wants to wear his uniform as his costume.” She laughs as she shrugs.
“Hey, take it. Costumes can be expensive.”
She walks closer, and I pause, feeling weird not introducing her to Adam, but not sure if he wants to be introduced. I don’t even know what the protocol is when it comes to someone like him. I know he likes being just Adam Tyler in these situations, but what if she wants to meet Adam Jacobson?
Thankfully, she doesn’t even give him a second glance as she puts her hand on my arm. “I just wanted to tell you how amazing your performance was last week at church.”
I’m speechless. “Oh, um, well, thank you very much.”
“Really, it blew me away. I knew you could sing, but wow, not like that.” She turns to Adam and smiles. “She might even put you to shame, rock star.”
A harsh laugh escapes my lips for two reasons. I can’t believe she just tried to show him up like that, but I also love that she was so nonchalant about who he was, not afraid to say anything and not treating him any differently than a normal person.
“Maybe I’ll get her to sing with me sometime,” Adam quickly returns.
My body freezes.He can’t be serious. There’s no way in hell.
“Now, that’s a show I’d want to see.” She turns after her son calls her name. “Bye, you two.” She waves, and just as easy as she arrived, she’s gone, leaving me stunned.
Adam starts to walk, and it takes me a second to catch up, but when I hear his question, I wish I had stayed behind.
“So, tell me about this song.”
I chuckle under my breath. “Oh, it was nothing.” I try to blow off the subject.
He pulls me closer to him. “Obviously, she was impressed. How was it different than your other songs?”
I shrug. “Let’s just say, it’s a newer age song, so the tempo was more her wavelength.”
“I’d love to hear you sing it.”
Memories of my conversation with my dad come pouring back, making my body tense. I’m thankful when Cailin comes running up with a bag so full that she can hardly carry it.
“Dad, here. I can’t even hold this.” She lugs it up to him.
“I’d say it’s time to go then.”
Cailin says goodbye to her newly made friends, and we make our way to his truck.
Once we’re at his house and Cailin gets a few pieces of candy, we get her ready for bed and promise to go through the rest of it, so she can attack it in the upcoming days.
After putting her down to bed, Adam stands at the kitchen counter, holding up two pieces of candy. “Kit Kat or Snickers?”
