Page 144 of Finders Keepers

“See?” Mr. Locke elbows his friend. “The girl knows what she’s talking about.”

Mr. Henry strokes his chin, considering. “Well, I suppose a little green wouldn’t hurt. As long as they don’t need much fussing over.”

A warm hand touches the small of my back, and I startle, turning to find Gavin beside me. “Sorry to interrupt, but a certain little lady is asking for her mama.”

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” I smile at the two men who wave me off with friendly nods.

As we weave through the crowd, Gavin’s hand stays steady on my back, grounding me. “You doing okay?” His voice is low, meant just for me. “I know this is a lot.”

I appreciate that he asks. The old instinct to say ‘I’m fine’ rises up, but I push it away. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” I admit, glancing up at him. “But I’m okay. Really okay, not pretending-to-be-okay okay.”

His hand rubs up and down my back. “We can leave whenever you want. Just say the word.”

“No, I want to stay.” I lean into him slightly as we walk. “It’s overwhelming in a good way. Like when you step into the sun after being in the dark too long, it takes a minute for your eyes to adjust, but you don’t want to go back inside.”

He pulls me closer, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Whatever you want Bailey.”

We reach the table where Sophie sits between Tommy and Ms. Lucy, her face lighting up when she sees me. “Mama! Look what I made!” She proudly gestures to her sundae, which is more toppings than ice cream at this point.

“Wow, baby, that looks amazing!”

“Here, try some!” She carefully scoops up a bite with her spoon, making sure to get a bit of everything, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles, and what looks like crushed Oreos.

“Thank you, sweetie.” I accept the offered bite, making an exaggerated “Mmm” sound that makes her giggle.

“Tommy helped me pick the toppings,” she announces, beaming at her friend who’s working on his own creation.

Ms. Lucy watches them with fond amusement. “These two are quite the ice cream connoisseurs. They’ve been giving me very detailed instructions on proper sundae assembly.”

“The sprinkles have to go on last,” Sophie explains seriously.

“And you can’t put too much chocolate sauce,” Tommy adds. “Or it makes everything swim.”

“Very important rules,” Gavin agrees. “I’ll have to remember those next time.”

Sophie offers him a bite too, which he accepts with the same enthusiasm I showed. The simple moment hits me hard. My daughter, sharing her ice cream, surrounded by people who care about us, feeling safe enough to just be a kid.

“Mama?” Sophie’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Are you sad again?”

I touch my cheek, surprised to find it damp. “No, baby I’m happy.” I quickly wipe them away, but not before catching Ms. Lucy’s knowing look.

“Sometimes our hearts get so full of happy that it spills out our eyes,” she says, winking at Sophie. “Isn’t that right, Gavin?”

Gavin clears his throat, and I notice his eyes look a bit misty too. “That’s exactly right, Ms. Lucy.”

“Can I go show Tommy the balloons?” Sophie asks, already sliding off her chair.

“Stay where we can see you,” I remind her, watching as the two children head toward the balloon cluster.

Ms. Lucy pats my hand. “You know, I’ve been in this town longer than most folks can remember. Seen people come and go, watched families grow, witnessed all sorts of changes. But sometimes, someone comes along and it’s like they were always meant to be here, just waiting for the right moment to find their way home.”

“I never thought I’d find this,” I confess quietly. “A place where Sophie could just be a normal kid, where I could…” I trail off, watching my daughter point excitedly at a purple balloon while Tommy reaches for a blue one.

“Where you could just be yourself?” She finishes.

I nod, not trusting my voice.

“Well, you have.” She stands, smoothing her dress. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe Mr. Henry is trying to convince everyone that his hardware store window doesn’t need updating, and I simply can’t let him win that argument.”

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