26. Chapter 26
Chapter twenty-six
“Are you torturing the poor kid?”
On Monday morning, Abe packed Kai and everything he might need for a day out of the house, then headed for the park. The Memorial Day in the Park event had been held every year for the past forty years. It was a town favorite, and everyone local and from several surrounding counties attended.
Rocco’s was one of the ten vendors selling food this year. They’d participated every year they’d been open, and they made enough from slices of pizza to make up for closing the restaurant for the day.
Maggie and Abe were scheduled to work the first shift from ten to two. Luke and Gentry would work the afternoon shift and stay as long as they needed to. But most of the food booths stopped serving once the dance started at seven.
Abe met Gentry at the park at nine, and Kai was happy to hang out with his cousins in the grassy area in front of the small Rocco’s trailer.
The trailer had an oven that could cook two large pizzas at a time, and it was in constant use throughout the day.
At ten-thirty, they’d start making pizzas and put them under a warming lamp to give them a head start.
Some of the other vendors had started preparing food, and Abe could pick out the smell of cinnamon rolls and something wonderfully spicy coming from the Thai food booth. He was erecting the canopy that extended six feet out from the front of the trailer when Kai ran over to him and hugged his leg.
“Papa.”
“Hey, kid.” He shook the support pole to check the stability, then picked up Kai. “Are you having fun with your cousins?”
Kai pointed at the three boys. “Levi.”
“Wow. Good job. How about the other two?” Abe pointed at Micah. “Who’s that?”
“Micah.”
“And the one with the big red ball?”
“Ry…Ry Ry.”
“Close enough.” He held up his hand, and Kai hit it with his. Then they bumped fists. “My man.” Kai kicked to get down, and Abe set him on the ground. “Go have fun.”
Milo approached, and Abe turned to him. “I thought you weren’t getting here until ten-thirty.”
“I figured you guys might need some help.”
The boys were chasing each other around and trying to kick the ball between each other’s legs. “Are you sure you want to take on that whole crew?”
“Sure. We’re going to have a great time. Gentry and Marti will be here and ready to come save me if necessary. Mom’s coming at noon to take Kai. We’ll be fine.”
“Okay. If anyone can do it, you can.”
“Gentry could handle it, too.”
“Well, yeah. Three-fourths of them are his kids.”
The boys all spotted Milo and ran over to him. He high-fived them all, then picked up Kai. “Hey there, my little man.”
Kai hugged him. “Milo.”
“That’s right.”
“Milo, Milo, Milo.”
Milo patted Kai’s chest. “Kai, Kai, Kai.”
Gentry looked out the order window. “I could use some muscle in here.”
Milo patted Abe’s shoulder. “That would be you, brother. I’ll keep an eye on these guys.”
Abe went to help Gentry, and they were ready to go by the time Maggie showed up. Abe went out to greet her and looked at his watch. “Glad you could make it.”
“You told me not to come until 10:30.”
He hugged her. “Just kidding. We’re ready to go. Gentry is putting together some pizzas.”
She smelled the air. “Pepperoni.” She turned toward the Thai booth. “Oh my gosh. That smells wonderful.”
There was a slight chill in the air, but as the sun got higher in the sky, it would warm up. The predicted temperature was in the high seventies. “The weather is perfect this year. It’s going to be busy.”
She watched Milo with the boys. “Your brother is so good with the kids.”
“He spends every day with kids. He’s had lots of practice. I think we have just enough time to go get a frosted lemonade before we have to open the booth.”
“Sounds good.”
They walked over to Milo and the boys, and Kai ran over to Maggie and held up his arms. She picked him up. “Hey, sweetie.” Kai hugged her. “Mama.”
“Um…” She looked at Abe, and he shrugged. Maggie put a hand on her chest. “Maggie.”
Kai wrinkled his brow for a moment, then reached for Abe. Abe took Kai from Maggie. “Let’s go get some lemonade.” He looked at the boys. “Frozen lemonade?” He got three affirmative responses. “Milo?”
“No, thanks.”
“We’ll be back in a few.”
They returned to the booth fifteen minutes later, with Maggie holding Kai and Abe balancing five frozen lemonades in two cardboard holders.
He passed them out to the boys, then offered Kai the straw from his.
Kai took a tentative sip, then scowled. Abe laughed.
“Sorry, buddy. Too tart for you? Or too cold?”
Kai turned his head and rested it against Maggie’s shoulder. She patted his back. “I guess he doesn’t like lemonade.”
Milo came over to them. “Are you torturing the poor kid?” Kai held his arms out to Milo. “Come on, nephew. I’ve got you.”
Abe patted Kai’s back. “Have fun with Uncle Milo and your cousins. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Milo wandered off with the four boys, and Abe and Maggie went into the booth. Gentry was preparing three more pizzas for the oven. Abe laid a hand on Gentry’s back. “We’ve got this, brother. Go spend some time with Marti.”
“Okay. I think you’re pretty set.”
“Go.”
Gentry nodded. “Call me if you need help.”
“We’ll be fine.”
Business started out slow, but it picked up as the noon hour approached and more people began arriving at the park.
Abe kept a steady stream of pizza slices coming while Maggie worked the window.
There was always a line of five to ten people, but their customers knew the wait was worth it for a slice of Rocco’s pizza.
Two o’clock came quickly, and Abe was surprised when Gentry and Luke showed up to take over.
“It’s two already?” He checked his watch to confirm. “Damn.”
Gentry patted his shoulder. “Get out of here, Luke and I have it.”
Maggie served two more customers, then Luke took over at the window. He nudged her out of the way. “Go enjoy the rest of the day.”
She blew out a breath. “First on the list, food.”
“Take some pizza with you.”
“I think I need to get away from pizza for a while.”
She joined Abe while he was on the phone with his mother to arrange a meeting somewhere in order to get Kai.
He ended the call and smiled at Maggie. “What are you hungry for?”
“I saw a lot of people walking by with corn on the cob. It looked so good.”
“That’s a start. What else?”
“Hmm. The Thai food smells really good, but is the street taco guy here?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“Let’s go find him.”
Thirty minutes later, they had picked up Kai and were sitting on a bench under a big oak tree, eating tacos and corn on the cob. Kai was asleep in the stroller, having fought off sleep as long as he could.
They watched the people wandering by, mostly in couples or family units. The overall atmosphere was light, with everyone seeming to be in high spirits. In a town like Bridgeport, you were bound to run into several people you knew.
Maggie leaned against Abe, then kissed him. “So, the beginning of our third date?”
“I believe so, yeah.”
When Rachel walked up to them, she smiled. “Hmm, looks like at least one of these two handsome men belongs to you now.”
Abe laughed. “Yeah, I finally won her over.”
“Are you two going to the dance?”
Maggie nodded. “Of course.”
“I’ll see you there.” She looked at Abe. “Maybe your boss will save me a dance.”
“Um…”
Rachel backed up a few steps. “Enjoy your day.”
She walked off, and Abe turned to Maggie. “I didn’t solicit that in any way.”
“I know. Rachel just has a thing for big, handsome, muscly men who are unavailable.”
“Right. So what does she want with me?”
Maggie nudged him. “Stop. You know you are all of those things.”
“Do you have a thing for big, handsome, muscly men?”
“Just one in particular.” She looked at Kai. “I’m also quite fond of cute blond babies who love their dad.”
“Especially when they sleep through lunch.”
“That is a plus.”
Abe ate some of his tacos. “We never really talked about going to the dance.”
“Of course we’re going to the dance.”
“What about Kai?”
“He’s coming with us.”
“How is that going to work?”
She patted his knee. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you equal time on the dance floor.”
He stared at his taco for a moment. “Maggie, I ....”
She smiled. “I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“It’s okay if you don’t…you know…feel the same.”
She put a hand on his chin and squeezed his face. “How could I not fall for this adorable, backward hat wearing face of yours?”
“It is a pretty lovable face. Especially with the hat.”
“I have a confession to make.”
“What’s that?”
“I used to hate your backward hat. I thought it was so…cocky and immature.”
“Wow. And now?”
“Now it’s adorable.”
He scowled. “Not really what I was going for.”
“Too bad.”
“So, is that what Rachel finds attractive about me? My hat?”
Maggie laughed and patted his chest. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what she sees when she looks at you.”