"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
Nolan propped his face up with a fist, bored eyes on Nora and Andy as they played their fifteenth round of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Nora had proved to be particularly terrible at the game. She hadn't won a single round. However, that hadn't seemed to dampen her enthusiasm—on the contrary, her determination only seemed to grow.
"How do you keep doing this?" she demanded when Andy's scissors beat her paper. Again.
"You just suck," Andy said.
"Hurtful." She looked at Nolan. "Nolan! Can you come play him so I can assure myself it's not just me?"
"She doesn't mind living her life in a lie," Max said. He was on the floor, along with Erin, in the middle of an intense game of Spit. Caleb and Sam had joined them, watching the game with glee.
The airport wasn't too busy today, and those that did pass by didn't pay their group any mind. Other people were on the floor, too, or sprawled across multiple chairs, dozing.
Nolan forced himself out of his seat and crossed over to Nora and Andy. If he was going to spend the day with them, might as well not make it any more awkward than it had to be.
He claimed the spot on Andy's opposite side and held out his palm, fist resting on top of it. Andy did the same.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
On instinct, Nolan unfurled his fingers. Paper.
"See?" Andy said, his fist still intact. Rock. "You just suck."
"Lemme try."
Nora leaned over Andy, fist over palm.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
Nolan retained his fist. Rock.
"Aw!" Nora laughed as Nolan bopped her scissors. "Well, it looks like I won't be playing professional Rock, Paper, Scissors anytime soon."
"Sucks, because that career path is bursting with opportunities," Max said.
"Dang."
Nolan's lips twitched.
"Guys, it's eleven-thirty!" Mr. Sison announced. He, his wife, Rosamie, and his kids, Faith and Daniel—who didn't look to be much younger than Nolan and the others; maybe thirteen and fifteen to their seventeen—lined the seats next to Nora's. Even before he finished his sentence, Faith was grabbing for a handmade WELCOME BACK, WILLOW! sign from underneath her seat. She had more artistic talent at thirteen than he could ever hope to have. When he still made short films, his storyboards were little more than stick people.
Games were abandoned and cleaned, and everyone was ushered out of their seats. "Daniel, come on," Rosamie said. She patted his shoulder, and he grudgingly stuffed his phone into his pocket. He seemed to be the only one who wanted to be there less than Nolan.
They headed for the gate, laughter in the air.
"I wonder if her jet lag is going to be as bad as last time," Erin mused.
"I hope so," Max said.
"That shit was hilarious."
"Swear jar."
Andy cursed under his breath, which prompted another "Swear jar!" and a disapproving look from Rosamie.
"Sorry, Rosamie," Andy said.
She grinned. "What will we do with you, Andrew?"
"My mom's been trying to figure that one out for years."
Nolan's lips twitched again.
Nora sent a smile his way as they slowed to a stop near the gate, by a few other waiting families. "Thank you for coming," she said. "I know it's probably a little awkward, especially since you don't know her."
He shrugged. "It's fine."
She smiled, then gasped. "It's time!"
He turned. People were pouring out of the gate, into the waiting area? Despite not having any idea what Willow looked like—except for that, odds were, she was Filipina like the rest of her family—Nolan searched along with everyone else, as though he would actually find a familiar face.
Nora squealed and catapulted forward. "Willow!" she shrieked.
A short girl in the crowd perked. "Nora!"
They collided. Nolan's eyebrows shot upward as they nearly tumbled to the floor. The crowd put as much distance between themselves and the excited shrieks as possible, discreetly staring, smiling, or frowning as they passed by. Huh. Maybe he should shriek more often.
"They do this every time," Andy told him.
"One time, they fell over," Max added.
"Yeah, and you dog-piled them," Erin said.
"Hey, when the opportunity arises for a dog-pile, you dog-pile."
Nora and Willow raced over to them. "Hey!" Willow said, grinning from ear to ear. She tightened her straight, brunette ponytail, shifted her side bangs out of her face, and held out her arms. "Who's first?"
Rosamie was first. "I missed you so much!" she cried, hugging Willow tight. Willow squeezed her just as tightly.
Mr. Sison was next, then Faith, then Daniel. Daniel's hug was polite, but definitely not the suffocatingly affectionate embrace the rest of her family had delved out. Willow grinned and ruffled his hair. "Missed you, dude."
He grimaced. "I missed you a little less now," he grumbled. She laughed, and he smiled.
She noticed Caleb and Sam. "Hey, guys!" They ran into her arms, and she hugged them both. "Couldn't wait to see me at the barbecue, huh?"
"Told you," Mr. Sison said. "Straight to her head."
"You talking smack about me, Dad?"
"Of course not. You're the apple of my eye. I could never."
"Then what am I?" Rosamie asked. Everyone but Nolan laughed.
Willow let go of Caleb and Sam. As she straightened, her eyes landed on Nolan. "Hi," she said with a polite smile. "I'm Willow."
She held out her hand. He shook it. "Nolan," he said.
"Nice to meet you."
"Nolan's my brother," Caleb said, as though his presence needed explanation. Which, to be fair, it kind of did.
"Oh," Willow said. "That's cool."
"Not really," Sam said.
Nolan's expression flattened.
"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," Mr. Sison said. "Let's be nice."
She giggled.
"On that note, who's ready to grab Willow's bags and then go eat some food?"
Willow sagged. "Yes. Another hour, and I'll legitimately eat you all. It'll be disgusting, and I'll puke, but I'll do it."
"You wouldn't eat me, right?" Nora asked.
"You're obviously an exception," Willow said, looping an arm over Nora's shoulder.
"What about me?" Andy asked.
"You're the first to go."
"What? What did I do?"
"Oh, I think you know."
Willow and Nor laughed and led the group away from the gate, toward the baggage claim. Willow swiftly found her luggage, and then they were on their way back to the parking lot.
✝
"Why are you sad?"
Nolan looked up from his cell phone. Once again, there was a girl at his picnic table. Different table, different girl. This table was nestled in the corner of Ashfield Park, as far from everyone as possible. He could barely see the playground, which meant that Nora and her friends probably couldn't see him. Good.
He'd started out "participating." He'd walked around with them awkwardly for about fifteen minutes, listening in silence as they joked around on the seesaw and merry-go-round. It was while they were spinning around on the merry-go-round that he found an opening to sneak away unnoticed. And so now here he sat.
The girl looked to be a little younger than Caleb—maybe six to Caleb's eight. As she titled her head to the side, one of her brunette pigtails obscured part of her face.
"I'm not sad," he said.
"You look sad."
"Well, I'm not," he said with a shrug. "It's just my face."
A truth within a lie. He was prone to looking upset while his mind was elsewhere. But, this whole barbecue—this whole day—was just a reminder of a life he could never get back.
His parents used to take him and his brothers to Ashfield Park. Not all the time or anything, but when they felt like having a change of scenery. Caleb would play on the playground or join the rest of them on the grass, playing catch, baseball, or soccer. And, once in a while, they'd go swimming in the lake.
"My mommy says that it's always good to find a friend when I'm sad," she said.
His eyebrows rose. "Okay."
"I'll be your friend."
What? "Okay," he said.
The girl grinned. "Let's go play."
"I'm—"
She grabbed his hand and tugged. "Come swing with me!" she said.
"Uh..."
The next thing he knew, he was pushing this random girl on the swings.
"My name's Riley," she said. She pumped her legs and squealed as Nolan sent her soaring. "What's yours?"
"Nolan!" Andy called. "There you are. Damn, dude. We've been looking everywhere for you."
Nolan peered around Riley to find Andy and the others standing a few feet away from the swings, smiles on their faces. He forced on a small smile of his own. "Sorry," he said.
"You said a bad word," Riley said to Andy.
"I meant the beaver dam."
"Lying is bad, too, you know."
Everyone laughed. Nolan's lips twitched.
"I see you met Riles," Nora said. She ambled forward and leaned against the railing, her arms looped loosely over her chest.
"Mm-hmm."
"He's my friend now," Riley said.
"Oh, he is, is he?" Nora grinned.
"Why?" Sam asked. She wrinkled her nose. "He's, like, old."
Nolan rolled his eyes.
"He's not that old," Caleb said.
"We're not old at all, you jerks."
"That's another bad word," Riley said.
"What?"
"Tsk, tsk, Candy Cane," Willow drawled.
Nolan gave Riley another push. She giggled, feet waggling as she soared through the air.
"I wanna go swimming," Max said.
"But, we didn't bring our bathing suits," Erin said.
"So?"
"I wanna swim!" Riley shouted. She wriggled in her seat. "Catch me, catch me!"
Nolan did, grabbing onto the handles as she descended and dragging her slowly to a stop. She hopped out of her seat and zoomed past them. "Let's go!" she squealed.
"You heard the little lady," Max said. He grinned and raced toward the lake, which sat a few yards away. Andy, Erin, and Willow weren't far behind. Caleb and Sam nodded at one another in unison and chased after the crowd.
That left Nolan and Nora. His eyebrows rose—she hadn't budged.
"You aren't swimming?" he asked.
"Not today," she said. She smiled. "I'm gonna go sit and watch, though. Wanna join?"
No. He shrugged and followed her over to a patch of grass. Across the way, Nora's friends yanked off shoes and socks and charged into the lake, clothes and all. He wondered why Nora had decided to stay ashore, but he didn't ask.
They were quiet, allowing the chatter and splashing water to fill the silence.
Nolan shifted. "Willow's our age, right?"
"Yeah," she said. "She skipped a couple grades, so she's a Freshman—or whatever they call it in England. She only comes home once a year, so it's always an event."
"Oh," he said.
"Yup. She's been my best friend since we were little. Her dad and my mom were best friends, too."
Were.
"Nolan, Nolan, look!"
Riley squealed and waved her arms in the air. She was the only one who'd thought to wear a bathing suit.
"Watch this!" she yelled. She spread her arms wide and fell back in the water, disappearing under the surface and shooting up again. She laughed as though what she did was the most hilariously fantastic thing ever. "Did you watch?" she asked.
He nodded.
"I didn't even plug my nose!"
"Good job," he said.
Her smile grew. "Watch this!" she shouted again.
Nora laughed as Riley jumped up, twirled, and fell back into the water. "Riley has taken a liking to you," she said.
"I guess so."
After a few more tricks, Riley released Nolan and doggy-paddled over to Caleb and Sam, who were splashing each other with relish. Greg was going to love the soaked seats when he picked them up on his way home from work.
His triumph quickly gave way to a frown. The final notice pressed on his shoulders.
"You okay?" Nora asked.
He shrugged. "I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
His eyes narrowed. If he could just find a job without Greg finding out...
Fingertips pressed softly against his arm. "What's up?" she asked once he met her gaze.
"I need a job."
"A job?"
"Yeah," he said. "Know of anyone who's hiring?"
Nora bit her lip and looked out at the water. Her eyes widened. "I am."
"What?"
Was it just him, or was she surprised, too? "I have a job you could do," she said.
He hesitated. "What is it?"
"I want to start a YouTube channel," she said, "and I need help filming a music video."
His heart lifted. He never thought he'd touch his camera again. He hadn't wanted to—what was there to film now? But...
"I can give you fifteen an hour," she said. "It's not much, I know, but maybe it could help you out while you continue looking?"
"Who else would be doing it?" he asked.
"Those intelligent young people over there." She pointed at the lake, where Max leapt out from underneath the water, grabbed Erin, and sent her toppling with a shriek.
He blinked.
The offer sounded too good to be true. And he wanted to say yes—so badly, actually, it made him uncomfortable. "Are they getting paid, too?" he asked.
"No," she said. "They'd be volunteers."
"Oh." He looked out at the water again. Andy held Max back so Erin could tackle him properly. "I...I wouldn't really feel right taking money from you," he said, picking at the grass. "Thanks anyway."
The little bit of stirred enthusiasm fizzled out. But it was the right choice.
"Oh, okay." Nora smiled. "No hurry if you change your mind. But just know that I'd end up having to pay someone else to do it anyway, so it's really not a big deal."
"Okay. I'll think about it."
But his mind was already made.