“That would be Robert, Franklin, and Tyler. They’re on Franklin’s boat.”
“Oh, yes. They’re the fishermen that spend all of their mornings in Moony’s.”
“Yup.”
“And they like playing with fireworks, do they?” he chuckled.
“If Mrs. Francis is to be believed, that trio has been lighting fireworks in town since they were teenagers. Apparently, letting them plan out this show for Beach Day was the only way to keep the woods safe around here.”
“So basically, they’ve always been troublemakers.”
“Basically,” she agreed.
“I wonder what it would be like to grow old here.”
“Do you intend on finding out?” she asked, shyly meeting his eyes.
“I think it’s a safe bet that this is where I wanna grow old,” he answered. “I like this place. But like I said, you really have to let me set up that backup security system in the bank.”
“I know, I know. We’ll get it done.”
“Good.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.
They continued to watch the fireworks show in silence, but the more seconds ticked by, the closer they stood to each other. When the grand finale painted the sky in all kinds of sparkling colors, her head was leaned against his shoulder while his arm was wrapped around her waist. They swayed to nothing at all.
Jade was at peace. Happy and giddy, but also settled.
“That’s all, folks!” Franklin shouted from his boat where they had been casting the fireworks. “Thanks for coming out.”
One of the young men from the band started strumming his guitar, and soon, the rest of his buddies joined in. The electricity hadn’t been turned back on yet.
It was hardly the longest the town had ever gone without any flicker of electricity, but in a couple of hours, the elders were going to start thinking of a long-term plan.
“After a bad storm a few years ago, we didn’t have power for twelve days. It was bad, but the town is prepared for it this time.”
“I still think it would be easier to get this thing fixed than to live like this. I get that this is on a different rhythm of life, but it’s also kind of dangerous. Would the elders let me ask one of my old contacts to come to town? Check it out?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know. They already spent a whole lot of money trying to get it fixed. Maybe you should ask Mrs. Francis about it. But I would wait until tomorrow afternoon while she is eating her shredded carrots in Moony’s. Not now. Look at her.”
Mrs. Francis was sitting in a little chair, watching the festivities around her. She was sipping from a steaming cup of tea, looking pleased with herself. Alana knelt beside the old woman and whispered something. Jade thought the entire exchange looked a little tense, but before she could give it more of her time, Parker called her attention away.
“Wanna dance? This is a romantic song.” Parker started to tug her closer to the fire where a few couples … ages sixteen to sixty … were already swaying to the love ballad being crooned by the band.
“This is nice,” she said, basking in the warmth of this embrace.
“Isn’t it?”
“I’ll be honest, Parker. This is gonna be a hard night to beat. It’s been so amazing.”
“Huh? You mean, you don’t think our date can be this good?”
“Well, I don’t see how. We’ve got fire, music, fireworks, a beautiful night sky.”
“Oh, it is on!”
Jade giggled. “You know I am totally joking, right? Just messing with you.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Words have been spoken. You want me to beat this? Pfft. Easy.”