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“It’s supposed to be amazing,” Simone says, wiping her lips. She gives the rest of her pastry to Wes, who gobbles it up and winks at her. “The lights, I mean.” She tears her gaze away from her husband’s lips and glances around at our growing group. Then she frowns. “Where’s Nora?”
“She and Lee said to go on ahead when we left the duplex,” Fiona replies, eyes twinkling. “They wanted to stay behind for some private time.”
“Gross,” Fallon, Nora’s brother, says.
Laughter echoes around the group, happiness thick in the air. If you’d asked me how my forties were going to go, I could never have guessed they’d end up this good. They started with two surprises—good and bad ones—that changed the course of my life forever.
Now, surrounded by friends and family, I feel luckier than ever. I turn to see Rudy giving Liam a kiss on the cheek before tossing him up in the air, and I know that right here—with all these people—is exactly where I’ve always been meant to be.
“Oh,” Simone says, a wide smile spreading over her face, “look at the two ofthem. I can’twaitto hear what put that look on their faces.”
All of us turn to see Mia and Des strolling down the street with Bailey beside them, looking completely and utterly besotted with each other.
“Someone got lucky last night,” Fiona says quietly, grinning.
“And I expect to hear every detail,” Simone adds before turning to the three new arrivals. “Over here!”
Mia and Des glance over, see the group, and change their course to come meet us by the tree. No one misses the way Des puts his hand on Mia’s lower back, or how Bailey slips her palm into his free hand.
27
DES
Bailey dropsmy hand and runs toward the boy and girl hovering at the edge of the group from Heart’s Cove. Trina’s kids, I think. Mia watches her go, calling for her to slow down, then lets out a sigh and gives up.
“She’s fine,” I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze.
“I know,” Mia huffs, glancing up at me. The sun has already dipped behind the peak of a mountain, but its fading rays still illuminate her beautiful face. She’s small and fierce, this woman. I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t have her forever.
“Come on. The best view of the lights is from the far end of Main Street.” I tug her arm, stopping beside Bailey to collect her on our way. Behind us, our ragtag bunch of friends and acquaintances follow, chattering, eating, sipping hot cocoa, and generally being merry.
Would it be possible for me to belong to this group too? For me to find a place in Heart’s Cove that I could truly call home?
“Desmond!” My grandmother swings her legs out of a car and waves at me, then hauls herself up to her feet. I hurry beside her and help her out. Mia and Bailey are already on the other side of the vehicle, helping my grandfather.
“Aren’t you nice?” he says, chucking Bailey’s chin. Bailey smiles and ducks behind her mom, who takes my grandfather’s arm and helps him up the curb.
“We’re going to sit outside Rita’s,” Grandma says, motioning to the nearby bar. Rita’s is famous in Lovers’ Peak, and it has a great patio that extends all the way into the street to take up a couple of parking spots. We help them to find their seats, and when Mia and Bailey say goodbye and step back onto the sidewalk on the other side of the restaurant, my grandmother grabs my wrist.
“Hold onto her, my boy,” she says, more solemnly than I’ve ever heard before. “She looks at you the way your mother used to look at your father.”
Throat tight, I just nod. Maude turns to Arthur and starts fussing, so I slip away.
“All good?” Mia asks, rubbing her arms over her shoulders.
I take my scarf off and drape it around her neck. “Everything’s great. Let’s find a spot to stand; they’re about to turn on the lights.”
We find a spot at the top of a small incline, near the middle of the road. People crowd all around us, some with camping chairs, some standing, some sitting on the curb or the various benches on the side of the road. Main Street is closed today—if not officially, then because this has become a yearly tradition in town. Excited chatter bounces around the crowd, and Mia stays close enough for her arm to brush mine.
I like having her there, where I can smell her shampoo and her perfume, feel the heat of her body, see the light playing in the strands of her hair.
Darkness falls fast as the sun slips deeper behind the mountains, and then all at once, the town blazes with light. Gasps and cheers go up, and I find myself putting one hand on Bailey’s shoulder, and the other around Mia’s waist. The two of them glance at me and smile, eyes shining, as the magic of the moment permeates the air.
Lights are strung up in every bare tree along the street. They dangle from curlicued lampposts. They line shop windows and eaves. They dangle in zig-zagging lines across the street like a glimmering ceiling. And at the end of the road, a massive Christmas tree blazes like a beacon.
The whole crowd of people applauds the start of the holiday season.
We wander for an hour or so, heading down small side streets to find clever light displays in windows, or intricate ones strung up on roofs or projected onto building fronts. All different colors, big and small, the whole town explodes with beautiful light. Our friends follow, pointing out various displays, laughing and chattering. I feel airy, weightless. I’ve never had a group of friends this big. I’ve never felt part of anything, never felt like I had a place in the world that felt like home.
