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“Are we crazy?” Stormi asked Avery and Emily, who were piling three kids under the age of three out of Stormi’s extended cab truck.
“The best kind of crazy,” Emily said with a smile.
She had been flourishing with each day that passed and loved spending time with Jayne. As the baby was pulled from her car seat, Stormi helped Emma down next and then Phoebe.
“Girls take a hand,” she said in a sing-song voice that still surprised her each time she used it.
“I think it was a wonderful idea to come during the week, so it wasn’t nearly as busy,” Avery agreed, looking at the light crowd standing to wait for the opening of the gate.
The fall festival featuring booths with games and food, along with some kiddy rides, was a favorite in town each year. Few outside vendors bothered to bring events to Little Bend, but the fall festival was a tradition in this sleepy town. Stormi could recall her attendance with Pastor Necome when she turned eight as her birthday treat that year. He had always made himself available to her, despite foster family moves, hard knocks in school, first boyfriends, and the like. She was very grateful to him. The few good memories, such as this, featured him prominently in her mind. It was in that vein she was trying to give something back to Emma and Phoebe.
She still did not understand why these two sweet souls resonated so much with her, but it probably was the orphan factor. She knew what growing up without a mother or father was like, and luckily for these two, Grayson had their backs. A female presence, though, could never be undervalued, in her opinion. She was a bit too tomboyish for many men, and maybe a mother could have balanced her personality out a bit more. Though, she was comfortable in her own skin these days. Paying it forward to Emma and Phoebe was just a bonus.
Emma tugged her hand as she looked down, noticing the little girl had crossed her legs and was wiggling.
“Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
She nodded.
Stormi looked up and was relieved to find that the gates were opening at that exact moment. “As soon as we get tickets, we will make a bee line for the bathroom. Okay?”
Emma nodded vigorously.
They made it through lines and into the bathroom without incident. The pull-up the little girl had on, and the tiny port-a-potty made for some exciting moves to navigate the small space, but they were finally ready for the fun.
As they traversed the festival, Phoebe kept glancing back at Emma. They both stayed calm, looked engaged, and even responded nonverbally to the conversation.
Suddenly though, a loud bang from the Hi Striker Game rang out, and Phoebe crumpled to the ground. She was shaking and crying, causing Stormi to lunge forward.
“It’s okay,” she said, bending down and picking the little girl up to a sitting position on her lap. Phoebe kept her hands over her ears and continued to rock.
Emma walked up next to them and started rubbing her sister’s back. Emily crouched down, and Avery came in front of them to block any crowd. They let her cry it out, as Belle had instructed, and finally saw her still.
“It’s just a game,” Stormi said with a slight smile. “See,” she pointed to the game with a man about to bring the hammer down again.
She wrapped her arms around Phoebe and waited.
BANG.
She jumped and gripped Stormi’s arm.
No tears, though, just some straightening of the spine as she held Stormi’s arm with a death grip. After another minute, it passed.
“Are you ready?”
Phoebe nodded, taking Stormi’s hand as she stood up to her full height once again.
“You are a natural,” Avery said softly.
Emily smiled at her encouragingly. “Emma, you want to walk with me for a bit?”
Emma shook her head, and resolutely took her sister’s hand, which was anchored to Stormi.
“I think we all could use some ice cream,” Stormi said, seeing that little stand ahead of them.
“Sticky hands. You sure?” Avery asked.
“Hey, I’ll take sticky hands if I could just get a tiny smile,” Stormi said quietly to her.
“Let’s do it. Jayne is old enough to try some too, so this should be fun,” she finished in a conspiratorial whisper filled with sarcasm.
Stormi looked down at Emma and Phoebe, who were composed, but still not talking. She hoped someday they gained their voice again. As they traipsed over to the ice cream, she saw a glimmer in Emma’s eyes.
“What flavor?’ She asked, hoping again for just a little something.
Silence.
“I love chocolate,” Emily said.
“Vanilla for Jayne and me,” Avery announced.
“Do you want chocolate?”
Two heads shook side to side.
“How about vanilla?”
Two heads again shook side to side.
“Strawberry?”
Vigorous up and down shakes this time.
“Strawberry it is,” she said, lightly smiling as she turned to help place the orders.
As they all sat down and dug in, she looked up directly to Phoebe.
“What do you say to Stormi for your ice cream?” Avery said from directly to the left of the girls.
Emma put her palm to her chin and moved it out in the sign of “thank you.”
“You are welcome,” Stormi replied.
Phoebe just looked a bit longer, then she swung a leg over the bench and walked around. She wrapped her arms around Stormi’s middle as she was seated on a picnic table bench by herself. Burying her face in Stormi’s back, she squeezed, and then quietly returned to her spot.
Stormi looked at Avery as the tears threatened her eyes. Well, that was one way to say thank you. Now, for the first time, she felt the tight squeeze on her heart where these little girls were concerned. She smiled through the tears to Phoebe and focused on ice cream. It was a wonderful day, and soon she hoped the good ones would far outweigh the bad for these sweet kiddos.
