Posey grabbed his hand and took off toward the parking lot. Tripp felt the tug on his heart as much as he did on his arm.
When he glanced over at Jillian, hoping this development didn’t make her uncomfortable, he was relieved to see a funny little smile quirking up her lips.
They arrived in the parking lot in time to see the Ferris wheel begin to move for the first time. The crowd of people who had lined up for their turns all broke into applause.
Posey began hopping up and down in her excitement, and she didn’t slow down even when they arrived at the end of what was already averylong line.
“Now girls,” Jillian said. “We can wait in line now if this is really what you want to do next.”
“Yes,”Posey said right away.
“Or,” Jillian said. “We could go try some games and activities, and come back later to see if the line is shorter.”
“What if it’s not shorter?” Mari asked, eyes wide.
“It might belonger,” Posey said, letting go of Tripp’s hand to grab both of her sister’s hands. “We better stay.”
“Yes,” Mari said, looking to her mom with a serious expression. “We’ll stay.”
“Nobody needs a drink or a bathroom break first?” Jillian asked them.
Both girls shook their heads.
“Okay then,” Jillian said. “Here we go.”
They all watched the riders on the slowlyrevolving wheel. Children smiled and laughed, waved at the line below, or buried their faces in their parents’ and caregivers’ coats.
Tiny snow flurries began to dance down, setting the mood for winter magic and Tripp felt almost like a kid again himself.
“It’s going kind of slow,” Posey remarked after a moment.
“Yes, it’s going slowly,” Jillian agreed, her gentle correction making Tripp smile.
“That’s good,” Mari said worriedly. “It wouldn’t be good if it went too fast. The people would fly right off.”
“Or the wheel would just roll right down the street,” Posey said, her eyes lighting up.
Tripp chuckled at how different Jillian’s two girls really were. And both so imaginative.
“Should we play a guessing game?” Jillian suggested.
“Yes,” Mari said, looking pretty pumped about it.
“I have one,” Posey chirped.
“It’s like twenty questions,” Jillian told Tripp. “But we don’t count the questions, we just go until we get it, or we give up.”
“Okay,” Tripp said. “I’m game.”
Posey started giggling.
“I’m gamemeans I’m up for it,” Mari told Posey.
“That’s silly,” Posey declared, her eyes still twinkling.
“Is it a girl?” Jillian asked, deftly directing her girls back to the game at hand.
“No,” Posey said.
