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21
Festival
After spendingtwenty minutes trying to find a place to park, I finally make it to the festival. The entire town has shown up for the festival. Familiar faces pass by me in a blur as I search for Lola, Jones, and Addy.
When a voice begins booming above, I follow the crowd toward the stage. Standing front and center is the man I saw Wyatt speaking to the other day. The Mayor.
“Thank you all for coming out today. As a community, we have a lot to celebrate,” he begins as cheers erupt around me.
What are they celebrating?
Sure, the town looks better than when I left. There are new businesses and it has a fresh look to it. The old school charm is still here, though. That’s what I always loved most about Fairview.
Aside from my parents and their circle of friends, the rest of the town didn’t care about money. It was about community, about being a part of things. People were nice, holding doors open for others and saying hello as you walked down the sidewalk. It didn’t matter if you were friends, acquaintances, or strangers.
In town, there were no social circles. No judgment.
Thankfully, I don’t see a change in that.
“To start off the celebration this year, I want to take a moment to thank our sponsors for this year’s event. Heavenly Bakery has graciously provided all the sweet treats you’ll find in the gazebo. Everything is for sale for only one dollar today, and all proceeds go straight to the renovation of the high school football field. Make sure you stop by and pick up a tasty treat,” he says, pointing behind me.
When I turn, I see my pretty girl standing front and center, her face covered in what looks like chocolate as she licks her fingers. She’s oblivious to the fact that everyone is staring at her, but Addy’s not. She whispers in Lola’s ear and hands her a napkin.
Too late. I’ve already seen the evidence of her babysitting skills.
Making my way over to them, Addy hands Lola a second napkin when she spots me through the crowd. She doesn’t have enough time to clean her up before I get there.
“Momma!” Lola exclaims. “Aunt Addy bought me a brownie.”
Even if she had cleaned her up, Lola ousted her. I’m not surprised. She doesn’t know any better. I taught her not to keep secrets from me. After all the secrets I’ve kept over the years that have destroyed lives, I never want her to feel like she needs to keep anything from me.
“It looks like it was delicious,” I reply, taking the napkin from her hand and wiping away the last bit of evidence from her cheek.
“It was. Can we buy another one? The nice lady said that it’s for a good cause.”
“Maybe in a few minutes, sweet girl. Have you seen your daddy?” I ask, looking around for Wyatt.
“He’s on stage, momma. He’s getting an award,” she replies, pointing to Wyatt.
He’s seated behind the Mayor, looking nervous as hell. An award, huh? I wonder what for. When I look to Jones, he avoids eye contact.
“Well, why don’t we get closer so we can watch,” I say to Lola, taking her sticky hand in mine.
Jones and Addy follow closely behind us as we weave our way through the crowd. The mayor is still talking as we near the stage.
“Lastly, I’d like to personally thank the owner of Fairview Tavern. Not only has he donated a ton of money to make this festival possible, but he’s also the man who kickstarted this movement. Without his courage and tenacity, we might still be the Fairview of the past. An amazing town with a sad presence on the map. All that is about to change, and we have him to thank for it. But why don’t I let him tell you all about that? Please welcome Mr. Wyatt Beech to the stage.”
The crowd cheers as Wyatt stands, shaking the Mayor’s hand before taking the microphone from his hand. Wyatt attempts to quiet the crowd, but they continue to cheer and scream for him. Looking at Jones, I see he’s smiling from ear to ear, his pride shining through.
They’ve always been a team, so it makes me wonder why Wyatt is up there and Jones isn’t. Did I miss something while I was gone? Beyond the normal stuff, anyway. I know I missed a lot, more than I care to admit or think about. Hopefully, their relationship didn’t suffer because of what happened.
“Thank you, everyone,” Wyatt finally says when the crowd begins to quiet. “I have to admit, I’m not a man of many words. I’d rather put my hands to use than talk about what I’m going to do. But today I’m happy to be up here. I’m happy to share with you what’s next for Fairview. But first, a little story.
“Five years ago, I lost two people that were important to me. My father and the woman I loved. In my grief, I tried to find ways to keep myself busy, it was the only way I was able to stay sane. One project led to another and then another. Before I knew it, I had purchased the bar my mother worked at and completely renovated it. My father would have been proud. He enjoying working with his hands, a love we both shared. Once that was finished, my mind started to wander again, and it circled back to her.
“So I built the bed and breakfast, opened it, and then sold it. It was doing well, but I knew there were people who could run it better than I could. People who would find a way to bring tourists to our town. When that didn’t happen right away, I wanted to solve the problem. It was a new challenge and to keep my mind occupied, I was ready to accept it.
“With the land I purchased, I intended to open a water park. Thing is, I hate water parks. I’m not fond of swimming in places that I’m sure someone hasn’t peed in.”
