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I reach into my fanny pack and pull one out to give her. She usually disappears at family functions like this, so it’s no surprise she’ll do the same today. As the local busybody, I’m sure she’s dying to find out the new gossip and help it spread like wildfire.
She walks past my boys and offers a quick hello before she's out of sight. I immediately look at Marco and he just rolls his eyes at her back and then places a hand on each one of the boys’ shoulders and squeezes.
“Are you two ready to get your little booties kicked in some games? I’ve been practicing my sweet gaming skills my whole life for this very moment!”
They laugh and Marco extends a hand to my dad. “Hey Dave, how’s it going?”
“Not too bad, son. Not too bad.” He looks down at all the kids. “Nana and I are ready to have some fun too!”
Simultaneous shouts of approval ring out as we all make our way through the entrance, relinquishing our tickets to the teacher at the gate.
We walk onto the field and take in the crowded field and the whole carnival setup. There are kids running everywhere, red and white tented food booths and games with prizes, bounce houses, a petting zoo, a tractor ride, and the local police and fire departments both have booths set up to give demonstrations of the vehicles to the kids. Our school district is well-funded and the community is incredibly supportive of the local schools, so it’s a big production.
Thankfully, Marco’s supervisors didn’t sign him up to “volunteer” at the police booth this year so we can actually enjoy this event as a family.
Karen Miller, the head of the PTA, walks up to me. The universe must have known she was coming so she was named appropriately.
My mom says, “We’re going to take the kids to buy tickets.”
I nod and smile and they all walk over to the ticket booth. I’m grateful Marco stays at my side knowing full well my feelings for her.
“Marco! So wonderful you could come!” She chirps and then turns to me with a snarky smile. “Ellie, hello. Shame you didn’t have time to help plan with me this year, but I’m glad you’re here anyway.”
“Yeah, maybe next year. Looks great though.” I force a smile and a neutral reply. If only it was appropriate to say what I wasreallythinking about her snarky jab about what I do or don’t do with my free time.
“I’ll see you later, Karen.”
Fortunately, she gets the hint and walks away without another word. Jess passes Karen on her way over to me and shoots me her famouswhat the hell was that all aboutlook. Her son Timmy is holding on to her hand. He’s two months younger than Jonathan and their only child after struggling with secondary infertility for five years. The decision to embrace life with only one kid was so hard for them.
“I see Karen said hello," she teases.
“Yes, and it was a lovely conversation.” I roll my eyes at her and then look down at Timmy. “Hey, kiddo! What do you think of the carnival so far?”
“It’s pretty cool. We saw a lady on a unicycle earlier!”
I laugh and say, “That is really cool. She must have incredible balance. I would totally fall on my butt.”
He laughs so hard he snorts before saying, “Ha. Butt.” And I hear Marco laugh quietly next to me.
“Hey. Joe is at the PD booth if you want to say hello,” Jess says to Marco.
He smiles and says to me, “I’m going to head over there.” I nod. Then he looks at Timmy and says, “Want to come with me, Timmy? We can catch up with the boys and see if they want to come too. Your dad told me the SWAT truck was going to be here. Mind if I take him with me?” Marco asks Jess.
“Of course not. Ellie and I are going to say hello to the boys’ teacher, and we’ll be right behind you.”
Timmy walks to Marco’s side and says, “Awesome! Let’s go, Marco. I want to tell Jonathan about this cool new Pokémon card I got.”
“Okay, little dude. Let’s go.” He laughs.
He offers me a sincere smile and squeezes my forearm gently, a lifeline from him that I desperately need. Then he and Timmy walk in the direction of the Seaside Police booth not too far away.
Timmy has been a part of our little pod of kids since he was born. We love him like our own and my kids all see Jess and Joe as the aunt and uncle they never had since Marco and I have no siblings either.
After a pause, Jess turns to me with one eyebrow raised and says, “How’s your family day going?”
“Oh, you know, I’m in hell.” I look toward the police booth to see my parents and all the kids have joined Marco and Timmy.
“My mom and dad have been wonderful with the kids, as usual. And Rosalita is only fawning all over the girls,as usual.They did flat out decline her hug, which made me want to high-five them on the spot, but I resisted because I’m a good mom.” I laugh, then sigh. “The timing of this day couldn’t be any worse though.”
