Page 103 of Set It Right
We parted ways after that, most everyone heading home to clean up or take a rest, and Zara and I drifted.
Main Street still hummed with the lazy warmth of late afternoon. We took our time, no hurry to get anywhere, our hands linked between us. Zara paused at the window of the bookstore, leaning in to read the handwritten staff recommendations taped to the glass. She’d left her hat in my truck, so when a breeze made the hair around her face dance, I reached out and tucked it behind her ear.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Always taking care of me.”
“Can’t help it.”
“You’re cute.”
“You keep saying that.”
We kept going, stopping once or twice to talk to friends of my parents and grandparents. I introduced Zara as my girlfriend, earning my hand a squeeze, and when we were alone, a lingering kiss.
“You called me your girlfriend.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Yes, but that was the first time you said it.” She pushed up on her toes to kiss my chin. “I feel a little claimed.”
“You are.” I raised our joined hands to rub my lips along her knuckles. “I’m claiming what I’ve always known was mine.”
Her eyes danced. “The next people we meet, I’m telling them you’re my boyfriend.”
I chuckled, even as pleasure struck me deep. “Have at it. I’d like to see how you work that into a conversation.”
We ran into Dell Rivers next, and Zara managed to do it. Dell seemed a little perplexed to be introduced to me when I’d known him my whole life, but had taken it in stride.
Zara was pleased with herself. “See? I did it.”
“I never should have doubted you.”
She bumped her shoulder into my arm. “When my mind’s made up, I don’t change it.”
“I’ve noticed that about you, sweetheart. I noticed it a long, long time ago.”
“I figured you might have.” She bumped me again. “My mind’s made up about you, Cormac Kelly. I’m claiming you too.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in years.”
We’d never had a slow afternoon like this. Decades of knowing her, we’d always been racing—against time, our feelings, each other. Now we were finally slowing things down, walking side by side, out in the open and plain as daylight.
By the time the sun had started sinking low, we made our way to Joy’s. The bar was already half full, the familiar smell of burgers and fried onions wrapping around us the moment we stepped inside.
We slid into a booth near the dartboards. Zara ordered a chicken sandwich, and I got my usual burger and fries. We talked about nothing important and filled the few silences with smiles we couldn’t seem to hold back.
After we ate dinner, dusk had settled over town. The sky was deepening into navy blue, and the first stars were starting to show.
By the time we reached the park, it looked entirely different from how it had this morning—almost like a dream.
Twinkle lights had been strung from the trees and lampposts. The grass was dotted with blankets and lawn chairs, families and couples settling in to listen to the band. A pack of kids ran through the open spaces, glow sticks flashing in their hands.
The four-man band started playing a country rock song at the same time we spotted my family spread out on a patch of grass not far from the stage. Abigail toddled between Deacon and Phoebe while Hannah’s boys wrestled in the grass. Hannah and Remi were on their feet, taking turns making sure Silas didn’t get too rough with Brooks as they swayed to the music, their arms wrapped around each other.
Alice waved us over. “We were starting to think you weren’t coming.”
Zara sat on the blanket beside Phoebe, and I dropped down behind her, stretching my legs out. She leaned back against me, fitting on my chest like it was custom-made for her.
We stayed like that through a few songs, talking and laughing, watching Phoebe and Deacon dance. They went out dancing often, so they put the rest of the park to shame.
