Sienna shivered, following Beau to a seating area with lounge chairs. On one of them sat a box.
She pointed. “And that?”
“That’s for Grace. And her friend in the hospital.”
Confused, Sienna fingered the large silver bow.
“And for other kids and families.” He handed her the box. “But you should be the one who opens it.”
Sienna sat on the lounge chair, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders, and lifted the lid of the box. There was enough light coming from the side of the building for Sienna to see sequins. She squinted, picking up a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.
“In June, when school is over. Disney World. You, me. Grace. Her friend. Any other kid on the Golden Penny Foundation’s list I can get there. We’ll shut down Magic Kingdom for a few hours—”
The blanket slipped off Sienna’s shoulders, and the box fell from her lap, landing on the floor when she jumped into Beau’s arms and wrapped her hands around his neck.
“Thank you. Thank you,” she whispered against his cheek, streaking it with her kisses.
Beau snaked his arms around Sienna’s waist as he lifted her. “I’d do anything to make you happy,” he said with a sigh, cradling the back of her head. “I just wish I could’ve done this a long time ago.”
Sienna squeezed her eyes shut when the pain struck her, that gnawing unease that gripped and twisted up her gut, latching onto her heart. She tightened her hold.Please don’t leave again,she silently begged. But Sienna knew, if she let those thoughts escape her mouth and flood the space between them with her anxiety, she would send Beau further away on a float of guilt when what they both needed to do was swim closer together.
“You’re doing it now. And you’re going to make a lot of people happy.” She pulled back and kissed him. “Kids. Kids who need it. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Do you think Grace will be happy? She’s not too old?”
Sienna shook her head, imagining her daughter’s reaction. Her ears already rang with the anticipation of Grace’s squealing.
“She’ll be thrilled.” She looked down at the box and empty chairs. “But what’s for you here?”
Beau smiled, moving behind her to sit on the lounge chair. “You here.” He patted the space between his legs, and Sienna sat, sliding against him as he draped the blanket over her. “I know you don’t make wishes anymore,” Beau said quietly. “But can you stay with me while I make one?”
Sienna nodded, sinking into his chest as he rubbed her arms beneath the blanket.
“Maybe for the wish to come true, the moment has to be right.” Beau found her hand beneath the blanket, winding their fingers together. “This feels like a really fucking great moment.”
Sienna let out a breathy laugh in agreement. They remained quiet for a few minutes, and Sienna nearly grew sleepy from the deep, calming breaths Beau took behind her, from his leg knocking lazily into hers as they looked up at the semi-clouded sky. But even with the fog, a few bright stars sparkled.
Beau sat slightly and leaned over, picking up a headband holding sparkly ears. Sienna shifted, watching him.
“You’re never too old for Disney World, yeah?” he asked, plopping them on his head, his hair still unruly in the best way possible—from her hands winding through and tugging the dark brown tresses.
“No.” She smiled and returned to her position against his chest, nudging him to hold her. “And maybe you’re never too old to believe in Prince Charming, either.”
* * *
“No way.”
“Way,” Sienna said for the fifth time with a heavy sigh. “Now, there are going to be parameters in place—”
“No way,” Grace repeated for thesixthtime, this time saying it to Beau, who looked at Sienna before scratching his head.
“Way?” he offered with a nod even though it came out as a question, and before Sienna could tell Grace for theseventhtime that they were going to Disney World, courtesy of Beau, Grace started screaming—andsquealing—with excitement and launched herself at him.
For Sienna, there was a pause in Grace’s squealing and a halt to her own breathing as she took them in—Beau and Grace.Have I ever made her that happy? Maybe, Sienna thought, but Grace had probably been five, and it had involved something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes for dinner. But no pang of jealousy struck Sienna when she came across another thought.This is what she has been missing—the right kind of man to put a smile on her face.
Grace didn’t know her father. Sienna hardly even knew him, apart from his name. Andrew, a guy who drove a Corvette even though he had told Sienna the night they met—the only night they spent together—that he worked a 9-5 job at Best Buy. He hadn’t given Grace anything apart from his DNA. Not a pack of diapers, teething rings. He wasn’t there for her first shots, he didn’t teach her to ride a bike. He never knew just how strong Grace was—how she smiled even when she vomited or played pranks on the first-year resident oncologists.
“What about Molly?” She pulled back to look at her mother, still hanging on to Beau.