Well, Winnie’s desire to stick her nose in town business would have to be someone else’s problem for a while. Eleanor was done with paperwork for the time being.
“I’m sure I’ll see you around, Winnie,” she said with as much warmth as she could muster, “but I really must get back to my renovations. Goodbye!”
And Eleanor sauntered off to do just that, pleased that there were no further disruptions on the horizon and that she could continue her renovation process in peace.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Izzy. Iz! Wait! We have to put on sunscreen!”
Cadence quickly gathered her belongings as Izzy tried to vault out of the car and hurry over to where several of her friends were already gathered in the school’s parking lot. When had her daughter gotten sofast?
Indeed, by the time Cadence got out of the car, her backpack full of everything she’d need for the field trip slung over her shoulder, Izzy was practically trembling with impatience. She did, however, submit to Cadence applying sunscreen on her face, neck, and arms. Izzy slapped the protective cream on her own legs, and Cadence made a mental note to reapply, since the hasty application had been a little less thorough than was necessary. Not that this wouldn’t have already been important, since the day was destined to be full of sand and splashes, which were not precisely the best friend of sun protection.
“Am I good, Mom?” Izzy asked, bouncing on her toes.
Cadence pulled a baseball cap out of the backpack and stuck it on Izzy’s head. “Okay, now you’re good. Go say hi to your friends.”
Isabelle didn’t need telling twice. She was off like a shot. Her friends shrieked in happiness as she approached, as if they’dspent years apart, rather than having seen one another only the day prior at summer school.
Cadence grinned as she watched them greet one another exuberantly, then reported to Miss Elsa for sign-in.
“Hello there, Mrs. Meadows,” the older lady said with a welcoming smile. “Thank you again for chaperoning. It’s going to be a great day of fun for the whole family!”
Her wording puzzled Cadence somewhat, but before she could ask a follow up question, the teacher had turned to a picnic table that was full of paperwork, boxes of activity supplies, and, to Cadence’s delight, coffee.
“Here is your chaperone badge,” Miss Elsa said, handing Cadence a lanyard with a bright red badge hanging from it. “I’ve been reminding the students all week that they can ask anyone wearing the red badges for help. Hopefully enough of them will remember to cut off any issues at the pass.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to predict the difference between what they know now and what they’ll know when the excitement of the cove is before them,” Cadence said with a smile. This trip might cause logistical challenges, but the effort was well worth the joy she knew the kids would experience.
“Just so,” Miss Elsa said with a smile. “With that in mind, we got coffee donated from Anchor Bistro, so please help yourself.”
Cadence made herself a cup just in time. She’d only just clicked the lid on the to-go cup when another parent appeared at her elbow.
“Hey, can you help over here?” she asked, looking a bit frazzled. “Our backpack-packing project turned pretty haphazard very quickly, and we could use a spare set of hands.”
“Of course!” Just like that, Cadence was drawn into the chaos. By the time the backpack fiasco was handled, they were almost at their departure time. The parking lot brimmed withkids who seemed as energetic as if they, and not their parents, had been the ones drinking coffee.
Cadence walked around the back corner of the bus…
And nearly walked directly into Tyler, who was wearing a bright neon vest, like the kind that crossing guards wore.
She wasn’t sure what surprised her more, his presence or his apparel.
“Oh, um, vest,” she said… which answered that question. Apparently shewasmore surprised by what he was wearing.
He looked down with a last. “Oh, yeah… it’s eye-catching. But I’m on ‘walk from the bus to the beachvery safely please’ duty today.”
“Right,” she said. “Right, of course. I just… Izzy didn’t mention that you were coming today.”
She winced at how this sounded. Like he needed to report his movements to her.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem offended. Instead, he looked a bit sheepish.
“Oh, yeah… I actually wanted to surprise her,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize you would be here, so if it’s weird for you?—”
“No! No,” she responded hastily. “It’s great that you’re here. Of course it is. Izzy will be so happy.”
Indeed, as if she’d been waiting for Cadence to give her the perfect opportunity, Isabelle chose this moment to come toward them with a joyful shriek.
