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“That’s right,” Maya lied. “It was lovely to meet you both. Hope to catch you around the festival later.”
Brad and Maya sped off through the crowd and away from Rainey and Olivia’s forceful glares.
“What was that about?” Maya demanded.
“Don’t worry about them,” Brad said.
“It looks like Rainey is planning on eating me,” Maya joked.
Brad stalled near the furthest grill, where a selection of brats and hamburgers roasted, the fire flickering from beneath the coals. He reached over and tugged Maya’s hat over her ears, giving her a playful smile. “Let’s not worry about them, okay? You planned a gorgeous festival. Let’s enjoy it.”
Maya agreed to open her heart to the rest of the festival. Now that she’d pressed “play,” the afternoon seemed to go off without a hitch. The band on the nearest stage performed Christmas classics, plus a selection of classic rock songs from Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Supertramp, and John Mellencamp. With a mug of hot wine in her hand, Maya found herself in the center of the crowd, Brad’s arm slung over her shoulder, singing “Thunder Road” at the top of her lungs. She had a vague image of her parents singing that song in the car with their hands clasped together between the seats in front. She remembered them stealing glances at one another as they whipped down a country road.
At four-thirty, the light dimmed overhead, casting the festival in shadows. Right on time, the Christmas lights were illuminated along the street, between food stalls, and around decorative Christmas trees. Even the current band on stage flipped a switch and illuminated their guitars, drum set, and piano. Maya cried out along with the others, grateful for the gorgeous display.
“Is that Maya?”
Maya turned to find Felicity and Conor weaving through the crowd, wearing happy smiles. Conor held a cup of tea while Maya clung to his right arm with both of hers. She looked as captivated as the children.
“This is really something, honey,” Felicity said.
Maya blushed and thanked her. “I couldn’t have done it without your hospitality this week.”
Felicity waved her hand. “Have you seen Tom and Winnie?”
Maya followed Felicity’s pointer finger to the far end of the festival, where Tom and Winnie played a festival game with darts and balloons. As Maya watched, Winnie flung her dart, and it popped a massive blue balloon toward the center. Tom called out and high-fived Winnie.
“Still no sign of Sarah Sanderson?” Brad asked.
“She’ll be home soon,” Felicity reported. “And then, I guess we’ll see if Tom gets his happily ever after.”
The four of them were quiet for a moment. Maya was growing frightened for Tom’s future. What if Sarah rejected him? What would he do then?
The answer came a split-second later. Maya had been rejected more times than she could count. The only thing to do, in those circumstances, was keep going. You had to remind yourself there was still so much to live for.
In Maya’s case, Brad Turner had been right around the corner.
The following day of the festival went just as well as the first. The parade began at noon and traced the city streets, with the marching band leading the charge, the director keeping the band in time, walking backward expertly and conducting. When he passed Maya, he waved a hand in time to the music, careful not to distract his students. Maya smiled and clapped, leaning her cheek against the sleeve of Brad’s coat.
“Look.” Brad pointed to the approaching float, which was the papier-mâché disaster he’d helped with Saturday morning. “It doesn’t look half bad!”
Maya laughed as the wonky-looking papier-mâché snowman approached. It was true that Brad and the bankers had done what they could with the messy project, tying scarves around his neck and adding a top hat, eyes, a big fake carrot nose, and a big smile. Atop the float, several of the local bankers stood and tossed candy to children along the street. They were dressed in Santa hats and thick winter coats; the fact that their snowman looked a little worse for wear didn’t matter to them at all. They were in the midst of a Hollygrove celebration.
And it had all come together because of Maya. Her heart overflowed.
After the parade, Brad convinced Maya to grab a slice of pizza from a food stall and wander to the music stage to check out the next performance. Everywhere they went, people said hello to Maya and thanked her for what she’d done, and Maya felt as though she floated. Perhaps due to her exuberance— or a complete loss of her mind— she slipped her fingers through Brad’s. Brad didn’t move away. It was as though, ever since they’d met one another one week ago, something had drawn them together powerfully. It felt like fate.
“Maya! Hello!”
Maya heard her name and turned on her heel, nearly dropping her pizza. Thaddeus strained through the crowd, waving a gloved hand. He looked much happier than he had last week at the law office, and his cheeks were ruddy, either from the cold or the mulled wine or some combination of the two. He clapped Brad on the shoulder and said, “This is some festival, you two.”
Maya grinned. “I can’t believe it all came together.”
“It was seamless,” Thaddeus affirmed. “I contacted your aunt’s nursing home to pass along the message. She told me I’d know if you were up to the next part of the task. I’m trusting my instincts here. I think you’re ready.”
Maya pressed her lips together, silent with anticipation. She had no idea what it would be.
Thaddeus procured another envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to her. It was heavy, and Maya’s thumb traced what had to be an enormous iron key within.
