A Royally Beautiful Mess Page 12

  They arrived home to frantic barking coming from the mud room.

  “Guess he woke up.” Esther grabbed the dog bed and a bag of toys. “We should probably close the garage door before we open the door to the mud room so even if he gets out, he can’t run off.”

  “Good plan.” Darius set the rest of their purchases to the side so he could close the hatch. When he moved out of the way, she hit the button to close the garage door. Once it reached the concrete, she went into the mud room.

  The ball of black and tan fur wiggled excitedly, jumping up and down as he barked.

  “I think he’s glad to see us,” she noted with only a hint of sarcasm. The excitement was kind of nice, even if he did need spruced up. The bath helped, but his fur was too long and matted, and would require a trip to the groomer to be truly clean.

  First thing they did was work together to put the collar on him. Darius poured a little bit of food into one of the bowls. The dog went after it like they’d offered him steak.

  “While he’s busy...” Darius pulled the tick remover thing out of the bag and read the instructions. “Grab the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.” At least they’d noticed they needed those before they left the store.

  As the dog ate, Darius removed a tick and dropped it in a solution of water and rubbing alcohol as Esther swiped the spot with the rubbing alcohol to disinfect. After a few minutes, the dog finished eating.

  Darius wiped his forehead on his forearm. “Let’s give him a break. I think it’s time for dinner.”

  “I don’t want him running around the house, though. Can you imagine the cleanup if he gets into something? Vesta would have a fit then make us deal with all of it.”

  Darius ruffled the dog’s fur. “We need a name for him until we figure out if he has an owner.”

  “You don’t think we’ll get too attached?” Esther hadn’t pet him just yet.

  The dog licked Darius’s chin as he laughed. “I think it might be a little too late for that.”

  15

  With the leash gripped tightly in his hand, Darius waited for Esther to get his backpack out of the car for him. It contained several waters and snacks, thanks to advice from Samantha and Vince about how to survive Pumpkinfest. Apparently, the different stands often ran out before the end of the day, so bringing your own was the best plan.

  Esther held the backpack out. “I’ll take Raja. You take the bag.”

  He grabbed the strap. “I can handle both.”

  In the month since they’d found the dog, Vince had posted for them several times in the assorted Facebook groups for lost animals. Their new vet at Pond Creek County Animal Care had scanned several times for a microchip and found none.

  They’d even managed to install a doggie door in the sliding door downstairs, though it took nearly three times as long as it was supposed to. The glass panel that fit onto the track only require eight screws to secure, but Ian had been right to question their skill with an electric drill. The four other screws had been required to install a new latch for the sliding door to lock into.

  Afterward, they’d installed a small fence running from one retaining wall to another on either side of the walk-out basement. Just glorified chicken wire, it gave Raja enough room to run around without needing to install a full privacy fence. At just twelve pounds, Raja didn’t need a ton of room like a larger dog would.

  Declared a Havanese by the vet, Raja had become a permanent member of their home. Esther searched for words meaning prince and finally settled on one. Darius argued briefly, but finally agreed it fit.

  “Where are we meeting them?” Esther asked as they headed away from the football stadium at the middle school and toward the road.

  “By the petting zoo, I think he said.”

  They merged with a crowd walking along the sidewalk. Several kids stopped to pet Raja before they crossed the railroad tracks between the middle school and the park.

  As they turned into the park, they walked between inflatable bouncy toys for kids - a castle, a dinosaur with a slide, even a giant pumpkin - and a pumpkin pickin’ patch filled with hundreds of small pumpkins for kids to take home.

  Further down other booths began to line the grassy area between the sidewalk and the fence along the railroad. Raja stopped and stared at the booth grilling hamburgers to raise money for the choir boosters, his tail wagging excitedly.

  “Guess we know what’s for dinner later.” Darius tugged gently on the leash attached to a harness until Raja started moving again. They’d discovered he pulled on the leash until he worked his collar loose and slipped out of it. It made them wonder if that was how he got lost in the first place.

  “It does smell good.” Esther moved off the sidewalk to survey the main portion of the park. Normally used for playing Frisbee or children’s games, families and other knots of people filled the space, spreading blankets near the stage and emanating outward. “This doesn’t look so different than a festival anywhere else, I suppose.”

  “Esther?”

  They both turned to see their mutual classmate waving from a dozen yards away.

  “Hi, Abi,” Esther called as she started for her friend.

  Abi secured a balloon around the wrist of a girl who appeared to be about four-years-old then straightened. “Can I interest you in a balloon? Proceeds go to the drama department.”

  Esther laughed. “Of course they do.”

  “Travis roped me into helping out.” She looked around. “My daughter and her not-a-boyfriend are around here somewhere.”

  “Not-a-boyfriend?”

  Abi rolled her eyes. “They don’t date anyone else, but since Cassie’s not sixteen, she’s not allowed to date. They did go to prom together last year, but otherwise, no dates until December. Zach is a great kid, though. They’ll be good together, eventually.” She crouched down to pet Raja. “I’m so glad to finally meet this guy. He’s so sweet.”

  Darius looked around the park. “Do you know where the petting zoo is? We’re supposed to meet some friends there in a few minutes.”

  Abi stood back up and did a slow turn. “I thought it was usually near the inflatables, but I think they moved it this year. Over by the playground maybe?” She took a few steps away. “I’ve got to get back to the booth, but I’ll see you both around.”

  As Abi walked off, Darius and Esther resumed their stroll toward the playground area. A student handed them a flyer listing the events taking place throughout the day.

  “I wish I’d known there was a best homemade pet costume contest,” Esther told him. “We could have entered the parade.”

  “And if our picture made the paper, there would go our anonymity.”

  “Good point.” She turned the paper over. “But there is a map of booths. Abi was right. The petting zoo is on the other side of the slides.”

  They made their way through the crowd to the far side of the park. Samantha and Vince leaned on the railing, talking to a couple of children as they pet a goat.

  Samantha broke off from the discussion to crouch in front of Raja as he wagged his tail. “Hi, there, Raja.” She scratched behind his ears. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She looked up at Darius and Esther. “He cleaned up quite nicely after you found him.”

  “We’ve become pretty fond of him.” Esther knelt next to Samantha as Raja turned his attention to his favorite person. Darius had been the one to clean him up, get rid of the ticks, take him to get groomed, but the dog decided he loved Esther best, even snuggling in the crook of her knees at night.

  “What do we want to do?” Darius asked turning to look around the park. “See the world’s largest watermelon?”

  Because that, apparently, was a thing.

  Vince laughed as he slung an arm around Samantha’s shoulder. “The world’s largest isn’t here, but this is an official weigh station for that sort of thing, so there are some really large gourds if we keep going this way.”

  Darius laced his fingers with Esther’s as the
y walked away from the petting zoo. “Besides gawking at giant vegetables, what is there to do?”

  “There are wheelbarrow races and tractor pulls. Face painting is always popular with the kids. There’s a cakewalk plus a bunch of games for littler kids.” Samantha pulled a flyer out of her pocket. “I think the tractor pull starts soon.”

  “I literally have no idea what that is.” Esther studied her own flyer.

  “It’s kind of fun to watch.” Samantha shoved the paper back in her pocket. “They don’t allow souped-up tractors, just regular ones. The tractor races are more fun, though. Grown men and women on children’s tractors complete with pedals.”

  Esther’s eyes twinkled as she looked up at him. “I think that would be great fun. You should do it. The pictures would be priceless.”

  Darius groaned. “Let’s go.”

  A few minutes later, Esther tried to hide her grin, but failed miserably as Darius gaped.

  “You want me to ride one of those?” he asked.

  “Sure. It’ll be fun.”

  He leaned closer to her so no one else could hear what he had to say. “As long as the pictures never make it on the Internet.”

  “Not from me. Maybe. At least for now.” She gave her best innocent smile. “But maybe you shouldn’t have worn that shirt.” The horrid tropical yellow and teal one he’d bought in San Majoria didn’t quite fit in with the fall feel of the day, despite the warm sunshine.

  “Great.”

  Esther and Samantha took a seat on the blanket-covered bales of hay near the “course.” Two kids currently rode the tractors as they navigated through the hay bale course. Darius and Vince were next in line.

  “They keep track of the times and at the end of the day, the fastest time in each age group gets a prize.” Samantha rubbed Raja’s neck as he put his front paws on her knee and stretched.

  “How will they even fit on those things?” Esther asked tightening her grip on Raja’s leash.

  Samantha laughed. “They won’t. That’s what makes it fun. Their knees will come perilously close to hitting their chins. One or both of them may tip over. And everyone will cheer and laugh while they do it.”

  Esther slipped her hand through the loop on the leash. As Darius and Vince tried to situate themselves on the tractors, she held up her phone to record the race.

  A little girl, maybe five or six years old, stood in front of them. Decked in denim with a real cowgirl hat and boots that looked like they’d been worn to muck stalls, she held up a bandanna.

  “Ready?” she yelled. “Go!”

  Darius’s feet slipped off the pedals before he could even get started. Vince only made it a couple of feet before his did the same thing. By then Darius had managed to get started, though he looked like some sort of weird grasshopper with his knees sticking out to either side at awkward angles.

  Esther tried to keep from laughing so she wouldn’t ruin the video but couldn’t completely hold it in. The metal tractors clanked as they hit each other going around a turn in the track created by stacks of hay bales.

  Finally, Vince crossed the finish line a second before Darius. Cheers went up from around the track. Raja even barked a couple of times as Esther stopped the recording.

  Vince accepted congratulatory high fives from several kids as they walked back to where Esther and Samantha waited.

  “Great race, man.” Vince smacked Darius on the back.

  “Thanks.” Darius slid his arm around Esther’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have let me win? I’m technically still a newlywed. I need to impress my wife more than you do.”

  Esther rolled her eyes and lightly backhanded his stomach. “You don’t need to impress me.”

  “I know, but still.” Darius heaved an exaggerated sigh. “It would have been nice to win.” He took the leash from Esther. “Where next?”

  With her fingers laced through his, Esther fell in step beside him. Samantha and Vince were a half step behind them. Rather than going back near the inflatables, they stopped at a booth where band members were selling pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, and coleslaw.

  A friend of Vince’s and his family were leaving a picnic table nearby. Vince commandeered it for them. Raja managed to get a couple of bites from each of them, though he begged for more.

  “I don’t think I can finish.” Esther pushed her plate away. The coleslaw was new for her, and she wasn’t fond of it, but the rest of the food was delicious. Darius ate the coleslaw, and Vince took the rest of her sandwich when she offered it.

  For several hours, they walked around the festival, making sure to see each booth and donate to each cause, either through a purchase or a few dollars in a jar.

  By the time they made it back to the SUV, Esther’s feet were killing her.

  “I should have worn better shoes,” she moaned as she clicked her seatbelt into place.

  Darius squeezed her hand. “Take a bath when we get home.’

  “I would, but it’s supposed to be my night to make dinner.”

  “I’ll do it, though I’m not really hungry. It hasn’t been that long since we ate with Vince and Samantha.”

  “Something easy, then. Brinner, maybe?” She hadn’t known the word until a couple of weeks earlier, but breakfast food for dinner appealed to her.

  Dinner for breakfast didn’t hold the same charm.

  “Bacon and eggs? Maybe pancakes?” He eased into the stream of traffic leaving the parking lot. At least a police barrier blocked the road to the left. It made traffic flow much faster than it would otherwise, except after turning right, it was only a couple of blocks to a traffic light on a major street.

  “Pancakes might be a little bit too much for me, but if you want some, go ahead.”

  When they reached the light, a uniformed police officer directed traffic, allowing the side street to empty more effectively.

  “They do sound good.” And were something neither one of them ate at home. Most of the things they learned to make weren’t things they would likely make in their home palaces.

  Talk turned to other topics as Darius steered the car toward the lake. After pulling into the garage, he turned off the SUV and looked at Esther. “I do need you to promise me one thing.”

  “What’s that?” she asked, gathering her things.

  “None of the pictures you took ever, ever see the light of day. Not my mother or my siblings. Especially not Benjamin.”

  Esther could tell he was both serious and not at the same time. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they found out, but Darius felt it would be potentially embarrassing. “I promise.” She struggled to control her smirk. “I won’t show any of the pictures I took to anyone. Ever.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to mean? I don’t feel like I can believe you.”

  Esther’s grin broke through full force. “I didn’t take any pictures.”

  “You didn’t? I saw you with your phone.”

  She couldn’t hold back the giggle. “I didn’t take pictures. I took video.”

  Darius groaned. “And somehow I don’t think you’ll keep it between us for the rest of our lives.”

  Esther opened her door to get out. “Not a chance.”

  16

  Two weeks after Pumpkinfest, Darius rolled onto his side and watched Esther as she sat in the chair sipping her coffee. “I want to take you to dinner tonight.”

  “I’m supposed to make dinner.”

  “I know. I already talked to Vesta. She knows we won’t be home and is okay with it.” He’d argued that regular date nights were part of being a married couple. She’d reluctantly agreed.

  “Then I’d love to. Where are we going?”

  “How about Savarino’s?” She needed to say yes. He’d had the reservations for weeks.

  She shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Great. I’ve got a group project I need to work on this afternoon, but should be home by six. Leave about six-thirty?”

  “I can work with that.�
�� She smiled at him. “Any special occasion?”

  “I wanted to take my wife to dinner.” If the topic came up again, he’d tell her the reason. He’d used an online calculator again and figured out this would have been her due date. Instead of holding their baby in their arms, he’d hold her or do whatever she needed to make this a little easier.

  This time she wore a different black dress. The skirt swirled all the way to her ankles and the whole thing had some kind of silver accents woven into it. She even wore silver shoes and carried a silver bag.

  They walked into the restaurant to see the maître d’ frown. “Mr. Quatremaine, correct?”

  “Yes.” Dread filled Darius’s stomach. That couldn’t be good.

  The man waited until they reached his stand. “I’m afraid I don’t have a table for you, sir. There’s no reservation.”

  It was Darius’s turn to frown. “Impossible. I called weeks ago. I even double-checked Monday and was assured my reservation was in order.”

  “Do you know who you spoke with?”

  “A man named Isaac. I remember because I have a brother with that name.”

  The man closed his eyes for a moment. “Isaac was a new employee. He was let go yesterday when we discovered he wasn’t properly creating reservations. It would appear that yours is one of the missing ones. Unfortunately, we are completely booked this evening. I had three other calls today to verify for tonight. That took the last of what I had.”

  Darius wanted to rage, but it wouldn’t do any good. This man, clearly, wasn’t at fault and had taken care of the issue as soon as he knew about it.

  The man looked up as someone else walked in. “Mr. and Mrs. Langley-Cranston, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” He came out from around the stand. “Mr. and Mrs. Quatremaine, I will return momentarily and see how I can satisfactorily resolve this with you.”

  Darius turned to see Jonathan who greeted them with a smile.

  “Darius! Esther!” Jonathan held out his hand for Darius to shake then kissed Esther’s cheek. “What a pleasant surprise.” He turned to the flustered maître d’. “Will we be seated near each other?”