CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Fireworks and Fools
The first firework shot into the night sky with a loud boom.
A chorus of cheers echoed across the Columbia River.
Blue.
Red.
Gold.
The colors reflected off the water as children pointed excitedly into the sky.
Emily smiled like a little kid.
“I’ll never get tired of fireworks.”
Luke looked at her instead of the sky.
“I know.”
She caught him staring.
“What?”
“I’m watching the better show.”
Emily rolled her eyes and laughed.
“That was unbelievably cheesy.”
“And yet…”
She smiled.
“…it worked.”
? ? ?
The fireworks had barely reached their grand finale when shouting broke out a short distance away.
Luke turned toward the noise.
A young man was swaying so badly he could barely stand.
His friends were nowhere to be found.
He stumbled across the grass before collapsing onto a park bench.
Emily frowned.
“I don’t think he’s okay.”
Luke watched for a moment.
“I don’t think he should be left alone.”
Nearby, an older heavyset man staggered through the crowd, loudly complaining to anyone who would listen.
“The fireworks were louder last year!”
He pointed toward the river.
“And where’s the good music? Nobody knows real country anymore!”
A nearby family exchanged awkward looks.
The man kept rambling.
“I’ve seen better shows in towns half this size!”
Luke quietly shook his head.
“He sure likes hearing himself talk.”
Emily smiled.
“I noticed.”
? ? ?
The younger man tried to stand again.
He made it two steps before nearly falling into a trash can.
Luke immediately walked over.
“Easy, buddy.”
The man looked up with tired eyes.
“I… I think I lost my friends.”
Luke helped steady him.
“Where do you live?”
The man slowly gave him an address only a few blocks away.
Luke looked back at Emily.
“You okay if we help him?”
She nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
? ? ?
The short walk felt much longer than it was.
The young man apologized every few minutes.
“I’m… sorry…”
Luke smiled.
“Let’s just get you home safely.”
When they reached the small house, the man found his spare key hidden beneath a flowerpot.
Luke unlocked the door and helped him inside.
The house was quiet.
Luke guided him to the living room.
“There you go.”
The man practically collapsed onto the couch.
Within seconds…
He was asleep.
Emily quietly draped a blanket over him that had been folded across the back of the couch.
Luke smiled.
“He’ll probably wonder how he got here tomorrow.”
Emily chuckled.
“I hope he remembers someone was looking out for him.”
Luke nodded.
“Everyone deserves that once in a while.”
? ? ?
As they walked back toward the truck, they spotted the older man again.
He was still wandering around, still talking loudly.
“I’ve been to concerts with better fireworks!”
Luke laughed.
“I don’t think he’s actually talking to anyone.”
Emily grinned.
“I don’t think he knows.”
The older man wandered off toward the food vendors, still muttering about things nobody else seemed to care about.
Luke shook his head.
“Well…”
Emily smiled.
“That was memorable.”
“I don’t think this night went the way either of us planned.”
She slipped her hand into his.
“The best stories never do.”
? ? ?
The drive home was quiet.
The Columbia River reflected the moonlight as Luke steered the truck west.
Emily looked over and smiled.
“So…”
Luke glanced at her.
“So?”
“We came for fireworks.”
“We did.”
“We ended up delivering a stranger safely home.”
“We did.”
“And somehow…”
She laughed.
“…that’s the part I’ll remember.”
Luke smiled.
“Me too.”
Sometimes life didn’t hand you the evening you expected.
Sometimes it handed you a story worth telling for years.
And somehow, Luke had a feeling this would become one of those stories.