“That’s too much,” I said, more firmly now. “She’s already planning the talent show.”
Marjorie tilted her head. “We assumed the committee would help.”
“Who is the committee?” I wondered.
Marjorie hesitated. “Well, there’s Kitty, Mr. Humphrey, and me. Plus, Kitty’s sister Lydia.”
Kitty made a small noise that might have been a laugh if it hadn’t sounded so brittle. She took a deep breath. “I can manage. It’s okay.”
I turned toward her. “It isn’t okay.”
She gave me a look that was half warning, half gratitude. “Caleb.”
Marjorie clasped her hands. She turned to look at me expectantly. “Unless you would like to officially volunteer to help with the committee?”
The word committee landed heavily.
I felt the familiar tightening in my chest. Public responsibility, visibility, with expectations that didn’t end.
Kitty rushed to fill the silence. “He’s already helping me with sound. That’s more than enough.”
I looked at Kitty. She was trying to look composed, trying to make herself capable in the face of another obligation she hadn’t asked for. It wasn’t right to have her shoulder this alone.
“I can help,” I slowly volunteered.
“You don’t have to,” Kitty protested, probably recalling my earlier words about talent shows and my boundaries.
“I know,” I said. “I’m choosing to.”
Marjorie’s face lit up. “Wonderful.”
I held up a hand. “With limits.”
“Of course,” Marjorie said, already nodding.
“I’ll handle sound and staging,” I said. “I can also help with the scheduling of the talent show. I’m not running vendors or managing the cookie exchange.”
Marjorie considered this, then smiled. “That will be very helpful.”
Kitty looked torn between relief and guilt. “Caleb—”
“It’s fine,” I said quietly. “You don’t have to do everything yourself.”
She searched my face, as if checking for resentment. Whatever she saw there made her shoulders loosen.
“Thank you,” she replied gratefully.
Marjorie clapped again. “This is coming together beautifully.”
I wasn’t sure I would use that word, but I let it go as Marjorie headed for the exit.
Kitty laughed softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to become all of this.”
“I know,” I said. “But it did. So we deal with what’s in front of us.”
Kitty nodded, pulling the folder back toward her. “I don’t know how I went from helping to… whatever this is.”
I watched her for a moment, then said, “It will be okay. We can figure this out.”
