3. Chapter Three | Savannah
Chapter three
Last October Three months prior to penthouse discovery
“Mama, can I bring my Princess Barbie with us? I think she’d really like Cider Fest,” Lucy pleads her case, but if I let her bring her brand-new toy she just got for her sixth birthday last week, it is guaranteed that she will either lose some of the Barbie’s accessories or the Barbie herself.
She’s trying to use the puppy-dog pleading eyes her big sisters are experts at, but thankfully, I can still say no to Lucy’s pleas.
“How about this, why don’t you bring her in the car, and then we will know exactly where she and all of her many fabulous accessories are?
Does that sound like a good compromise?” I really don’t want to deal with a meltdown; we are already running a little late, but Shane said he was going to meet us at the house so he could change and we could all go as a family.
Lucy nods, and scampers off to grab a sweatshirt, already over the debate that could have potentially ended in tears.
“We’re going to miss everything if we wait any longer, Mama.
If they run out of the mini pumpkins to paint, you know Emily will lose her mind.
” Olivia glances at the clock and gives me a look.
I love that she’s a little mother hen in her own right, and as an older sister myself, I get it, but she has the rest of her life to be an adult.
I want my kids to stay kids for as long as possible.
I squeeze her shoulder and try to put on a believable smile.
“You know what, you’re right. I’ll text your daddy and he can just walk over from the office.
Go tell your sisters to load up the car, and we will be on our way.
” Olivia nods with a tight smile, and I make a mental note to talk to her about that later.
Nothing gets by that one, and I know she’s used to her daddy being late, but lately she’s been commenting on it more to me.
Cider Fest is a fall festival in my hometown Forrest Falls, Tennessee.
Our town is small enough to have all the charm one could ever want in a little community, and just an hour west of Nashville, we have the proximity to the big city.
It really is the best of both worlds. The annual Cider Fest is always well attended by families in the area and our entire downtown really goes all out for the event.
The town sets up a stage on the baseball field, and last year my brother even arranged for mega popstar Fiona Skye to put on a surprise performance, so of course my girls are bouncing at the idea that maybe their Uncle Jack will come through with another surprise this year.
Personally, I’d love to see Tinsley Sinclair perform—as would my girls—but I know she’s still on her tour in Canada.
Jack hasn’t mentioned anyone to me, but he also didn’t give me a heads-up when Fiona Skye showed up last year, and with my brother, anything is possible.
We pull into the lot behind Jack’s building in downtown Forrest Falls. His company has offices around the world, and his headquarters are in Nashville, but he has a satellite office here. He also lives in the top floor penthouse, which is why I really think he built the building in the first place.
Just as I’m pulling into a parking spot, my cell phone rings with a blocked number, but in my world, that could be anyone from my brother Liam calling from some undisclosed location or my husband calling from one of their conference room phone lines.
“Hello?” I answered on the third ring, but no one responds to my greeting.
“Hello?” I’m smart enough not to say more than that.
Liam has drilled safety tips into us beyond what was ever probably necessary, but I know all about how scammers can record your voice saying your name, then boom—they have access to all your bank accounts or something crazy like that.
No one responds on the other end, so I disconnect and decide if it was someone that needed to reach me, they would call back.
I get out of my car, closing the door with my hip as I wave to the security team, and spot my brother Ryan getting out of his car across the lot.
“Who’s ready to eat way too much sugar?” Ryan calls out to my girls and they race over to chatter about all the things they want to check out. He picks up Lucy, while my middle daughter, Emily, practically vibrates with excitement.
“Uncle Ryan, I found this picture of someone that painted their pumpkin to look like a cupcake, and I’m going to try and do it myself!” At eight years old, Emily is the artist of my three girls, and her big sister was right, she would be devastated if we missed out on the mini pumpkin painting.
I sent my husband a text before we left the house, but he hasn’t replied.
He could at least acknowledge the text—or me.
I shake my head as I see he still hasn’t done either and shove my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.
“Let’s go find some pumpkins and hopefully some caramel corn too!
” I declare with a smidge of false optimism.
Ryan raises his eyebrows in question but doesn’t say anything in front my girls.
“Auntie Vivi texted me that she and Eloise are in front of Thom’s Hardware waiting for us to paint pumpkins. ”
Emily tugs on my hand. “Let’s go people, move it!
” I laugh and even Olivia smiles in response to her sister’s enthusiasm.
I notice Olivia glance around, and I know she’s looking for her father.
I wrap my arm around her and pull her close, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
“Come on, kiddo, let’s go have a great time, okay?
” She nods and hugs me back as we walk over to Main Street.
The hum of the crowd paired with the sweet smells of autumn treats waiting to be enjoyed greet us like an unofficial welcome to one of my favorite annual events.
As soon as the girls start painting their pumpkins, my phone vibrates with a text.
Shane
Hey, sorry. I had to go to the Nashville office last minute this afternoon and am just getting out of there. I’ll meet you at the festival as soon as I can. Sorry.
With traffic this time of day, he will be lucky to make it in ninety minutes from his office in East Nashville.
Vivian watches me lock my phone and tilts her head.
“Is he coming? His office is like three blocks away, what’s taking him so long?
” Vivian quietly asks, low enough so the kids don’t hear us.
“Sure, if he was at the Forrest Falls office today, but apparently, he went to the one in the city. So, he’s on his way, allegedly.
Let’s see if he actually shows up.” Because it seems like lately, he fails to do that not only for me, but for our girls as well, and that’s not fair to them.
A slight tinge of pain pulls just below my shoulder, a nice reminder from my body that I’m carrying extra stress lately.
I try to roll out my shoulder, and if all else fails, I’ll try to ignore the pain all together.
“I’m sorry, Sav. Hopefully, he will get here in time to still make some memories with your girls, but in the meantime, we’re here, okay?
” She reaches around and squeezes me in a side hug.
My sister is right, all I can do is hope he makes it in time, but either way, my girls deserve to have a fun experience.
And that’s exactly what we do for almost three hours, which is how long it takes before I see my husband walking down the street.
I don’t know what took him so long, and honestly, at this point, I don’t really care.
He is beyond late—he missed the whole thing.
“Hey, babe.” He leans in to kiss the side of my cheek, ignorant that my jaw is clenched so tight I might crack a molar. “Sorry I’m a bit late, what did I miss?” Is everything too subtle of a response? The girls hug Shane in greeting, but Olivia’s hug is lackluster, at best.
“Daddy, I’m tired. I think I’m Cider Festivalled out,” Lucy says in lieu of greeting to her dad, reaching up for him to pick her up .
“I’m sorry to hear that, baby. I just got here, though. Did you want to go get a caramel apple or maybe take a turn on the train rides?” Shane gives her a hug as he lists off some of the things she has been talking about for weeks.
Lucy shakes her head, dismissing his suggestions. “Nope, we already did all of those. I’m pooped.” She yawns and lays her head down on Shane’s shoulder as he looks to me, like I’m going to change her mind, and I just shrug in response. I don’t think he actually wants to hear what I think right now.
“Can we grab our pumpkins from the drying table before we go? I think that cupcake turned out amazing. Daddy, you have to see what I did! Uncle Ryan helped, too!” Emily grabs his other hand and leads the way back down Main Street so we can pick up the pumpkins before calling it a night.
Cider Fest had a great turnout, and it really was a nice evening overall, but Shane wouldn’t know that because once again, he missed out.