Page 54 of A Future in the Bay

“Really?” Isaiah said, grinning at her. “Will you show me?”

Eagerly, the eight-year-old showed him the painted rocks she’d been working on, and he was genuinely impressed.

“Those are awesome, Haley,” he said, meaning it sincerely. “Hey, speaking of painting—what do you guys think about this mural that Gwen and I painted on the gym wall? Does it meet with your approval?”

“You made this?” Haley asked, looking up in awe at the colorful painting of the planets surrounded by stars and spaceships. “I love it! There are so many beautiful colors.”

“Why thank you.” He grinned at her. “Neither Gwen nor I consider ourselves to be artists, but we used math to trace the outlines of everything based on a mural template I got. See, you guys, math is useful.”

Haley grimaced over the mention of math, but Max grinned up at the mural in admiration.

“It looks great,” he said approvingly. “I love the spaceships.”

“Did you paint all the classrooms too?” Haley asked.

Isaiah nodded, crossing his arms. “Yes, we did. Do you like them?”

“They look so nice! I especially love that room with all the stripes.” Haley lifted her chin in approval, and Isaiah grinned.

“Well, I’m glad we have the thumbs up from an authority on spaceships and from an artist,” he said. “I’ll have to tell Gwen the good news when I see her.”

The kids laughed, and Max bowed. He seemed to like being called an authority on spaceships.

“Hey, everyone!” Olivia stepped up to their group, grinning from ear to ear. She had some paint on her hands, making it clear that she’d also been partaking in the crafts earlier in the day.

“Olivia!” the twins cried, and practically tackled her in a hug. Once she’d embraced them, she stepped up to Corey and gave him a kiss.

“Isn’t it all amazing?” she said, her eyes shining. “Isaiah really knocked it out of the park.” She turned to her brother and gave him a big hug. “I can’t even begin to thank you enough for all of the work you did. The school has never looked better. You’re amazing.”

“Aww, shucks,” he said, grinning and feeling a warm feeling in his stomach. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Good. It’s been so fun having you here in town.” She rested her hands on her hips. “The fact that you’re going to be staying makes me so happy I could burst.”

“I’m pretty happy about it too,” he said honestly.

The five of them continued to talk together—Olivia and Corey had all kinds of ideas for how Isaiah should spend his summer, and they agreed that Corey and Olivia and Gwen and Isaiah should go on a double date together soon. The twins interjected opinions here and there—Haley told Isaiah that he should takeGwen for a long walk along the beach to look at the starfish, and Max said that they should go to an amusement park and play with the bumper cars.

Finally, Corey suggested that they go outside and play some of the games. Isaiah’s interest perked up at the suggestion—he knew that Gwen had volunteered to take over the slip-and-slide booth later in the afternoon, and he wondered if she was there yet.

The five of them made their way along the hallways of the school until they reached the green lawn in the back of the building. There the school had set up a variety of games and activities—a bouncy house, pony rides, potato sack races, and a slip-and-slide.

Sure enough, Gwen was manning the slip-and-slide booth, looking more relaxed than ever. His heart lifted when he saw her laughing with some of the kids who were stepping up to the booth. She was wearing a t-shirt and a baseball cap, and she looked like someone on vacation and having a wonderful time.

As he watched her, he knew that he was meant to stay there in Blueberry Bay. Although Gwen wasn’t the only reason he was planning to stay in town, he felt like she was the reason why fate brought him there. He felt as though he had been destined to meet her.

All I knew was that I felt antsy with my old life in North Carolina, he thought, unable to keep from smiling.But it was like I knew in my gut that I needed to leave—because my future was here.

At that moment, Gwen caught sight of him and raised her hand in greeting. Grinning, he started toward her, excited to spend the rest of the event by her side.

Gwen covered her mouth with both hands, laughing over the antics of one of the kids, who was going down the slip-and-slide for what must have been the seventeenth time. Beside her, Isaiah laughed loudly, also delighted by the kid, who seemed to be a natural-born comedian.

“Be careful!” Gwen called out, although the kid wasn’t doing anything dangerous at the moment. Her overly-cautious reflexes made her want to speak up just in case, but after she’d said the words she reminded herself that the kid had been being careful, and she could trust him to look out for himself and the other kids.

She hadn’t expected to enjoy manning the slip-and-slide booth so much, but she’d been having a wonderful time. Now that Isaiah was there with her, she was having even more fun. The kids were all enthusiastic and adorable, and she was enjoying being out in the sunshine. She’d always been good with people—especially kids—but this felt different from working as a doctor. She was able to be more relaxed and let her hair down a little, and she was finding it pleasant to work with kids in a no-pressure setting.

When it was time for the next volunteer to take over the slip-and-slide booth, she and Isaiah wandered around the school and grounds together, looking at all of the hard work they’d accomplished and enjoying watching the kids playing games. They stopped to talk to a variety of people they knew, and she was introduced to all kinds of people that she’d never met before.

It’s good to get to know more people of Blueberry Bay,she thought, smiling to herself as she and Isaiah stepped away froma conversation with a couple that she’d never met before.And it’s nice to meet them here when we’re all having fun.

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