CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE Ginger
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Ginger
T he carnival atmosphere of Nash and CeCe’s Harvest Fest is everything I love about living in Laurel Creek. There are people everywhere; all you can hear is the sound of kids’ laughter, and all you can smell are food trucks, funnel cakes and popcorn.
It’s still technically summer but you can tell fall is imminent, and I’m beyond excited to start my school year soon. This summer has been life-changing, yet I’ve never felt so refreshed and ready to shape young minds. Being with Mabel has brought back my love of teaching. So much so, I’ve already been in to start setting up my classroom. And everything else has started falling into place too; I was able to sublet my apartment in less than a week and, tomorrow, Cole and I are heading there to pick up the rest of my belongings. But today we’re all just ready for some small-town fun.
“I love them,” I tell Cole as Mabel squeals beside me when he holds up two matching jerseys for today’s game.
“Gotta have my name on your back while you watch me play. There’s no other way.” He grins at me.
Mabel and I hug Glenda and thank her for letting us help out on her stall. She cleaned up today, sold a dozen blankets and a bunch of fall hats. Her story is one I hope ends happily—she’s doing so well and is just so in love with Billi Grace.
Ivy approaches us to visit her mama, and Mabel and I start packing up our things so we can wander the booths before they close. CeCe has been in and out of the festival all day—checking on vendors, making sure they all have water and good shade in the late summer heat. She was born for this, and everyone is saying this festival has been an even bigger hit than last year’s. Even my parents and grandmas have ventured out for the festivities. When my dad and I had our lunch a couple of weeks ago, he apologized for his behavior again, promising to remember I’m his daughter first and foremost from now on. It’s the first step to mending everything between us. He also told me that, after serving this term, he is officially retiring; and when Cole and I went for dinner last week on our own, leaving Mabel with Jo for the night, it was a pleasant experience. I’ve almost worked up enough courage to tell my mother about mine and Cole’s accidental marriage. Nah, maybe I’ll tell my grandmothers first.
My father also apologized to Cole that night about using him and Mabel in his primary speech and told him how he thought Cole was a stand-up man, and that he could tell how much he cared about me.
Two-week-old Billi makes the cutest little grunts from her stroller, snapping me from my thoughts. Mabel is right there to tend to her and Ivy watches them with the sweetest, most relaxed smile on her face.
“How are you feeling, mama?” I ask, bringing her close for a little hug.
“Tired but … complete,” she replies, smiling. Her long black hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her pretty face is free from any makeup. “And trying to rest up as best I can.”
“We all gotta rest up.” Glenda smiles from behind her craft table as she packs up. “The whirlwind is coming for a visit next week.”
I look back at Ivy.
“My sister, Cassie,” she explains. “She’s finishing up the tour with Red Dirt Roots. It’s been a busy summer for her. Success kind of came out of nowhere and she’s about to head into the studio to record her next album.”
“I bet it’s been a bit of an adventure,” I say. “She’s skyrocketing right now.”
Cassie’s single, “Friday Night Lights,” has been climbing the charts all summer. Since release, it became the sort of slow creeper hit played in every bar at slow-dance time, and now she’s finishing up a tour with one of country’s hottest bands. It doesn’t hurt her that she’s drop-dead gorgeous and even through a screen you can tell she’s just full of charisma. She’s been playing the outdoor festival circuit since May, and Ivy and Glenda are intensely proud of her.
“She’s a bit of a tornado,” Ivy warns with a smile. “But she loves so hard. I can’t wait to see her. Can’t wait for her to meet Billi and all of you.”
I smile back at her, before turning my gaze to Mabel, who is gently pushing Billi’s stroller back and forth, soothing her to sleep.
“Well, just remember, Sangria Sundays make house calls if you want a girls’ night,” I say.
“Sure, as long as my sangria can be virgin since I’m a food source right now.” She laughs.
“You got it. While Cassie’s here, we’ll find some ways to keep her entertained. How long is she staying?”
“I’m not sure, a few days maybe,” Ivy replies.
“It’s good to have family around,” I tell her with a squeeze of the hand. I’m so grateful for this crew. “You need anything, you just ask,” I continue, tilting my head toward Mabes. “Looks like you’ll have a built-in babysitter right here for the next few years anyway.”
Ivy nods as we watch Mabel, who is utterly enamored with Billi. She’s so attentive and helpful, a natural-born little mother hen, and I can’t wait to give her a little brother or sister to love in the same way. But that will be down the road; I know that Mabel needs time to adjust to me as a permanent fixture in her life, and we all need time to grow as a family before we add to it. As much as it pains Cole to admit it, he knows I’m right.
We all pile into the arena, and it seems as though the entire town has come out to watch the boys play. Cole and Wade are suited up and standing beside Nash, waiting for his reaction to the team they’ve put together.
I’m not prepared for how my body reacts to seeing Cole in his hockey gear. He looked good playing when we were young. But now? He’s like a walking wet dream. So big and ominous when he approaches me. I stand on my tiptoes to greet him. I’m not a short woman at 5”7’ but he’s got at least ten or eleven inches on me right now in skates.
The look on Nash’s face as he greets the players who make their way out of the dressing room is priceless. “You motherfuckers,” I hear him whisper to Cole and Wade as he realizes they’ve stacked their town team with former NHL players.
“Gotta get a win for my daughter’s first game,” Wade replies.
“I think I might need to have you keep that jersey on later,” Cole mutters in my ear as he reaches me. “Goddamn that does something to me.”
Mabel skips over to us and Cole ruffles her hair.
“Ready for the show, Half Pint?” he asks with a wink.
She nods excitedly and winks back. “Good luck, Sir Peanut Butter Cups!”
He winks again and then they high-five, signaling that they share a secret. I look between them.
“What am I missing?” I ask them both, folding my arms over my chest. Mabel looks at Cole and giggles. I turn back to him and see his finger against his lips before he swiftly pulls it down.
I narrow my eyes at him and he shrugs sheepishly. Something is definitely up. But I have no time to figure out what because suddenly my jersey is being tugged on, followed by a chorus of “Miss Danforth?” I turn to find three of my students from last year’s homeroom class standing beside me. We chat for a few minutes about our summers, and what we’ve all been up to.
“Would you help us for the school socials?” Josie Grass, one of my favorite students, asks me. “We’re going to sing the national anthem and wondered if you would record it for us at ice level? My mom was supposed to do it but she’s running late.”
CeCe arrives next to us at exactly the right time.
“Go for it, Ginger. Mabes can come with me. Right, Mabes?” She smiles at me. “You can find us after the game starts. We’ll be just up there.”
I thank CeCe and turn back to my students.
“Sure,” I tell them. “Whose phone am I using?”
We head over to the ice so they can get set up. The game is due to start in ten minutes and the whole arena is packed. The second-period music class from last year are on the ice and I’m surprised when I realize that I’ve taught almost every one of them at one time or another. I had no idea they were doing this.
The crowd falls into a hush as the students begin their version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I record dutifully in my cowboy boots and watch with pride as the crowd sings along. When they’re done, the lights suddenly cut out and the entire arena turns black. I’m looking around as my eyes adjust to the lack of light and wondering if there’s a technical difficulty when the opening notes of “H.O.L.Y.” by Florida Georgia Line begin to play on the sound system. The jumbotron in the middle of the ice lights up with a giant photo of me at fifteen, sporting braces and looking slightly awkward sitting on the Ashbys’ patio with CeCe. Cole is standing behind me, holding up bunny ears and making the goofiest face. Then another image appears on the screen. This time it’s of the three of us eating cotton candy at the town fair, followed by another of us at mine and CeCe’s prom. It’s a candid shot of us girls waiting for our dates. Cole stands behind us, wearing casual clothes and holding my clutch while CeCe fluffs my dress. The photos continue to roll: Ashby Christmas movie nights when we were young, backyard fires, always Cole and I near each other, as natural as can be. There’s one where I’m in my last year of high school, his arm around me, and another of him, CeCe, Jo and I at one of Nash’s games in Nashville. Each memory flashes up in time to the song and the crowd is silent.
The photos showing now are of just Cole and me, a little older than before, and mostly selfies from the beginning of our friendship after CeCe left. I’m looking at one where he holds a baby Mabel at the Ashbys’ and I’m leaning in with a big smile on my face. Then I’m watching us on his couch on what could be any random night, before a picture I sent to Cole pops up—me pouting as I order his pizza during a Reds–Yankees game in 2021. Then we’re on the dance floor at Nash and CeCe’s engagement party, and back in Vegas, beaming and slightly tipsy.
After the evidence from the weekend we got married fades away, photos from the last three months start, photos I never even knew had been taken. There are so many of Mabel and me: in the pool, in the garden, at the cabin. There are snaps of Cole and me in the backyard too—me taking a big bite out of a burger he made. They’re neverending and they’re totally and completely us.
At some point, the song ends, and a spotlight drops to the center of the ice. Tears are streaming down my cheeks when I see Cole standing under the light. He skates over, stopping just in front of me. When he kisses me, a dizzy sort of haze takes over.
“How did you? What is …” I whisper.
He grins.
“Ginger, you’re the love of my life. And this”—he points to the screen—“is only the beginning of our story. You’re the face I want to see every single morning, the one I want to share my thoughts with, my needs with. You’re the one I’m always talking to even when I’m not with you, the one I dream about. And if you let me …” He drops to one knee before me and I gasp. Cole holds up the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen: a perfectly cut round diamond encased in a double band. I instantly recognize my Vegas band incorporated into the new design.
He covers his mic.
“Buried in your purse, right?” he grins, before uncovering his mic.
A tear slides down my cheek. I swipe it away.
“I never thought I’d be lucky enough to end up here, on my knee before you, Ginger, but I know without a doubt when my lungs pull in their last breath, my final thoughts will be of you and our family. Thing is, it’s always been you, and it always will be. So what do you say, baby? Will you do me the incredible honor of being my PIC forever?” he says. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I cry as he stands and lifts me up, crushing his lips to mine.
“It’s always been you too, Cole,” I whisper. He covers the mic again and leans in.
“Let’s make this marriage official,” he says softly into my ear, sending goosebumps down my spine. The crowd explodes around us, and I’m momentarily stunned by the flash of cameras. Once my eyes have adjusted, I see my family in the stands clapping and cheering. Then I see Cole’s family doing the same, laughing and smiling. But mostly I see him and those amber eyes I’ve loved for so long, and when Mabel comes onto the ice to join us, I hug her too.
“You knew about this, didn’t you, sweet girl?” I ask.
She nods and wraps her little arms around me.
“Will you be my mommy in my heart?” she says, and I pull her closer.
“Of course I will. Daddy’s girls?” Tears are streaming down my cheeks.
She nods, beaming, and when Cole picks her up and kisses me, I feel it. The peace I’ve been searching for. The place I’m meant to be. With my very best friend.
All the years of twisted and broken paths that unconventionally led us to each other now fall behind us.
Only one day left in our contract, but forever to go.