somebody else slapped in the face
with a large piece of cold custard pie?”
~ Will Hay
“Hand me that box, would you?” Patrick says, pointing to the thirty-six pack of whipped-cream cans.
I hand him the box and he cuts it open with a box cutter, removing the cans and placing them on the table at the back of our Pie Day booth.
“Hey!” Hallie’s voice carries across our town square.
I turn and watch her walking our way, carrying a tumbler probably filled with sweet, creamy coffee. Her wavy brown hair lifts in the breeze and she spreads her smile from Dustin to Patrick to me.
Our eyes lock and my body stills for half a second.
Four days.
We had four days of uninterrupted, private time together. They could have been four months or four minutes. We had moments when time stood still and the world faded. Andthen it was suddenly over—a kiss goodbye andI’ll see you at work in the morning.
Mia came back last night. Life is back in session. And I’m left wondering if I’ll be more to Hallie than a co-worker and her daughter’s coach.
“Greyson? Earth to Greyson,” Dustin calls my name.
“What?”
“Are you helping me hang this backdrop or not?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Of course.” I tear my eyes away from Hallie and pick up the other corner of the plastic sheeting to attach it to the frame we assembled.
“Good morning, everyone,” Hallie says. Her voice is bright and cheery. “Dustin, Patrick …” she pauses, looking at me with a smile that holds all our secrets. “Greyson.”
“Morning,” I say, smiling quickly and then tucking my smile away.
How am I supposed to act now?
I’m a straightforward man. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I don’t know how to navigate my feelings for Hallie with eyes everywhere.
“Did you bring any coffee for Greyson?” Dustin asks. “He’s all spacey and useless today.”
“Speak for yourself,” I tell him, glancing at Hallie briefly.
“Is he now?” Hallie says, a note of flirtiness in her voice I’m pretty sure only I detect.
“Yeah,” Dustin says. “He’s orbiting Pluto or something.” He shakes his head. “Poor Pluto. Not even considered a planet anymore and now it’s got to put up with grumpy, spacey Greyson.”
He laughs at his own joke and I pick up a can of whipping cream and spray a short stream at him.
“Hey! Hey! I’m not even covered in plastic yet!”
Hallie giggles. My fingers tense with the urge to pull her into a hug.
I grab the tarp and start spreading it on the ground. Then I set up the stool we’ll be sitting on while people toss pie tins full of whipped cream at us for charity.
Hallie sets down her coffee and gets to work arranging the pie tins in neat stacks on the table at the front of the booth.
“Greyson, grab that jar for me, would you?” she asks, pointing to a giant pickle jar sitting behind the booth.
I grab it and walk it over to her. She holds out her hands. I stare down at them.
