by Maisy Morgan
“You think this event is going to be everything that Cindy says it’s cracked up to be?” Tripp asked once they got into the front seats of the car.
“I mean, it’s probably not going to be like a festival you would go to in LA,” Mary admitted. “Brooks is a really small town.”
“No kidding, there are more cows here than people,” Tripp said, huffing discontent as they drove past one of the two cow fields they always passed by on their way to the shop.
“Don’t you think that’s kind of neat though?” Mary asked. “I saw someone on a horse the other day on the road! Apparently, that’s not really even that normal for Brooks because there were a few people taking pictures. The girl told me she ran out of gas, so she was taking her horse to the station so she didn’t have to walk with the heavy gas can, but you definitely wouldn’t see something like that in LA.”
“You are trying way too hard to make all of this sound exciting,” Tripp said.
They pulled up in front of the shop first, dropping off some of the excess boxes of treats as they only had so much room in the little portable cooler. Worst came to worst, she could send Tripp back to get more. Once the snacks were stored away in the shop’s cooler, they turned the car around and headed across some abandoned train tracks before pulling down a painfully steep hill arriving at the ball park.
The place was still a bit deserted that early in the morning, but there were vendors getting set up. Mary laughed to see that a dunk tank would be part of the celebration. Under the large, covered picnic area, people were moving benches out of the way to make room for a stage for some of the performances. “This looks like it will actually be a pretty interesting little event,” Mary said hopefully.
Someone in a brightly colored vest was pointing toward where they should park, and Mary cringed to see he wanted them to park at the top of another hill.
“They picked a weird place to build a ballfield,” Tripp said. “I mean, look at all these hills! The fields are flat, sure, but they had to have carved all that out to get it level, right?”
Mary laughed. “It looks nice though, doesn’t it?”
“I guess,” Tripp unenthusiastically replied.
They parked, and Mary jumped out perkily and ran around to the back where she could access the tent and table first. “This is going to be a lot of fun,” Mary said. “You might even meet some more kids your age.”
“Hey Trippy!” a familiar voice called out. This caused Tripp to wince and give Mary a disgusted look.
Mary ignored it and laughed to see Cindy pushing Hannah through the rocky gravel, causing her wheelchair to bounce around a bit. Tripp gazed at Hannah for a moment with a disgruntled look before his eyes looked towards the steep hill they were going to have to go down. “Umm, can you two use a hand getting the chair down?” he asked.
Hannah looked towards the hill and seemed to relent for some assistance. “Probably a good idea, Mom,” she said to Cindy. “I don’t want to take a nose dive today.”
Mary smiled approvingly at her grandson who held the back handlebars of Hannah’s chair while Cindy walked in front. “This is why you’re supposed to buckle into your chair,” Cindy scorned.
“Nah,” Hannah said.
“You could have brought the electric one, but you insisted on this one,” Cindy said, as they slowly made their way down the steep hill with Hannah.
“You and I both know the electric one doesn’t work well in the grass or gravel,” Hannah said. “It’s fine for school and all, but if we’re going to an outdoor event, I’d much rather use this one. That electric one slows down so bad in the grass.”
“Fine, but if you get stuck in the mud because you insisted on this one, you’re on your own,” Cindy teased.
Tripp laughed, and Hannah reached back and gave him a friendly punch. “Shut up, or I’ll sock you in the face next time,” she said.
“Can you even reach my face from down there?” Tripp teased right back.
Mary, who had at last managed to pull the tent out of her car on her own, felt a warm sensation in her chest. Tripp was actually goofing around with Hannah now. She had been worried after their first interaction at the house that they were always going to bicker, but they seemed to be joking around now. Mary was glad, Tripp really needed to make some friends, and she personally adored Cindy and her spitfire of a daughter.
“Hey, Grandma! I’m going to go with Ms. Cindy and Hannah to the sound booth! Ms. Cindy said she’s here to help set it up!” Tripp called.
Her first instinct was to tell him no, that she needed help unloading things, but he looked so thrilled to have bumped into people he actually knew that she couldn’t resist granting him this small ounce of enthusiasm he was experiencing. “Go right ahead! Stay out of trouble!” she called down the hill towards him, as he pushed Hannah off while Cindy shot her an apologetic look before following the teenagers.
Mary headed down the hill with the tent first, and it was in this moment that she realized how many times she was going to need to go up and down this hill. “Perfect,” she groaned. An event personnel helped Mary find the spot for setting up her booth and assured her that as soon as one of the event workers became available, she’d send them Mary’s way to help unload everything from her car. Looking around at how busy all the event workers were, helping those who had arrived before her, she didn’t think she would be so lucky, and so she accepted her fate of walking up and down that hill ten times.
She went ahead and set up the large green tent excited that she had managed to find a green one to go with her lily pad theme. Then she began her march back up the hill, and once she reached her car, she then realized that she was indeed in the grandma stage of her life. Her feet were already hurting. She started to pull the chair out of the back when someone tapped on the bumper of her car to get her attention. Glancing up, she spied a handsome man near her age smiling back at her with a crooked grin. “You look like you could use some help,” he said.
“I would love some help,” she responded.
He pulled the table and chairs from the back of the car as he introduced himself. “I’m Preston,” he told her. “And you?”
“Mary,” she said.
“I don’t recognize you Mary,” he said. “I normally see the same booth setups year after year here. What is your booth for?”
“I’m opening up a sweets shop here in Brooks,” she said. “I was told about this event earlier this week and managed to get lucky enough to get on the vendor list so that I could promote it.”
“Wait, is it Lily Pad Snacks?” he asked.
Mary beamed. “That’s me! You’ve been by the shop?”
“Yeah. I got curious when I passed by and took a peek through the window. I love that mural on the back. Did you do that?” he asked.
“I did,” she said, beaming.
They got the table and chairs set up, and Preston followed her back up the hill to gather some additional supplies. “That’s really awesome – you’re talented,” Preston said. “Where are you from? You must be new in town.
“LA, actually,” she said.
“LA as in Lower Alabama or LA as in Los Angeles, California?” Preston curiously asked.
Giggling inside, Mary responded, “That would be LA as in Los Angeles, California.”
“Whoa, you sure did travel far to open up a sweets shop,” he said, unloading some storage boxes that Mary had filled with supplies to spice up her booth décor.
“This man bothering you?” another man asked, stepping around the car and placing his hand on Preston’s shoulder. The younger man winked a bit at Mary.
Mary laughed. “I don’t think so. Don’t tell me he’s the local creep or anything?”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Preston said. “Mary, this is Pastor Michael. He’s the preacher of the little white church a few doors down from your shop – the one with the bright red door.”
“Oh, that place looks so adorable,” Mary said. “You don’t see a lot of stu
ff like that in LA. Churches there tend to be run out of abandoned warehouses or department buildings. There’s a handful of cathedrals there, but I just love the cute little church.”
“You should pay us a visit sometime,” Pastor Michael said, and without even asking if she needed any help, he proceeded to pick up the décor box Preston had put down.
“I’ve got to say, I’m really loving this whole Southern gentleman thing,” she said. Both of the men laughed at her comment.
“Are you by yourself,” Preston asked, grabbing the cooler. “and couldn’t drag your husband out to help?”
Pastor Michael gave Preston a look. “That wasn’t as smooth as you think it was,” he teased, and Preston blushed. “Just ask the woman if she’s single. That is if you’re interested. Don’t be weird.”
Mary couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m single,” she stated, and Preston shook his head at the pastor.
“Green tent?” Pastor Michael asked to divert the awkwardness as he began walking down the hill.
“That’s right,” she said, and the pastor went on ahead of them. “I was married once, but the creep left me.”
Preston leaned into the car to grab some dessert boxes, and when he did so, his shirt came up a bit, and Mary jumped in surprise when she noticed his firearm. Preston seemed to have noticed her discomfort, and he stood upright and hid the gun under his shirt again. “I’m a cop,” he told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “But I’ve got to be honest with you, nine out of ten men around here are probably carrying – cop or not. I’m pretty sure even Pastor Michael has a pistol at his side.”
“Seriously?” she asked, taking some boxes into her arms as well.
“We’re in Georgia,” he said matter-of-factly. “And not only that, but you’re in the middle of redneck country, darlin’.”
“In LA, a gun at the side usually screams gang member,” Mary admitted. “I should probably get used to that.”
“Welcome to Georgia, Mary,” Preston said, smirking as they walked down the hill together, being passed by Pastor Michael who was now heading up the hill to collect more dessert boxes for her. She was pleased to see when she arrived at the booth that Pastor Michael had already set up her cooler for her so she was able to put some of the boxes down in there.
“I’m very excited to be here,” she said and nodded towards the picnic coverings. “That little trouble maker is my grandson. He came here with me.”
Preston smiled. “Just you two?” he asked.
Mary could tell this man was really trying to feel her out. He was handsome and seemed like an honest sort; he was on a first name basis with the local pastor after all, so she caved in and told him a bit more about herself. “Yeah, just us two. Tripp has lived with his father most his life. My daughter, his mother, was a wild child who lost custody, so I never got to know my grandson very well. His father was recently killed during a home break-in, so now he’s with me.”
“I’m so sorry,” Preston said, realizing that he had been prying and felt ashamed to bring up such a sensitive topic.
“It’s all right,” Mary assured him. “I didn’t know his father very well, truthfully. Things spiraled rather quickly after my daughter became pregnant. She had just been a kid at fourteen years old.”
“This is the last of it,” they heard Pastor Michael say as he met them halfway down the hill.
Mary thanked him and proceeded to lock up the car, and she and Preston walked back down together. She could see that Pastor Michael was already assisting someone else with unloading, and she smiled at the man’s friendliness. “That must have been hard on you,” Preston said, returning to their conversation.
“It was harder on my husband,” Mary said with a slight eye roll. “He couldn’t handle the whole pregnant-teenage-daughter thing. We got into it a lot after finding out she was pregnant. He actually wanted to throw her out over it. I felt like our daughter needed support. He was just embarrassed by her, and he wasn’t afraid to let her know it. Eventually, he left me. And I haven’t heard from him since. After Tripp was born, I did my best to balance my daughter’s new drug problems with being grandma, but eventually Tripp’s father had to make a choice for his child. He went to court, got custody, and made sure my daughter couldn’t come around. It was the right call, but I had my daughter to take care of – trying to help her get clean, but because she was always hanging around, Tripp’s father gave me the boot as well. It wasn’t until recently that he started letting me come back around. My daughter went MIA a few years ago. After Tripp’s father was killed, he came to live with me. At that time though, I had already set this move into motion. I’d invested a lot of my money into the new house and the shop. We didn’t really have much of a choice; otherwise, I wouldn’t have just uprooted him like this.”
“That’s a pretty messed up situation,” Preston said, as he seemed to not know how else to respond to it.
“Well, that’s why we’re here, really,” Mary said. “Fresh start. And, I think it’s just what my grandson and I need. I didn’t scare you off throwing my life story at you like that, did I?”
Officer Preston smiled at her. “Not at all.” He nodded towards the picnic covering where Tripp and Hannah were talking away. “I will say this though. That, right there, is probably going to turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to your grandson. Cindy and Hannah are really good people. He’ll be lucky to have that girl as a friend.”
Mary smiled at him. “Good. I think so too.”
Chapter Five
Officer Preston turned out to make for some rather excellent company. Mary felt as though she could spend her entire day at the event just talking to him. He was warm and welcoming, and he talked to her all about the little town of Brooks. “It’s sort of a no-man’s land between Senoia and Griffin,” Preston was saying. “Blink, and you’ll miss it. I’m surprised someone wanted to open up a dessert shop around here.”
“Yes, well, someone’s got to do it eventually, don’t they?” Mary asked. “I mean, this town could really grow if people would just take a chance on it.”
“I agree with you,” Preston said with a nod. “It sure would be nice to have more than a tanning salon and a part-time library on the square.”
Mary giggled. “There’s more than that. I’ve already met a few workers here and there at some of the other local businesses.”
“Yeah, we have a few places I suppose. Nothing like a sweets shop though,” he said. “Heck, we don’t even have our own grocery store.”
“Believe me, I’ve noticed,” Mary said with a huff. “It takes me fifteen minutes to get to the nearest one! What’s that about?”
“That’s just Brooks. A convenient twenty minutes from literally everywhere,” Preston said, and she laughed.
The event was now in full swing. Children were chasing each other around, playing games, and enjoying food. There were people placing bids on the silent auction, and currently, an awesome duo was up on the back of a trailer that was acting as the event stage. “This is turning out to be a lot of fun,” Mary said, as a couple stood on the opposite end of her table. They were sampling some of her treats and immediately purchased a box with a slice of her rainbow cake.
Mary offered Preston a slice of rainbow cake and made sure to thank him for helping her not only for setting up, but more or less helping run the entire booth that day. He grinned, satisfied as he took a bite. “See, now you know why I was helping you out. Had to try out the new shop owner’s goods before the grand opening.”
“Speaking of which,” Mary said as she quickly handed Preston a flier. “Make sure you stop by.”
“I will,” he said just as Cindy came trotting up.
“Well, hello there!” she exclaimed, all smiles. “Our kiddos are at the patio benches having some lunch, so I thought I’d come check in on your booth.”
“It’s going really well,” Mary said. “Officer Preston here was really kind and helped me set up.”
&
nbsp; Cindy winked at Preston. “I bet he did,” she said and glanced over her shoulder.
“How’ve you been, Cindy?” Preston asked.
“Been all right,” she said and glanced over her shoulder a second time.
“They’re fine, Cindy,” Mary said. “There is only so much trouble those two can get into while eating hot dogs.”
Cindy shook her head. “It’s not the kids I’m worried about.”
“Everything all right?” Preston asked.
Cindy nibbled on her nails for a moment before answering. “Not really. I saw Hannah’s father earlier.”
“Are you serious?” Preston asked, his voice becoming a bit more serious.
“Yeah,” she said. “I just don’t want Hannah to feel uncomfortable.”
“No one wants that,” Preston said, as an elderly couple came wandering up to the booth, evidently overhearing the conversation.
“Ms. Cindy, how are you?” the elderly man said.
“I’m all right Pastor Josiah,” Cindy said and quickly perked up and waved in Mary’s direction. “Josiah, this is Mary. She’s the one opening up the sweets shop. And, Mary, this is Josiah and his wife, Jenna. He’s the pastor who founded the church a few doors down from your shop.”
“I met your successor earlier,” Mary said. “Pastor Michael?”
“That would be him,” Pastor Josiah said with a beaming look about him. “Godly man. It was time for me to leave my church, and I’m glad it was him that took over. Now, I’m retired.”
Jenna cleared her throat and put a hand on Cindy’s shoulder. “We couldn’t help but overhearing, but did you say that Lenny is here?”
