Open mouth, insert foot. “It’s not the same. You didn’t run for a Senate seat in Virginia and then move here after you lost so you could run again. She did.”
Brett shrugged. “What Gina did is all part of the game, whether we like it or not.” He stood up and held out his hand. “All set to head over?”
They crossed Brett’s street and cut through the church parking to the horseshoe-shaped road that encircled the town common. People of all ages moved about the area and various scents filled the air. From here she could see the bouncy houses rocking as children jumped inside and a line of several others stood waiting their turn. A DJ was set up on the bandstand, cranking out hits. At the moment, he was playing a popular top forty hit she’d heard on the radio earlier in the week while getting a coffee. The one he’d played before though had been an oldie popular when her parents had been teens.
“This is quite the event,” she said as they walked across the grass with no particular destination in mind. “I can’t believe they throw something like this once a month all summer.”
“Sean told me the town is big into community togetherness.”
When you thought about all the terrible events happening in the word, she didn’t think a little community spirit was a bad thing. “Maybe more places should try it.”
“Maybe.” He stopped walking and looked around. “Where to first? I know the dance floor is out.”
She’d learned at an early age she had two left feet. Except under very specific circumstances like her parents’ anniversary party when she danced with her dad and her sister’s wedding when she’d danced with her brother, she stayed far away from dance floors. She’d been happy when Brett told her he never willingly ventured onto them either. Tonight though she’d be willing to make a trip on to it for a slow dance or two with Brett.
“Let’s just walk around,” she answered.
They gave the dance floor a wide berth and headed toward the picnic tables. “Is that a dunk tank over there?” She pointed toward an object near the center of the green. She’d only ever seen them in movies.
“Affirmative,” Brett answered. “I wonder what kind of bet he lost to find himself in there.”
They watched as the man sitting inside dropped down into the water and a cheer went up from the people standing around the tank. When the man came back up, he pushed his hair out of his eyes and climbed back up on the bench.
“It could be some type of fund-raiser.” The school district in her town was always doing various fund-raisers.
Together they managed a few more steps before two young girls zipped in front of them, forcing them to either stop or crash into the energetic youngsters.
“Grace and Brianna, you both need to be more careful,” an older woman called, following behind the girls.
The girls stopped and looked around. When one of the girls spotted Brett, she smiled and waved at him. “Brett, guess what?” She skipped over to them, her pigtails swinging back and forth. “Jessie had the babies. I’m a big sister.”
This must be his neighbor’s daughter.
The girl who’d spoken pointed at her companion. “This is my cousin Brianna.”
“And I’m their grandmother.” The older woman joined them. “Rose Ellsbury,” she said, extending her hand first toward Jen. “But please call me Rose. You must be my son and daughter-in-law’s new neighbors. I saw the lights on in the house when I drove by.”
“Can we go, Grammy? Brianna and I want to get a donut before they’re all gone.”
“Yes, of course, give me one second,” Rose said, looking at her two granddaughters and using a voice similar to the one Mom used when talking to Bella. “Welcome to town. I think you’ll both love living here.”
Rose and the girls walked away before either Brett or Jen could correct her. “Friendly little girl,” Jen said as she watched Grace and her cousin half skip and half run toward the tables filled with food.
He’d visited a lot of places in his life, but he’d never seen anything quite like the events taking place around him. And although not something he’d want to attend every month, he could see himself making it to one next year. Brett waved back at Grace, who was now standing in line at a bounce house. Since first coming up to him and Jen, she’d passed by him twice and each time she’d waved in his direction.
“I think she likes you,” Jen said.
“What?”
“Grace, your neighbor. I think she has a crush on you.” She leaned into his side and whispered in his ear, “She’s got good taste.”
Brett looked at the girl standing in line with her cousin and then over at Jen. “She’s what, seven, maybe eight years old? She’s just friendly.” Girls that young didn’t have crushes.
Jen made a tsking sound. “You’ve got a lot to learn. I had my first crush in second grade. His name was Mr. Fellows, and he was my gym teacher. I was devastated when he married one of the third grade teachers at the end of the school year.”
He tried to picture a seven-year-old Jen crying over her gym teacher. But he just couldn’t do it. “If you say so.”
Brett carried their drinks and looked around for a place to sit. The number of people on the common had doubled since they’d arrived. Rather than find an empty table, he spotted his friend Sean O’Brien. Some kind of strange contraption with tiny legs sticking out of it was attached to his chest. His wife sat next to him.