“I’m going to be a hairdresser when I grow up,” Bella declares. “And I’m going to have a circus too. I’ll be the ringmaster.”
Riley tries to get Bella to pass a ball with him, but she runs off to make the doll a house with a pile of sticks she’s gathered from the scrub at the edge of the picnic area.
Hunter sits stiffly at the table, and I’m hit with a fresh wave of admiration for my parents who engage him in stilted conversation.
“Been watching the Jacks this season?” Dad asks. “You know this is the closest they’ve come to a winning streak.”
Hunter snorts. “Yeah, two games in a row. Forgive me if I wait a little longer before re-painting my truck black and green and getting a tattoo.”
I try to catch Bastien’s eye to give him a commiserating smile, but he’s off with Riley and Bella and missed the comment. That’s for the best really.
I take a seat next to Adley, who is looking a little lost among the rest of the gathering. “Hey.”
“Hey. Thank you so much for the dolls. Bella loves them. She hasn’t stopped carrying that Barbie around with her since last time we saw you.”
“Awww, that’s adorable. I’m so glad they’ve found a new friend. I held onto them because I couldn’t stand just throwing them in the trash. It’s silly, but it seemed wrong somehow. I’ve had to re-think that approach now that it’s time for me to move out of home for good, though. I didn’t realize how much stuff I was hanging onto.”
Adley laughs. “That’s never been a problem I’ve had. I’m pretty quick to throw stuff out. It’s come back to bite me more than once, though, when I regretted it.”
I’m about to reply when Bella runs back toward the picnic tables, squealing as Riley and Bas chase her. She makes straightfor Mom, calling for her, and before anyone can stop her, she flings herself into Mom’s lap.
Mom lets out a grunt of surprise. She tries to catch Bella, but it’s obviously too much for her. The little girl tumbles to the grass with a shriek, and Adley jumps to her feet.
“Mommy! Mommy! There’s blood! Mommy!” Bella clutches her arm where a small scratch bleeds a few tiny red spots, but she’s screaming like someone cut off a limb.
Mom bends down trying to comfort her, but Bella pushes her away. “You let me fall. You let me fall!”
Mom snatches her hands back like she’s been burned, and I can tell from the look on her face she’s hurt. Adley rushes in to calm Bella and stop the screaming, and for a moment the rest of us look on, unsure what to do.
Once Adley picks Bella up, she stops screaming and Riley hovers, obviously wanting to check on her but uncertain if he’ll be welcome. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have chased her.”
“Kid needs to toughen up, if you ask me.” Hunter’s voice is loud and unnecessarily gruff.
Linda is the only one who responds. “Well no one did ask you, Hunter.”
The two of them glare at each other, and I wonder for a moment if Hunter will retaliate. Is he the sort to hit his mate? The thought chills me, but a moment later the intensity drops from his glare. “No, why would they?”
Mom tries to stand, but it’s obvious she can’t manage. I hurry to her to support her with an arm around her waist, flinching when she sucks in a breath. “It’s bad today, isn’t it?”
She won’t look at me as she answers. “No worse than yesterday.”
That’s not an answer and she knows it. “Should we take you home?”
“I’m fine. I just need to shift. I’ll be fine.”
“Come on, Tilly.” Dad comes around to Mom’s other side. “You don’t have to protect them anymore, you know. They’re not cubs.”
Mom sighs. I feel the fight drain out of her and she sinks against my arm. “I wish I could have. I would have liked to.”
“Come on, Mom. Why don’t I take you home? The others can stay a bit longer, and Bas will drive Dad home.”
“You know what? I’m not feeling well myself,” says Linda. “Mind if I join you?”
I can’t tell if she’s genuinely feeling unwell or if it’s a ploy to smooth things over, but either way, it seems to work on Mom. She relaxes a little with a sigh. “Yeah. You’re probably right. Last thing I need is to end up back in hospital with doctors poking at me for days.”
Bas sends me a little mental nudge, but I reassure him that we’re fine and Mom will not want a big fuss made. So Linda and I help her back to my parents’ car, and I climb in and start the engine.
Everyone is quiet while I drive down the gravel road and back to the highway. It’s Linda who breaks the silence.
