Page 128 of The Trouble with Flings

A lobster, a frog prince, and an octopus hit the doorway at the same time and immediately become stuck, arms flailing, baskets swinging. The shark pops free and face-plants into the grass. The octopus trips over the frog, which sends the lobster spinning sideways into a T. rex who just cleared the door, and stumbles forward. A banana comes out at full speed, clips the T. rex on the rebound, and sends it careening into a giant inflatable penguin. The T. rex’s arms flail as they both tip over like bowling pins.

“Archer’s definitely the banana!” Indi shouts, and bursts into laughter.

The frog prince makes a beeline for the banana, launching itself into it. They both go down and roll toward the hill.

Kids shriek with laughter, sprinting toward the characters, Easter baskets swinging, as a rooster and a panda, who clearly didn’t learn from their predecessors, get stuck in the doorway. Suddenly they both burst forward, wobbling and waddling through the grass. A hippo wearing a pink tutu run-waddles out, followed by an elephant, a chicken, a unicorn, and a koala. The rooster bumps into the hippo, and the hippo goes down.

The beast from Beauty and the Beast barrels out the door, plowing directly into the rooster, sending it rolling down the hill. Everyone gasps. The beast charges over to the hippo and helps it up.

“That’s got to be Grant and Jules!” Shelley says through her laughter.

Margot leans into Shelley, both of them howling, while Gail and Lenore are clapping like this is the best show they’ve ever seen. I’m doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down my face. Beside me, Cait is wheezing, Victory is swiping at tears, and Indi yells, “Look!”

A roar goes up from the crowd as more inflatable characters waddle out of the building. A chipmunk launches itself at a zebra and a dragon in a full-body tackle. They hit the ground and begin rolling downhill in slow motion, arms and legs flailing.

I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts as they waddle through the grass, tossing eggs into kids’ baskets and pushing each other out of the way in search of the golden ones.

Alexander, Steve, and Roddy are walking the perimeter, cracking up, and Tara is catching it all on film.

Nobody is winning any awards for grace today. Not the adults clawing through flower beds for golden eggs, not the inflatable lobster who puts out a hand to help the koala up, then promptly sends it falling backward with a shove to its belly, and definitely not the chicken, who has somehow ended up on his back near the pavilion with children patting its belly like a beached whale.

“I have no idea who’s who,” I manage to get out between laughs.

Cait swipes her tears. “Neither do I, but does it matter?”

No, it doesn’t. Because this ridiculous, joyful chaos isn’t just the Silvers, Steeles, and Remingtons trying to win a prize. It’s a gift to the entire community, and watching it unfold beneath the bright morning sun and strings of fluttering ribbons, surrounded by generations of families laughing together, drives home exactly why Fitz loves this island so fiercely.

Nobody here is trying to impress anyone. These people show up for one another and create joy on purpose. They throw themselves into the silliness like it’s the whole point of Easter. And somehow, without even trying, they’ve pulled me right in with them.

My hand drifts to my stomach as another wave of giggling children races past, and I imagine our child out there clutching a basket in its tiny hands, running across this same grass while Fitz pretends not to help them find eggs even though he will probably use a drone and night-vision goggles to scope them out and camp out all night to make sure our child gets the most.

The image burrows into my heart.

We still don’t have the logistics figured out, and we haven’t even told the rest of Fitz’s family or my boss. But suddenly the future doesn’t feel like something I’m bracing for.

It feels like something beautiful. Something worth looking forward to.

Something I can’t wait to be a part of.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Fitz

As the hunt winds down, the park is a sea of happiness. Kids are sitting cross-legged on the grass inspecting their finds; others are kneeling over their baskets or showing off their treasures. Ritchie has his haul spread out in front of him in neat rows, counting it. Hadley is crouched nearby, guarding her basket with both arms like someone might make a move on it, while her brothers do what toddlers do best, run around creating havoc. Joey has Toni on her lap, pointing to the eggs in Toni’s basket, narrating something to her with great seriousness while Toni nods like she understands every word.

My siblings and friends start peeling off their costumes, faces flushed, grins a mile wide, anxious to break open their golden eggs and see who gets to claim the prize. But I don’t waste time taking off my costume. I let their voices trail after me and make a beeline for Jennifer, huddled off to the side with my mother and the other ladies she’s been waiting with.

They’re all looking at her like she’s the answer to their prayers.

I know the feeling.

Indi and Victory break away from them, jogging toward Archer and Wells, their mischievous gazes flicking to me with their lips pressed tight, cheeks dimpled, as if they’re bursting with something they’ve sworn not to spill. The girls around here always look like that after spending time together. I’m convinced that when we’re all old and gray, they’ll spill those secrets, and we’ll all get a good laugh.

My mother takes Jennifer’s hand as I approach and says something I can’t hear. Jennifer glances over, quickly scans the people behind me, and when she looks at me again, her eyes light up. That’s right, wild girl, it’s your man. But I see something else in her eyes, a cautiousness that makes me wonder what the hell they filled her head with while I was hunting for eggs.

But then the ladies turn toward me, and I’m relieved to see there are no worries in their eyes. Lenore clasps her hands together and says, “There’s our prince!” with enough enthusiasm to make me stop short.

“Why do you all look like you joined a cult while I was busy?”