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“Good. We had four school buses full of aliens come in for lunch.”
“Sounds busy,” she replied, and I laughed with abandon. It was only then that she looked up.
“What?”
“I just told you we had buses of aliens come in for lunch and you said, ‘sounds busy.’” Which I put in air quotes to prove my point.
Her grin was sheepish when she turned to me. “Sorry. I was caught up in your mom’s Christmas decoration book.”
“Oh, great, you found it!” I exclaimed, stepping into the room while being careful of all the paint, beads, and yarn on the floor.
She handed it over and gave me a pained smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have been reading it, but I wanted to make sure that’s what it was. Then I couldn’t put it down.”
I held it to my chest. “No apology needed. I’m glad you read it. I don’t mind at all. I just didn’t want it to get lost in the jumble of supplies.” I flipped through the book, recognizing my mother’s handwriting, and chuckling at her snowman and tree drawings.
I closed the book and handed it back to her. “Feel free to finish it. Did you find anything useful in this menagerie of supplies?”
She set the book on the bed and motioned at the piles. “This has been a literal treasure trove, Lance. Michelle had a lot of craft supplies.”
“For just about every craft imaginable,” I said, shaking my head. “She knitted, crocheted, beaded, cross-stitched, and anything else that moved her. She gave it all away, too. Well, except for Bob and the few afghans she made for the house.”
“We can’t forget Bob,” she said, a smile on her lips. “With such a myriad of supplies, it took me a bit to separate them all out by craft or type.”
She stood there with her hands on her hips, gazing around the piles, but I could sense her nervousness. I stepped forward and put my hand on her shoulder. “What? Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Well, I was just thinking that we could use the scrapbook supplies for the school-to-work program. We could use them at the bakery for the window displays the kids do for the change in seasons. I figured the Family and Consumer Education kids might like the yarn to make blankets they can then sell at Evergreen Acres. The senior center would take the beads and anything else the school doesn’t take. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea!” I exclaimed, putting my arm around her shoulder. “I wish I had thought of it sooner.”
“Really?” she asked, gazing up at me from herShrinky Dinkposition under my arm. I loved that she was aShrinky Dink, though.
“Why wouldn’t I? As I said, my mom used all these supplies to make gifts to cheer up other people. She’d love to know it went to the kids. Besides, it furthers the future of the next generation of Bells Pass, which she was all about.”
She leaned her head against my chest for a moment before she smiled. “I’m glad you like the idea. I’ll get it all boxed up and take care of it, so you don’t have to. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with my choices first.”
I turned her by her shoulders to hold her gaze. “I’m one hundred percent behind you and what you guys are doing at the bakery and Evergreen Acres. I’ve been training Brittany all these years as she’s learned new job skills and moved through the positions at the diner. I love that Ivy has found a way to find jobs for kids like Brittany. My mom loved the idea too. Let me get some boxes. I’ll help you get it all packed up and then maybe I could make you dinner?”
“Oh, dinner sounds good,” she said with a smile. “What did you have in mind? More Lancenators?”
I tapped her nose before I headed to the door. “I don’t know,Shrinky Dink, I guess you’ll have to stay tuned.”
“Hey!” she called as I darted out the door. “Who you calling aShrinky Dink?”
I was certain she could hear my laughter all the way from the basement, and I didn’t even care. I realized as I grabbed empty boxes off the floor that it was the first time I’d laughed freely in months.
She did that for me.
Ever since I was in kindergarten it had always come down to Indigo Dickson. If the universe was trying to sell me something, it was wasting its time. I was already sold.
I glanced around the room and nodded with satisfaction. The craft corner no longer existed thanks to a few hours of hard work. I was glad Lance was happy with where I wanted to donate the supplies. I knew Michelle would love the idea, but sometimes it’s harder for the living to accept that and part with their loved one’s things. Lance seemed to be doing well, though. He had slowly come back to life the last few weeks and hearing his laughter earlier when he ran from my room had filled my eyes with tears. His laughter was what always filled the diner when he was on shift, and it had been missing for too long. Relief had washed over me as I hugged his mother’s Christmas book to my chest.
Speaking of that, I had it tucked in my back pocket and I hoped to find the right time to talk to him about what I had in mind. Right now, I was due for dinner, so I turned the light off and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. I could smell the spicy meat already and didn’t have to wonder what he was making.
“Son, are you making tacos in here?” I asked, stepping into the room.
“You know I am, girl. There’s nothing Indigo Dickson likes more than a spicy taco.”
“Ha!”
