Pilar couldn't help the smile plastered across her face when Max gave the bingo cage a spin and then opened the trap gate to retrieve another ball. Pinky had informed Pilar that the bingo caller she'd lined up for the Bingo Bash had phoned her that morning barely making his words intelligible. Seems he had laryngitis. Max had agreed to take his place. In his beautiful baritone he called, "G11."
Her smile started to fade when she remembered that he would be gone in two months, and the thought of never seeing Max again made her smile vanish. Seated beside her, Willie shouted, "Mom, look! You've got a bingo!"
Pilar jerked her eyes to her card and yelled, "Bingo!"
Willie whooped and a few of the hardcore players grumbled. Max repeated the winning numbers and Pilar's bingo was made official. With a flourish, he handed out her prize, a gift card worth fifteen dollars at Dottie's Dime Store. Willie whooped again, no doubt thinking he might get some baseball cards out of the deal.
After the "Bash" the group lingered around cake and coffee. Mrs. Hightower and Pinky had baked three chocolate cakes, a strawberry one and a vanilla one. Desert Princess Diner provided the coffee.
Desi sipped his brew and asked Max, "So, son, looks like you're on the downhill slide to your tenure with only a couple of months remaining. What are your plans when you leave us?"
Pilar forced a bite of cake past the lump in her throat.
Max responded, "I'll be contacting my grandfather to see if he wants me to drive to New York or back to San Diego, or maybe another city. I'm assuming he'll assign me to one of his acquisitions and my life will resume where it left off."
"Are you going to miss us?" Pinky asked loudly.
Max's grin made Pilar's heart race. He said, "I'm going to miss each and every one of you." His eyes locked on Pilar's.
Goody interjected, "Well, you know where Oasis is. If you get a hankerin' for the desert, you're always welcome."
Everyone in the group chimed in and agreed with Goody.
Mr. Howard, or Howie as he preferred being called, had arrived a few days earlier from Canada to spend the fall and winter in Oasis. He asked, "Does anyone know when Princess will be home?"
Max said, "She called me a couple of days ago and said she'd be back before I left. That's about as specific as she got."
Pinky said, "She sent me some postcards from her travels."
Several other residents spoke up and said that they'd also received postcards.
Willie, who had been munching on cake and drinking cold chocolate milk, changed the subject when he said with his mouthful, "My dad is taking me camping next weekend!" His excitement was contagious and everyone wished him a happy time.
Since Willie's rescue, his father had cancelled all appointments that conflicted with him and Willie spending time together. He'd taken Willie to a baseball game that very next weekend and asked Pilar's advice on activities he should plan with his son.
Pilar patted Willie's head. She'd never seen him so happy. As much as she hated the reason for Parker's change of heart, she was ecstatic about the outcome. Through the years, she'd wondered if she would feel jealous if Willie developed a relationship with his father, but she didn't. She'd mentioned that fact to Max, and he'd placed his hands on her arms, turning her to face him. "Love is never jealous. You only want the best for your son."
Placing her hands in his chest, she'd replied, "Thank you, Max, for everything." On the verge of kissing him, she'd quickly walked away. She knew she'd never stop with just one kiss. She wanted him in her life, in Willie's life, and in her bed.
As the Bingo Bash came to a close, Pilar helped with cleanup but left as soon as she'd done her part. Better to avoid Max.
The next month went by too fast for Pilar. On the last Friday, the event planned by Lilac, Vera, and Goody, had the biggest turnout yet. They named it the Pizza Puzzle Party, with the object being for teams of six to be the first to complete a jigsaw puzzle of a pizza with a gazillion tiny pieces. Of course, real pizza was served to everyone. The winning team received, not surprisingly, pizza certificates from the town's only pizza parlor. As it turned out, Hank had been doing jigsaw puzzles for years, but so had Vera. Their teams ran neck and neck to the finish, but Hank beat the competition by five seconds. Max's team came in last and everyone jokingly gave him a bad time. The party was a success and an adrenaline rush, but Pilar's mind never strayed far from the fact that Max would be gone in another month.
In November, after the weather turned cold, Princess returned toward the end of the month. The residents who saw her old Jeep driving through the entrance, soon alerted the entire park. Everyone rushed toward her trailer and some even beat her to it, Pilar was one of the first to arrive. With a grin that radiated warmth, Princess climbed from her Cherokee and said, "Well, howdy, ya'll."
The group loudly reciprocated her greeting just as Max reached the trailer. Princess saw him and called, "Hello, Max. You got this place lookin' right spiffy. And looks like you're none too worse for the wear in the doin' of it. Matter o' fact, you look a might happier than you did when you got here."
Max grinned. "I love a challenge."
Princess countered, "As do I, Max. And when you first arrived, I knew you'd be a challenge."
Max laughed loudly.
Princess turned her attention to Willie. "Young man, I heard from one of my snitches that you jus' 'bout bought the farm."
Willie looked confused. "Ma'am, me and my mom are still living in our trailer. We don't have a farm."
Everyone laughed and Pilar bent to Willie's ear. "I'll explain later."
Willie shrugged and grinned at Princess.
Piggy decided he needed attention and raced forward, barking and nipping at Princess's heels. She bent to pick the mutt up so she could get some dog kisses.