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“Hi,” said Tanya to Lilac as she approached. She glanced at the keycard in Lilac’s hand. “Employees’ entrance is over there.” She pointed to a nondescript door with a keycard slot next to it, again painted to look like a part of a mural—this one of Tildy, Silly, and Leah dancing in their dresses and tuxedo. Tanya smiled. “I know newcomers can have a hard time finding it.” She bent slightly to grab Landon gently by the arm. “Come on now. Leave Miss Lilac alone. She has work todo.”
“No,” said Landon, squeezingtighter.
Lilac laughed. She hadn’t expected to make a lifelong friend with one small act of kindness. “What’s wrong, kiddo?” she asked, patting hishead.
“Nolan isn’t Ball Silly,” said Landon, pulling his head back to gaze up at her. “He’s almost never BallSilly.”
Lilac wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but she nodded and exchanged a look withTanya.
“He means he’s usually in the regular Silly Sandgrouse outfit and isn’t often posted here at the ball,” said Tanya quietly. “But Friday’s his day off, so he’s not here at alltoday.”
Lilac frowned, wondering why Landon had to go to daycare even on a day when his brother wasn’tworking.
“He has classes all day on Friday,” said Tanya, as if reading her mind, but it was Landon she was talking to. She crouched beside him. “You know that, Landon. You have to let your brother toschool.”
“Why?” askedLandon.
“Your sister goes to school too—and you will too when you’re bigenough.”
“No, I won’t.” Landon stuck out his tongue at Tanya and buried his head back against Lilac’s leg. Tanya sighed and stood up, signaling to her fellow Tildy Scouts to go on without her. They led a bouncing line of children into theBallroom.
“Everyone else is going to the ball,” said Tanya. “That sure looks likefun.”
“It’s not,” spat Landon. “I want to gohome!”
“Your brother or dad will get you later,” said Tanya. Her nerves were clearly getting a little frayed. She grabbed for his hand. “Nowcome.”
“No!” He pinched Lilac’s legs tightly and she actually let out a smallgasp.
“Landon!” said Tanya, grabbing him by the torso and pulling him away from Lilac. He held tightly as long as he could, but eventually, she peeled him away. “Nopinching!”
“Nooo!” screamed Landon, and then he shrieked. “Mommy!!” He reached both hands towardLilac.
Lilac stood, frozen, not sure what to do. She’d known it was common for some kids to call teachers and other women “Mommy” on occasion, but it was usually on accident. This child seemed desperate—desperate—to believe it wastrue.
Tanya grabbed his hands and pulled them down. “Do you want to go to time out?” she asked, sternly, but not withoutpatience.
“Nooo!” he shrieked again, this time kicking atTanya.
“Timeout,” she said and started walking away. She stopped suddenly and looked over her shoulder, letting Landon shriek and kick and slap at her, almost without being fazed at all. “Sorry about that,” she said. “He’s worse on Fridays when he knows his brother isn’there.”
Nodding, Lilac bit her lip. “No problem.” She watched as Tanya navigated through families who stared at the shrieking kid and took Landon outside. He kept shrieking, “Mommy!” and reaching toward Lilac whenever hecould.
Once the echoes in the entryway died out, for some reason, Lilac drew the stares of all the tourists. As if she actually were his mommy and had dumped him on a daycare worker to deal with during histantrum.
She straightened out her blouse, smoothing the wrinkles Landon had made there. She loved kids—she did—but she was more confident than ever that she’d made the right choice in opting not to spend her days being shrieked and kickedat.
But there’d been something in that boy’s eyes that had made it clear this was no meretantrum.
* * *
By the timeLilac plopped herself down in her room at her aunt’s after dinner, she was in a good mood. Gyu-ri had been so nice, so excited at the idea of working with Lilac to plan the event again. She’d spent over an hour talking to her about it before loading her up with all the data about costs and attendance for the previous events and then she’d had another funny Tildy Scout driver on the shuttle ride back and when she’d gotten to the office, she’d been told by the administrative assistant they shared with a few of the other offices that he’d had to go home early—his wife had had a flattire.
Lilac had never thanked the skies for someone being inconvenienced by a flat before, but she did it then. She wrapped up her other tasks for the day and even spent an hour poring over the documents Gyu-ri had given her and starting a draft of a proposal for changes to keep it all under budget thisyear.
Aunt Frankie had surprised her by telling her she was going to take her to get her new car tomorrow and they’d eaten out at a seafood restaurant that was beyond divine—Lilac wasn’t sure even the places she’d been to in New England could beat its maple-glazed salmon. It had been Aunt Frankie’s treat to celebrate her first successful week ofwork.
Utterly relaxed in a wicker chair with a plush paisley-patterned cushion in Frankie’s guest room, Lilac logged on to video chat with her phone, calling up Gavin and then tagging Brielle and even Pembroke into the chat.May as well check in withthem.
