Page 46 of Sweet Trouble
She had to give Tripp some credit—he knew exactly how to help Mari feel at peace. A lot of people, including her own parents, would have tried to convince the little girl toface her fearorjust do it.But getting used to things that made her uncomfortable was something Mari always handled best on her own terms. It took a thoughtful, accepting adult to see that and meet her where she was. Tripp was obviously one of those people.
Honestly, that surprised Jillian. He was so fearless himself. And he’d clearly been excited about getting on the Ferris wheel too. But he’d changed his tune in a heartbeat when Mari said she didn’t want to go.
“He’s nice,” Posey said suddenly.
Jillian glanced over at her daughter, whose eyes were still on Tripp and her sister.
“I think he really gets Mari,” Posey added, glancing up at her mom.
“He sure does,” Jillian said as the music began and the Ferris wheel jerked to life.
“Whoa,” Posey squeaked excitedly.
“Here we go,” Jillian said, grabbing Posey’s little hand.
They began the slow ascent that swept them up over the parking lot and past the trees.
“You can see thetopof that tree,” Posey said, pointing to the little dogwood near the parking lot.
“You don’t see that every day,” Jillian said, earning her a little giggle.
“And you can see theroofof that house,” Posey said, wiggling so much that Jillian was glad for the safety belts.
“Do you think we’ll see any birds while we’re up here?” Jillian asked her.
That got her a big chuckle, followed by a list of everything else Posey could see.
It was fun to get a view over this bit of the neighborhood around the school, and when she craned her neck a little, she could see the festivities on the school playground behind them.
When they passed Tripp and Mari the first time, they all waved and waved.
On their second pass, Tripp had his phone aimed at them for a photo.
The third time around, Mari was the one taking pictures with his phone, a big smile on her face.
“She has to be careful,” Posey said, after giving her sister a big smile. “She might drop it.”
“Yes,” Jillian said. “Tripp is trusting her. But I’m sure she’s being careful.”
She had told the girls many times that phones were expensive and easy to break, so she didn’t let them handle hers very often.
While that was true enough, the reality was that she just didn’t want them staring at screens all their lives. It was inevitable that when they were older they would have phones of their own. But for now, she liked their eyes wide open and taking in the real world.
It was funny how things had turned out. She had thought keeping them off screens as long as possible would give them a childhood that was more like her own. And now that they were here in Sugarville Grove, their childhood was going to be alotmore like hers.
And since she wasn’t working crazy hours as an ER nurse just to keep a roof over their heads anymore, she was actually going to be around to enjoy moments like this one with them.
“You’re happy,” Posey said.
“Yes,” Jillian replied, turning to her daughter. “I am happy. I like being here. How about you?”
“Yes,” Posey said. “I’m not afraid.”
“You sure aren’t,” Jillian laughed. “But I was thinking about more than just the Ferris wheel. I meant being here in Sugarville Grove as our home. I think it’s nice to live in the country with Gram and Grampy. Do you?”
“Yes,” Posey said with a smile. “I can playoutside, and I can help Gram make cookies and Grampy make dinner.”
“It’s a pretty good life,” Jillian agreed.
