I smile faintly, unable to acknowledge how much that moment, pretend or not, feels like coming home. Lane, already turning away, doesn’t see it. And I don’t let myself think about it for long.
I can't, or else I risk opening up something I can't contain.
SEVEN
Lane
Glitter still clings to Sanders’s cheeks, and his crooked antlers remain, but his grin could light half of Wilmington.
“Mom! Did you hear them chanting? Send Luke to Duke. It's a whole thing! People were doing it with me.” He barrels into me, nearly knocking me back onto the curb. “They loved it.”
“I heard,” I say, catching his shoulders. “I thought you were going to start signing autographs.”
Woody chuckles beside me, steadying Luke as he climbs carefully down from the trailer. Luke’s smaller, paler, his puffy jacket swallowing his thin frame, but his eyes shine with the same thrill.
Leigh Turner hops down after him, braids flying, candy bag clutched in one hand like she won a lottery. “Best parade ever,” she announces to no one in particular.
Sanders points toward the side street one block over. “Pizza? Can we go to Sal’s? Please? All of us?”
Leigh gasps and spins toward Luke. “Sal’s! Do you hear that?”
Luke’s smile is shy, but hopeful.
I glance at Woody, uncertain. “I told Carly I would drop them off after the parade.”
“Let's text her and see,” Woody cuts in, already pulling out his phone. “Better yet, let's invite her, too. We still have logistics we should discuss for tomorrow.”
“She told me when I talked to her earlier about bringing the kids to the parade that she gets off at six." I look at my watch and can't believe it's almost six now. "That's a good idea. Let me try her.”
Leigh buzzes with excitement, practically shouting, “She works at the Piggly Wiggly close by. I bet she will come meet us. Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”
Sanders joins her chant. “Pizza, pizza, pizza!”
I smile at their excitement and fish out my phone. I shoot a quick text to Carly. Her reply comes back almost instantly.
Be there right after 6. Thank you.
“She’s coming,” I tell them.
The kids cheer loudly enough to turn heads on the sidewalk.
I crouch in front of Luke, brushing a bit of lint off his coat. “How are you feeling, sweetheart? You sure you’re up for it?”
“Yeah,” he says quickly, almost defensively. “No dialysis today. Tomorrow’s my day.”
Hearing him say that punches me right in my chest. Just another part of his week, the way other nine-year-olds talk about basketball practice or piano lessons. I smooth his sleeve, careful not to let my emotions show. “Then Sal’s it is.”
Sanders grabs Luke’s wrist and tugs him toward thecorner. “Wait until you see the arcade. Best skee-ball in the state.”
As if he's tested out skee-ball anywhere else besides Sal's. I smile at his confidence.
Leigh skips after them, candy bag swinging.
Woody lingers at my side, his stride easy but his voice low. “Pizza night, then. Just like old times.”
I nod, sliding my phone back into my bag. “Guess so.”
For a moment, we almost look like a family. The three of them up ahead could easily be two brothers and a sister, trailing laughter through the cold December air. And behind them, me, walking beside the man I once promised forever, and swore I’d never fall into step with again.
