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She looked up. “You do?”
“Yeah. Our sixteenth president. It was Lincoln, wasn’t it? So, the space isn’t space up above us. It’s the space around us. It’s Lincoln Park.”
“Lincoln Park? Of course. Let’s go.”
Piper was out of her seat before she could even think straight, but Dawson was just as keen and helped her into her jacket and quickly settled the check.
They drove in his car again, and Piper groaned. “Lincoln Park Zoo, of course. That’s what the biological word meant. Botanical is the gardens, and historical must refer to the museum, or even Lincoln himself.”
Dawson frowned. “Lincoln Park is a big space. They have the Christmas lights at the zoo, the loop we can drive around, there’s a Santa village. How will we know where to start—where to go?”
She turned her head to him. “We do what we always do; we get out and walk around. We’ll figure it out. It’s just about getting to the right place. And we know that now. It doesn’t even matter if we don’t figure it out tonight. We can try again tomorrow if we have to, or the next day.”
Determination was building inside her. Now, they knew where the clue brought them, she wasn’t going to let any other part of the clue phase her. “We can do this,” she said with conviction.
“I’m feeling a whole lot better about this,” Dawson admitted.
“Me, too.” She smiled.
They parked close to the zoo and got out, mingling with the families heading to see the lights. The light display was stunning. “I didn’t get here last year,” said Piper. “I’d forgotten just how wonderful this was.”
“Me, too,” said Dawson. “I haven’t been here for years.”
They watched as another couple in front of them stopped and kissed and Piper nudged him.
“Think we might see a Christmas proposal?”
“Let’s hope he’s picked the right ring,” said Dawson, too quickly.
Piper stopped and looked at him. “Oh, that’s got to be a story.”
Dawson slung an arm casually around her shoulders. “Oh, it is. I have an Aunt Maisey and around fifty years ago she decided she was getting engaged.”
“Shedecided?” Piper’s eyes gleamed with amusement.
“Oh, yes. Believe me, when Aunt Maisey decides something, the world just nods its head in agreement.”
“Okay, so what happened?”
“Well, Aunt Maisey had a very fixed idea about what kind of engagement ring she wanted. She wanted gold. Yellow gold. And she wanted multiple diamonds. One in the middle, and lots of little ones set in the band.”
“Did Aunt Maisey have a potential fiancé?”
“That’s the thing.” Dawson smiled. “She had three.”
“Three?” Piper started to laugh.
“My mother told me that Aunt Maisey walked all three potentials down to a jewelry store where she’d spotted the style of ring she liked. She hadn’t picked one outexactly, but she showed all three the style she liked and expected.”
“Why do I think this isn’t going to end well?” asked Piper as they continued walking through the Christmas lights.
He kept smiling. “So, suitor number one arrived with a very small, undistinguishable stone in a ring. Aunt Maisey sent him packing.”
Piper put her hand to her chest. “Harsh.”
Dawson agreed. “Absolutely. Suitor two arrived with a ring that was a family heirloom. But Maisey considered that secondhand. She didn’t want any ring that another person had worn, so he was sent packing, too.”
“Even more harsh.” Piper couldn’t help but laugh.
