Evelyn soon realized she’d dragged them into a crowded area of the public dock, where she was unable to make much progress through the throng. But she needed to stay focused. Not only did she have to avoid Clancy, but she needed to make sure Christina remained right next to her in the middle of all these people.
“Let me go!”
“In a minute, Jellybean.”
Evelyn turned her head to the right. Dammit! There he was, heading in their direction. She ducked, pulling Christina along. She could see nothing but the hairy knees and sandals of tourists.
Chrissy began crying. “No! No! Take me back to the mermaid, Aunt Cricket!”
“That’s where we’re going. There are a lot more mermaids coming in the parade.”
“No! I want that one! The pretty one!”
She straightened, picked up Christina, and propped her on her hip. Evelyn pulled on the canvas brim hat, ensuring that it hid at least part of the side of her face. “You need to be patient. It’s very crowded and I’m trying to get us to a better spot to watch the parade.”
The little girl glared at Evelyn. A deep furrow appeared between Christina’s one brown eye and her pirate patch. “I don’t like it when you do that.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes we have to do things we don’t like, Pirate Jellybean.” Evelyn gave her a peck on her cheek and hugged her. “Now, how about we head over—”
“Excuse me.”
She stopped. Her heart sank. Dammit, dammit, dammit!
Christina announced with a cheerful voice, “It’s the policemans!”
As she turned toward the deep, friendly voice, she pasted on a smile. “Well, hello,” she said, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Hello to you, too. Are you enjoying the parade?”
Christina nodded. “I saw the pretty mermaid!”
Clancy laughed, smiling down at the little girl. “Yeah, there are quite a few of those here today, aren’t there?” He turned his attention to Evelyn, and shook his head. “You know, for a minute there I thought you were running from the law.”
Her blood froze. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“That’s a joke.” He studied her for a second. “I could have sworn you saw me back there. It was almost as if you were trying to avoid me.”
“Of course not!” Evelyn’s mind was buzzing with chaos. Oh, God. This was it. He was going to arrest her.
But Clancy’s body seemed to relax, and his eyes crinkled with delight. “I have something I wanted to give to Pirate Jellybean.”
“You mean you’re not . . . ?” She had to have misunderstood him, which would be an easy thing to do over the high school band’s rendition of M.C. Hammer and the hammering of her own heart. “I’m sorry, but what did you say?”
He raised his voice. “I said that your pirate might need this to protect himself out on the high seas.” With as much flourish as he could produce in the crowd, Clancy held out a cheap plastic sword with a scabbard and jewel-covered belt.
Christina’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened with delight. “That’s for me?”
Clancy nodded. “You’re the only little boy pirate standing in front of me right now, right?”
She nodded. “I want to wear it!”