Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
TOBIAS BARRETT
A s the boats take off, I watch Kiki. She’s still upset about last night, I can tell. She’s pulling even further away from me emotionally. I really messed things up, but I don’t know what to do to fix it. We can’t just pretend her past didn’t happen. We can’t build anything new on a crumbling foundation. Tonight I’ll have to talk to her. Get her to open up to me.
After the boat race, we walk a couple of blocks to the strip of food trucks. The sky darkens with clouds, and I hope it’s not going to rain on us. All the smells from the food make my mouth water. My gaze skims over the BBQ, the roasted corn on the cob, and the fried chicken.
“Can I have a corn dog?” Skyler asks.
“Sure, Little Pup. Kiki? What do you want?”
She looks down the line of trucks. “Shrimp tacos, please. And a Diet Pepsi.”
“That sounds good for me too. Grab a table with Skyler. I’ll go get our food.”
I walk to the corn dog stand while Kiki takes Skyler’s hand and leads her toward the seating area. I get all our food and join them at the plastic table. I pull out a chair and sit in it. It’s the cheap outdoor kind they set up just for the festival.
“Kiki, look!” Skyler points to a man walking down the street in stilts with, long striped pants.
“Wow, he’s tall. He must have gotten trapped in a taffy pulling machine,” Kiki says with a lopsided grin.
Skyler giggles. “No, he didn’t.”
“Oh, yes,” I say, keeping a straight face. “That can really happen.”
Skyler’s eyes grow wide. “It can?”
We laugh and Kiki shakes her head. “No, we’re kidding. He’s wearing stilts. They’re long, wooden sticks. You can see them at the bottoms of his pants. Look.”
Skyler looks again and nods. “I see them.”
“You have to be very talented to walk on stilts. He probably practiced a long time.” Kiki takes a bite of her taco.
We eat for a few moments. Skyler dips her corn dog into her catsup and takes a bite, but it gets all over her face.
Kiki grins at me and nudges my arm. “Take a picture,” she whispers.
I pull out my phone and snap a photo without Skyler seeing. I catch Kiki in the photo as well. She’s smiling, and she looks genuinely happy. Kiki grabs a napkin and wipes off Skyler’s face.
“What’s going on after this?” Kiki asks.
“There’s a parade down main street,” I say. “Then there’s an ice sculpture carving contest.”
Skyler grabs Kiki’s arm. “Will you watch the parade with us?”
“Sure,” Kiki says.
“And tomorrow can we go to the park?”
Kiki swallows and doesn’t meet Skyler’s gaze, and the hairs raise on the back of my neck. I can’t breathe as I stare at her, waiting for her to say something to Skyler.
The seconds tick by, and Kiki glances around the table. “Hey, you only have one bite of your corn dog left. Great job. Finish up so we can go to the parade.”
A cold ball forms in my stomach. Is she planning on leaving tonight? That can’t happen. I didn’t mean to upset her so much. I have to talk things through with her. I need to let her know I don’t care about her past. I catch sight of Levi walking down the street, looking at the food trucks. “I’ll be right back,” I say.
I join Levi in the street. “Hey, can you watch Skyler for a few minutes? Maybe get her a treat? I’ll pay for it. I need to talk to Kiki alone.”
He looks me up and down. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just need to talk to Kiki.”
He squints at me. “You’re a bad liar.”
I exhale and run my hand through my hair. “It’s a long story.”
Levi shoves his hands in his pockets. “Give me the short version.”
He’s not budging, and desperation builds inside of me. “I love her, and I don’t want her to leave,” I blurt out.
Levi grins. “I knew it.” He fake punches my shoulder. “You love her.”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling the time slipping away. “Can you watch Skyler?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “What makes you think she’ll leave?”
“That’s the long story part.”
“What did you do?”
I rake my hand over my hair. “I messed up last night. Said something I shouldn’t have. I need to tell her I’m sorry.”
Levi shakes his head at me. “Sure, I can watch her. Don’t screw this up. You and Kiki are good together.”
Skyler tugs on my jeans. “I’m done eating.”
I glance toward the table, and Kiki’s gone. My heart jumps into my throat. “Where did Kiki go?”
“To the bathroom.” She points to a sign that says public restrooms, and an arrow that points around to the back of a brick building.
“Levi’s going to get you a treat, then take you to the parade. I’ll meet you there, okay?”
Levi takes Skyler’s hand. “Do you want some cotton candy?”
Skyler grins up at him. “Sure, Uncle Levi.”
Levi takes off with Skyler and I sit down at the table. I look down the street, toward the restrooms.
“Can we talk?”
I turn around to see Noah, dressed in his uniform, a manila file folder under his arm.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Where’s Kiki?”
“In the restroom. Why?”
He exhales and sits next to me. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”