The spark returned to Bobby’s eyes. “Sometimes people have balloons and let them float into the air, so people can see them from heaven. Could we do that, too?”
“I’ll check to see if anyplace is still open that sells balloons with helium in them,” Sam promised. “How does that sound? And we’ll take pictures with the cell phone and send them to your grandmother. I think it will make her smile to see how we’ve celebrated your dad’s birthday.”
“All right!” Bobby enthused with the fist pump Sam had concluded always accompanied his solid approval for any plan.
“Now, while I call Carrie and get the ball rolling for this birthday celebration, why don’t you pick up those toys so she doesn’t trip on them and fall on her face when she walks in the door?”
“Okay,” Bobby said agreeably and raced off.
Sam stayed where he was and drew in a deep breath. He’d averted one crisis, but how many hundreds more would there be like it? Was he really up to providing the support that Bobby needed?
“No choice,” he reminded himself firmly. “We’re a team.”
That was the promise he’d made and he had every intention of doing whatever was required to keep it. As crazy as it seemed, it appeared he and his nephew would be growing up together.
When Sam told Carrie what had happened, she added a few extra things to her shopping list. Fortunately Ethel’s Emporium was always well stocked with birthday supplies. She found balloons, a banner that spelled out Happy Birthday in colorful letters along with birthday paper plates, matching bowls for ice cream and napkins. She even found a silly pair of sunglasses for Bobby that had birthday candles and wishes on the frame.
“Did I miss a birthday?” Ethel asked. “I usually know when one’s coming up because half your family is in here buying up most of my stock.”
“Long story,” Carrie said. “But it’s not for an O’Brien this time.”
“I imagine there are going to be quite a few birthday parties in your future,” Ethel said, backing off from her natural tendency to ask too many questions. “Seems to me a day care will probably be having parties on a regular basis.”
Carrie regarded Ethel with surprise as she recognized the validity of her statement, then immediately dug in her purse for her cell phone. She added another note to her long to-do list, then met Ethel’s curious gaze. “Adding a reminder,” she explained. “Do I need to find a supplier or could we work something out?”
Ethel beamed at her. “I wasn’t angling to make a sale, but I’m happy to help out. I’ll get you anything you need and give you a proper discount, too. Your family practically keeps me in business. I can do this to return the favor.”
“I know we shop in here a lot, but it’s the tourists who keep this town afloat economically,” Carrie said. “I’ve seen for myself how many bags they carry out of here on any given day.”
“On any given summer day,” Ethel corrected, then paused, her expression thoughtful as she apparently considered her business trends. “Okay, and maybe in the spring and fall, but it’s the locals who see to it I make it through the winter. I’m not likely to forget that. It helps that your granddaddy is in here most every day buying a big sack of penny candy for all the kids he spoils.”
Carrie laughed. “Cait and I were the first beneficiaries of that. Between him and Trace, it’s a wonder our teeth didn’t rot.”
“Well, you and your twin still have those pretty smiles, so it didn’t do either of you any harm. I imagine the other grandchildren and great-grandchildren will do just fine with all that sugar, too.” She put Carrie’s purchases into a bag, then tied a half dozen ribbons around her wrist to keep the balloons from sailing away.
“Have a good time tonight,” Ethel called after her.
Ethel’s words lingered as Carrie left the store. She thought of what Sam had in mind for dessert. Maybe they wouldn’t quite get to that, given their pint-size chaperone, but the appetizer leading up to it promised to be superb.
Tears forgotten, Bobby was bouncing with excitement by the time Carrie arrived on their doorstep laden down with bags. To Bobby’s unmistakable delight, she had a bunch of colorful balloons on long, matching ribbons.
“You’d better tie these to the back of a chair or something,” she advised Sam when she handed them over. “Otherwise, they’ll be on the ceiling when it comes time to release them.” She grinned at Bobby. “Is that what you had in mind—letting them go, so they’d float into the sky where your dad can see them?”