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Shane’s lips curved upward. “Oh, it lived up to the hype. Liv warned me that something always goes wrong, but I wasn’t expecting anything too crazy until shit hit the fan.”
“I heard Sean O’Shay accidentally let go of his balloon and started chasing it into the parade route, causing the baton throwers to lose track of their batons and a few to get clunked in the head.”
“Then the entire parade tried going after the balloon, but it was a futile attempt. That balloon sailed off into the horizon, and little Sean cried bloody murder until my uncle gave him another balloon,” Shane added.
Olivia laughed and nodded. “I swear they secretly plan this stuff behind closed doors to keep people coming to the parade. After so many years this can’t be coincidence anymore, right?”
Milo had thought about it before, but even though it all seemed convenient, he couldn’t imagine how a select few could make it possible. “It would be kind of hard to plan for Mr. Clifford’s dog to jump out of his car and go right for Lily Cain’s ice cream cone. And if they did, their talents belong in Hollywood or on Broadway.”
“I’m already excited for next year,” Shane said.
Milo pointed to Shane and looked at Olivia. “Have you not told him about Fourth of July? Halloween and Christmas?”
Olivia smiled, and Shane’s head turned to her. “What else happens?”
“We have a boat parade for the Fourth of July. All the boats are decked out in red, white, and blue decorations and lights. Two years back Sam Williams dressed up in a bald eagle costume and was dancing on the bow of the boat when he took a dive right into the canal. Then Munro, the marina owner, went to help him out, but the costume was so heavy it weighed him down, and he fell in the water, too. Then Munro’s elderly father, who is a large man, saw his son and thought he was drowning, so he jumped in after him only to land on his head. Then it took five people to get Mr. Black out of the water.”
“Why didn’t I move here sooner?” Shane asked.
“I’m happy you didn’t.” Olivia looked at Shane with love and joy in her eyes. “You arrived when I needed you most.”
Shane wrapped his arm around Olivia’s shoulder and pulled her tightly against him. “And how lucky I was to get to sit next to you on the train that night.”
Milo laughed. “I picked you up from the train station that night. It must’ve been love because Livy looked like the walking dead.”
Olivia laughed. “Not one of my best moments, that’s for sure. But he saw me at rock bottom, so it was only going up from there.”
Shane smiled and looked at Olivia with a passion fueled gaze.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Milo said. “You two have fun.” Their lips were on each other before Milo walked away. He made his way across the side yard to the front of the house where a few groups had congregated.
He came across Mrs. Garrick sitting on one of his well-placed benches, looking out to the bay. A red silk scarf covered her head and complimented her blue and white sundress. Her long blonde hair that made her recognizable in a crowd was gone after chemo.
She lifted a thin, frail arm and waved as he approached. “Hi, sweetheart,” she said and, with what looked like all the energy she could muster, patted the spot beside her.
He didn’t even think twice about continuing on his walk. He sat down and smiled at her. “What are you doing all the way over here by yourself?”
“Isla went to get me something to drink. I wanted to stay and look at the bay. My entire life the bay was always a stone skip away, and I’m not sure I ever appreciated that fact.” Her eyes stayed focused across the way on the body of water.
“I guess when something is always there, you just expect it to always be there,” he said. “Never changing, always reliable.” The bay was no different than his relationship with Harper. She was always there, and he never had to worry about that changing, but now… he wasn’t so sure.
“Exactly. And I know my time is limited; I want to absorb it all. I don’t want to take a single moment for granted.”
Milo didn’t take a second with Harper for granted, which was why he was in this predicament. He appreciated her every day, was grateful she was in his life, and to jeopardize that… he couldn’t.
“Which is why you’re sitting over here alone,” he said.
“I’m not alone. I’m observing, watching everyone who I have known for so long and savoring all the little things that make them special.” She pointed down the side yard to Jasper. “As soon as the warm weather hits, there is always a shift in Jasper. He’s happier, some would say lighter.”
“That’s because he knows he’s almost done with the school year.” Milo laughed.
“Yes, but he’s always been that way even when he was a little boy, no more than six. He was always the first to change into his bathing suit and jump into the water.” Her hand moved slowly, her boney finger shifting to Harper.
Milo inhaled as his eyes landed on Harper’s face lit up in laughter. She’d always been beautiful, but in that moment, it was as if the heavens themselves were shining down on her, highlighting every perfect attribute, and making it blaringly clear to him.
“Harper is a classic beauty who is full of warmth and strength. Her strength is admirable, but it’s also her biggest weakness.”
Milo turned his head to Mrs. Garrick. “Why do you say that?”
