Ngozi laughed. “There’s a pizza place eight blocks west. I’d give them a try. They make terrific pizza and the best minestrone.” She gave them directions.
“Shall we go to dinner, ladies?” Seth asked. “We don’t have to worry about getting back. The train isn’t going anywhere.”
“There’s going to be a huge bonfire in the park tomorrow night. You’ll have a blast. There will be crafters and food trucks. It’s the annual tree lighting party and Lyons Christmas Market.”
“That sounds gre…,” Seth said.
“I don’t think so,” Joy said, speaking over Seth.
“I want to go to the bonfire. Please, Mama. I’ve never been to one. All my friends have gone to bonfires.” She drew the words out into the whine Joy detested.
“I don’t think so. Let’s just get some dinner and go back to the train. I’m exhausted. We can talk about this tomorrow.” She didn’t need this fight right now. Her stomach was already whirling with stress. She didn’t know if eating would make it better or worse.
Chantal gave her the death stare. The one that said this wasn’t over.
“O-kay,” Seth dragged the word out. “Let’s eat. I’m starved.”
Fifteen minutes later they were led to a booth in the busy restaurant.
“Sit with me, Mr. Mathison.” His eyebrows jerked up in surprise, but he climbed in beside Chantal who was pointedly not looking at Joy.
Great, she was going to pout all night. A tiny part of her said she was being unreasonable, but she didn’t want her daughter to be injured. Maybe she’d made a mistake in bringing Chantal along on this trip. Or maybe the trip itself was a huge mistake. She almost groaned aloud. She needed the money and if nothing else, having someone pay all her food for a month was a huge saving. Christmas this year was special. They would arrive at their destination on Christmas Eve and be hosted at a hotel until the twenty-sixth, when they’d begin their journey home. It was the trip of a lifetime, but it wasn’t going to include a bonfire. They’d find other fun things to do.
Chantal pouted longer than normal. She was surly when she ordered until Seth gave her a side look. She immediately brightened her tone with the server. That was a look Joy would like to master. Instant compliance without a word.
Joy clenched her fists and relaxed them. Stress over tomorrow night was making her hyper-sensitive and jumpy.
“We have some free time tomorrow,” she said. “What shall we do?”
“The mall’s out. The bonfire is out. There’s nothing left to do.” Chantal’s glare would cut glass.
“I’m sure there are plenty of things to do,” Seth said. “We just have to put our minds together and figure it out.”
Joy wanted to kiss him for his support, though she suspected he thought she was a helicopter parent, never letting her child out of her sight or into potential danger. She wasn’t like that, was she?
Seth pulled out his phone. “Let’s do a search and see what Lyons offers for entertainment.” He typed and scrolled. Chantal leaned in to peer over his arm.
Funny how her daughter immediately trusted Seth. She was usually wary around men. Not that Joy spent much time around men outside of work. But Chantal had never had a male teacher. Both her physiotherapist and doctor were women. She’d never taken to anyone, male or female, as quickly as she had to Seth.
Not that Joy blamed her. He was attractive and helpful. A bit off-putting at first, but he seemed to be a great guy. And a firefighter too. Who didn’t love a man in uniform? She slipped into a fantasy vision of Seth dressed for work. Whew! The man should be on a calendar. And for a man who said he didn’t get along with kids, he was doing great so far. Both with Chantal and the choir. What made him think he couldn’t deal with kids? He was fabulous. He’d even straightened out the older kids with nothing more than a few words.
Seth and Chantal shared a ham and pineapple pizza. Gross. She detested pineapple on pizza. Joy had the chicken Caesar salad. She’d give her left foot for a glass of wine, but it wasn’t in the budget. Maybe she could swing it, but she wanted to pay down their medical debts as quickly as possible and her conscience wouldn’t let her indulge in the pleasure. Thinking about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had wine that wasn’t at a work function.
Shoving the complaint away, she took a minute to count her blessings. She had a lovely, healthy daughter. They were on the trip of a lifetime and in the company of a nice man. If they were lucky, she might win the funds to pay off her debts. Life wasn’t so bad.
“Mo-om.” Chantal’s impatient tone said she’d spoken more than once.
“Yes?”
“Were you listening?” Chantal rolled her eyes, and Seth smirked.
“Sorry, I was thinking about…about your Christmas gift,” she fibbed. Seth’s smirk turned into a full-on grin.
“Hey, look at this.” Seth handed her his phone. “There’s a Christmas train. We could go for a ride.”
“Yay,” Chantal cheered.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Joy said sadly. It was fifty dollars a ticket. No way she could afford that.
