"What's on your mind, young man?" Wyatt asked him.
"Can Barney come too?" DJ asked hesitantly like he was asking some big favor.
"Sure he can. He needs to learn his way around too. You boys can show both me and Barney all the good places in town."
"We will. We'll show you everything," Riley said with manic enthusiasm as he jumped up and down.
"Maybe not everything. Save something for next time," Wyatt said, but he still had a feeling these two were going to exhaust him. "OK, go get ready and brush your teeth. I'm going to send some emails," he told the boys as he wiped his hands on a dish towel.
Wyatt had taken a few days off from his job, but he still had to keep up. He mostly checked over final translations of technical manuals from German and Italian, but he was usually available to consult on the preliminary work too.
When he was done, the kids and Barney were waiting for him on the front porch. He might be needed at work, but these guys needed him more. Walking seemed like the better way to get to know the area, so they set off on foot.
They walked next to the same road Wyatt had taken to come there, but their progress was very slow. Barney had to sniff everything, and DJ and Riley insisted on showing the dog every rock and tree along the way.
"I thought you boys were going to show me the town," Wyatt said to see if he could hurry them along.
"It's over there," DJ told him and pointed down the road. That was his idea of showing him the town.
"Barney, you look too," Riley said though Barney was more interested in sniffing things than looking at them. But Riley wasn't giving up. He tried to make the dog look at even more stuff. "Over there is a good place to run downhill really fast. See Barney? That's where I saw the biggest grasshopper. The biggest." He said this to Barney too, and Wyatt started to feel like he was just tagging along.
"Is Barney your uncle?" he asked the boys to let them know he was feeling a little left out.
"No, he's a dog," Riley informed Wyatt then looked at him like he was crazy.
"OK, then, show me some stuff too," Wyatt said.
"We can show you where we like to fish," DJ decided.
"Sounds good," he told them and wondered if he would have to go fishing with the boys. He also wondered if they would ever get to town. They did so much meandering plus Barney wanted to sniff everything and mark every other tree.
They did reach the town of Peach Tree eventually, and Wyatt had to admit it was a pretty place. Window boxes with flowers, quaint little storefronts, vintage lampposts and signs all added to the touristy vibe of the place.
In the center of town, there were peach trees in bloom with benches underneath them. They looked inviting but there was no getting near them. The little park was full of tourists taking pictures.
Wyatt decided to see what the town had to offer to someone who actually lived there. He noted where the post office was, two grocery stores, small clothing and shoe stores that had kids clothes. A unisex salon was a relief to see. It's not like Wyatt could cut the boys' hair himself.
The town wasn't very big so it didn't take too long to see it all. Just about the time when the boys were ready to have some food, their tour of the town was done.
"We should think about lunch now. We can buy something and make sandwiches," Wyatt said.
"They have sandwiches," DJ said and pointed inside the Peach Tree Café as they were about to pass in front of it.
"And pie," Riley said.
Wyatt was going to tell the boys that they couldn't go in there with Barney when he saw a familiar face through the big cafe windows. It was the guy he and Barney met by the firethorn bushes. Seeing him, Wyatt grinned from ear to ear while his heart thumped happily.
From what he could see, the guy wasn't just stopping in. He worked there. He was serving food to customers. Wyatt wasn't sure he'd ever see him, much less right here in town. What a stroke of luck. Of course they still couldn't go in with Barney, but maybe some other time.
While Wyatt was anticipating his next visit to town, the boys were arguing about pies.
"You have to like peach pie," DJ was lecturing Riley. "Because it's where we live."
"We don't live in a peach pie," Riley told him. "I like the chocolate pie."
Wyatt was more tempted by the hot, young guy in there than pie. Unfortunately for all of them, there was an obstacle to going in.
"Barney can't go in, guys, so we can't go in either," Wyatt told them.
