I grab two donuts from the box we purchased, place them on napkins, and hand them over to Coby and Grant. They slowly shake their evil façade as the sun breaks behind a cloud, and suddenly, they appear almost angelic.
Happily, they munch on their donuts, and Jack sighs, relieving the tension in his shoulders and gazes over the rolling hills that lead back down to the orchard below.
I pass a donut over to him and pour him a cup of cider. He takes both with a harrowed expression.
“Do you think they have something stronger than cider?” he asks.
“I think you need your wits about you with these two.”
“Remind me never to have twins. I think only evil ones run in my family.” He passes his hands through his hair, and I get lost in the winks of auburn and gold that settle in his curls in the dancing sunlight.
“I didn’t think you wanted kids at all. Have you changed your mind?” I ask, licking the cinnamon and sugar off my fingers.
“If it was with the right person, I don’t think it’d be that bad.” He smiles softly at me, and the earnestness of his gaze makes my heart thump to the sound ofme, he means me.
“Uncle Jack! Aulie! Did you see you’re on the front page of the newspaper?” Lucy comes barreling over to the picnic table, clutching a copy ofThe Chronicle. My eyes widen as they connect with Jack’s, but it’s too late. Before I can react, Lucy slams the newspaper down on the picnic table. The picture of Jack destroying me is sitting there for all to see.
For Jack to see.
Jack blinks. His brow furrows at the picture before raising his gaze to me and then back to the picture. I shift in my seat.
“It’s a lovely photo of both of you, and the article was positively glowing,” Jack’s mom says, grabbing a donut and patting the boys on the head. “I thought you might like a copy as a keepsake, Aulie, and they only had one copy left!”
“Imagine that.” I chuckle nervously. “Thank you. That was very kind of you to think of me.”
“Did you boys have fun? Were you good for Uncle Jack?” Mrs. Parker lays kisses on the boy’s heads.
Coby nods. “We were the best. We helped get apples down for Uncle Jack and everything.”
“And I threw the rotting ones away,” Grant says.
I glance at Jack, expecting a grunt or something from him, but his eyes are still glued to the picture, a slight wrinkle appearing between his brow.
“Oh, shoot, you know—I wanted to buy Simone a bouquet while we were here, but I forgot,” Mrs. Parker says, an odd glimmer in her eye. “Jack, why don’t you take Aulie to help you pick a nice one? My feet don’t want to walk those cement floors again.”
In a trance, Jack nods, rubbing the back of his head with his hand, his eyes fixed on something in the photo.
“Jack?” his mother repeats herself.
“Huh? Oh yeah, flowers. Yes. I can go grab some.” He bows out of the table and stands, offering me his hand.
I slide my palm in, searching his expression for some tell. He had to have seen something in that photo the way he was staring at it, but if he’s not freaked out, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.
We walk to the flower stand in silence, and he keeps his gaze fixed on the ground.
Perusing through the aisles of flowers, he remains silent. My words tumble out in a nervous stream as I ramble on about my affinity for Marguerite daisies and the bold shades of pink and orange flowers around us.
With a decided panic in his eyes, I have to accept the truth. I’ve freaked him out so much he can’t even speak.
After we check out, I put on my brakes outside of the market. “Jack, should we…talk?” I ask. “You know, before we go back to your mom?”
“Talk, yes. I want to talk.” He slides his hands into his pants, his eyes roaming over the flowers, pumpkins, and other wooden crates outside. In other words, anything that isn’t me. “Good. Thank you. I uhm—right, so about this weekend…well, I guess the last week. Things between us have been…different.”
Different doesn’t mean bad. Don’t read too much into this.
“And I just—well, I don’t want to ruin our friendship…”
“Me either,” I cut in. “Promise. Your friendship is important to me.”
