Chapter 11 #2
were working with their heads bent. He tapped lightly on the door, and the teacher hurried over.
“Mr. Turner,” she said.
Across the room, Piper waved and called, “Daddy!”
“Hi, Piper.” Reid waved to his daughter and then addressed the teacher, “I was wondering if I could visit. My friend and I
were here talking to Coach Emmerson about the upcoming spring festival.” He introduced the teacher to Kaiah. “We were hoping
we could tell Piper’s class about it.”
“Of course,” Ms. Mason said. “Now is the perfect time. We’re just working on a project, and we have some free time before
music.”
Reid and Kaiah entered the room, and the nearly three dozen students greeted them from their desks, which were cramped in
the small classroom. The classes had doubled in size due to the closed wing.
Piper rushed over and hugged Reid’s waist.
“Hi, Daddy!” She gazed up at him. “I didn’t know you’d be here today.” She turned toward the class. “This is my daddy and
my friend Miss Kaiah.”
Reid touched her nose. “We have something exciting to share with you guys.”
Piper threaded her fingers with Reid’s and then with Kaiah’s. “I’ll help you tell your stories.” She led them to the front of the room. “Everyone, my daddy is a fireman. He has lots of stories he can share. If you have questions, raise your hand.”
When nearly all of the hands in the classroom shot up, Ms. Mason made her way to the front. “Okay, class. Let’s have our guests
speak before you ask questions, okay?”
Kaiah shot Reid a grin, and he bit back a laugh.
Ms. Mason turned to Reid. “Why don’t you tell the class about the festival?”
Reid glanced at Kaiah, and she nodded at him as if telling him to speak while she stood off to the side with Piper and the
teacher. “Hi, everyone. I’m Piper’s dad. My name is Reid, and my friend Kaiah and I are helping to plan the spring festival.
It’s going to take place in a week and a half, and the theme is Light the Dark.”
A little boy in the front row waved his arm in the air. “Oh! Oh! Like a lamp! Or a lighthouse! We drew some of those the other
day.”
“Exactly,” Reid said. “What can you tell me about the Coral Cove lighthouse?”
For the next several minutes, Reid discussed the history of the lighthouse and then shared the plans for the festival. He
ended his talk by sharing about the arts and crafts tent as well as the mini-marathon.
A little girl in the back raised her hand, and Reid pointed to her. “Can we walk in the walk and run?” she asked.
“Of course. If you’re interested, you can ask an adult to find the festival’s website and then sign up for it. We’ll have
information out soon, and we’d love for you to participate.” He turned toward Kaiah. “Did I miss anything?”
She shook her head. “Nope. You did great.”
“Mr. Turner,” a little boy called. “Tell us about being a firefighter!”
“Do you see a lot of fires?” a girl asked.
Reid leaned against the board. “No, we don’t see many fires.”
“What do you do then?” a boy asked.
“We help out in other places,” he said. “The other day one of the homes on the beach had a deck that collapsed.”
“Oh no!” a few students said.
“Were the people okay?” another asked.
“Thankfully the people at the house only had a few small injuries.” He motioned for Kaiah to join him in front of the classroom,
and she complied. “Ms. Ross is a journalist. That means she learns about things happening in the world and writes stories
about them for people to read. Do you have any questions for her?”
Nearly a dozen hands shot up in the air, and Kaiah chuckled before calling on a little girl.
“Why did you want to become a . . . a journalist?” she asked.
“Because I’ve always loved to read and tell stories,” she began. She talked about writing stories when she was around their
age, then shared some of the fun places she’d visited for her stories.
When she finished, Ms. Mason walked toward them. “Let’s thank Mr. Turner and Ms. Ross for joining us today.”
A chorus of thank-yous followed before Piper took Reid’s hand again. “Can I show you and Miss Kaiah my project before you
go, Daddy?”
“Of course,” Reid said.
Piper guided them to her desk, where a stack of stapled construction paper with the words “Piper Turner’s Book” sat decorated
with rainbows, the sun, clouds, and a couple of cats, all drawn in colorful markers.
She pointed to the cover. “It’s my storybook.
” She turned the page to a drawing of a house with smoke billowing out of the chimney, a colorful cat peeking out the window, and plenty of flowers smiling in a garden.
“That’s our house.” She pointed to the window.
“Ariel is watching those cats that like to run past.”
“Nice job,” Reid said while sharing a smile with Kaiah.
The next page featured a drawing of two stick figures, a tall one and a short one, along with a cat. The words “Daddy,” “Piper,”
and “Ariel” were written under them while they stood by the ocean. Birds flew in the bright blue sky while clouds and the
sun smiled down. “That’s me and you at the beach, Daddy.”
“You did a great job,” Kaiah told her.
“I agree,” Reid chimed in.
“There’s more.” Piper flipped to a page with more people on it. “Here we are with Nana, Auntie Becca, Uncle Cash, and Astrid.”
She flipped to the next page, featuring what looked like a stick figure holding a baby with the words “Mommy and Piper” written
beside the picture.
“And that’s me and Mommy.”
Reid focused on the picture while tears burned the backs of his eyes.
After four years, sometimes grief punched him in the gut nearly as hard as the day of Brynn’s memorial service. For a moment
he couldn’t speak. He hoped Piper and Kaiah wouldn’t notice the tears filling his eyes.
A hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked over to where Kaiah’s face formed a sympathetic smile, sending warmth straight
to his heart.
“Here’s the end,” Piper said, showing him a page covered with flowers, rainbows, Ariel the cat, and a few hearts. “Do you
like it, Daddy?” she asked, her dark eyes pleading.
He cleared his throat to tamp down the expanding lump and pulled his daughter in for a hug. “Of course I do, sweetheart,” he said, his voice sounding rough. “Your book is perfect. Thank you for showing it to us.”
“I love it too,” Kaiah said before hugging Piper. “We’ll see you later.”
They waved to the class, then headed for the door.