Page 17 of Adventures in Spring

“Are you going to finally tell me why our Lake Renegade family is here?” I ask Felicity.

“Nope,” she says as she heads to the kitchen.

I hear the guys laughing in the other room. They’ve all said they don’t know what’s up. Just that she asked them to come help her with something. All they do know is that they’re here for a week or two. My sister is a pain in my ass sometimes.

Today I’m interviewing a few people for an assistant position. I just need help with the cashier part of the pharmacy. I do all the medication distribution. Maybe one day I’ll hire another pharmacist. But for now, I’m able to handle all of it myself. I can’t wait to see Emiko for lunch.

“So when are Dom, Declan and Cillian arriving?” I ask.

“They should be here around ten or eleven this morning.”

“Do you think they’d be willing to come with me to the high school? I’d love to surprise Emiko.”

“I’m sure they’ll go, Gianluca will be with them too.”

“Awesome. That’s even better. If any of the kids are fans, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

“Maybe we can all go. I want to see her face.” Schuyler chuckles.

“Definitely. I was thinking we could get there around eleven-thirty. That’s right about the time they break for lunch.”

“I’ll call them and see when they’ll be here,” Sebastiano says as he calls his twin.

“I can’t wait to take Emiko and the twins to Lake Renegade. They’re going to love the otters and all the other animals.”

“They said they’ll be here by ten-thirty. So when they get here, we can head to the school if you want.”

“Thanks. It’s going to be an awesome day.”

* * *

We get to the high school at eleven. I called the principal to let him know about my plan. We get to Emiko’s classroom and I poke my head inside. All her students turn to look at me, and some wave.

“Rhett.” Emiko smiles. “We have about fifteen minutes before the lunch bell will ring.”

“I know, I have a surprise for you.” I walk into her classroom. “I also have a question for your class. Are any of you Chicago Redhawks or Chicago Panthers fans?”

Over half the class raise their hands.

“That’s what I was hoping to see. Maybe you’ll know these guys,” I say as they walk in.

“Oh my god. That’s Declan O’Reilly.”

“Holy shit. Domenico Mancini?”

“CILLIAN MURPHY.”

“Rawr,” some of them say to Gianluca who smiles and roars back at them.

“You did this for me?” Emiko whispers to me.

“Of course. I told you I’ll do anything for you.”

“Thank you.” She smiles as she hugs me and kisses my cheek.

The kids spend the next fifteen minutes talking to the guys as I stand back and watch. I love the smile on my girl’s face. Everyone heads to the cafeteria while Emiko and I stay back in her classroom. I can feel that something’s wrong.

“Are you okay?” I ask her as I pull out the sandwiches I brought for lunch.

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