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“Oh, Mr. Posada,” Marcus Garfield says as he notices my presence, offering me an open hand. “Welcome to Warmer Springs.”
People start to walk around us, headed for their cars. Pastor Garfield waves at them but says nothing else. It’s like all of them know why I’m here.
“Thank you,” I reply. “I’m very impressed with what I see.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” The man smiles and gives me a slap on the shoulder, inviting me to stand beside him to look at the construction site on the other side of the gravel pathway. “It’s your money making a miracle around here, Mr. Posada. We are very grateful for your help.”
“It’s David,” I tell him. “I’m also thankful for the spot you opened for me here.”
“Please call me Marcus. Life is a circle, after all, David,” he muses, looking at me directly with pale green eyes. “And talking about David, I see you met my grandson already.”
His grandson? The pastor is a tall skinny guy with a head covered with thinning pale-yellow hair and green eyes.
“It was his fault.” The little boy’s bottom lip quivers as he looks up at his grandfather with misty eyes. “He was in the middle, Grandpa. I no have time to stop.”
“What are you saying?” Marcus tips his head down to look at the boy’s face.
“This,” I reply to him, pointing at my stained navy pants.
“Oh, my…” the man whispers, then throws a string of words to his grandson before returning his attention to me. “I’m so sorry. We’ll take care of the drycleaning bill, of course. Davi, why aren’t you with your Sunday school class? What did I say about running around without Mommy or me? Did you say sorry to Mr. Posada?”
“I sorry,” the little boy—Davi—says ruefully. “But Grandpa, I a dinosaur. And we like to run and….”
“Davi, Mr. Posada’s company is helping us to rebuild the church. This is the welcome we are offering to him for doing that, ruining his clothes? We know better, right?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
The man’s gaze changes and soon, he’s smiling at his grandson with eyes full of love.
I squat in front of Davi. There is something about him, something I can’t place or name. His little face is a bit wrinkled with worry.
“Hi, Davi,” I say. “I’m David. I’ll be working around here.”
“We have same name!” The boy’s eyes widen…
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “And my Daddy, too, but he’s not here.”
“Nice to meet you, Davi.” I offer him my hand to give him a formal shake, caring very little about the paint. The damage is done anyway. “There are dinosaurs around?”
Davi’s gaze holds mine. Dark eyes. I’m sure I’ve seen the same shade before even if I can’t say where. My heart pounds faster.
What’s happening here?
“Yes,” he replies with a little smile. “Tons.”
I open my eyes, faking shock. “We are in danger then. Should I also build a cage for them and keep us safe?”
This time Davi smiles broadly. Two dimples appear on his checks. His eyes sparkling with joy… and relief. “Oh no. They were born to be wild.”
A smile pulls my lips up. I can’t help it. “And to have us for dinner?”
“No. Nice dinosaurs,” the boy explains very seriously. “They eat veggies like my cousin Chloe.”
I haven’t been around many kids, but this boy is adorable.
“You eat all your veggies, too?”
