Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 44

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 44

Nick led Zoe by the hand as they joined the crowds jockeying for a good spot to watch the
boats. The handful of benches had long since been claimed, but many people had brought their
own nylon camping chairs and were unfolding them near the low coquina wall that ran along
the waterline. Zoe watched these preparations with interest.
“Look, there’s Eli.” Zoe pointed up ahead. “Can we watch the parade with him?”
Nick’s head snapped up. Eli was, indeed, standing there with his hands in his jean pockets,
wearing a plaid green shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was chatting with his parents; Mr. and
Mrs. Ward were wearing matching festive sweaters with what looked like blobby reindeer
appliqued on the front. Tiny bells were sewn onto the reindeer’s collars, and Mrs. Ward wore
bell earrings in her ears.
“Eli’s here with his family, honey,” Nick said, keeping his voice down. After the night at the club,
he and Eli had been keeping their distance. “He probably wants to watch the parade with them,
okay?”
That was apparently not okay, because Zoe hollered as loud as her four-yearold lungs would
allow: “Eli! Eli, watch the parade with me!” She waved the hand not held by Nick high above her
head.
Nick groaned as Eli twisted around and caught sight of them. “Oh! Hey! You’re here.” There was
a tiny edge of anxiety in his voice, but when he approached, his smile held nothing but warmth
for Zoe. “I didn’t know you were coming. You looking forward to the lights, Zo?” He crouched
down so they were eye level.
She nodded her head so hard, Nick worried for her neck. “It’s going to be pretty! Dad brings me
every year because Christmas Eve is our day, and then tomorrow I have to go see Grammy.” Her
lips twisted into a pout.
Nick jiggled her hand in his. “But there will be lots of presents to open at Grammy’s. And I’ll be
there to eat a big Christmas dinner with you, and we’ll have pie. That’ll be fun.”
Zoe turned her head away and looked out over the water. Her silence seemed to indicate that
she did not agree.

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Eli grimaced and stood. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt your father-daughter time, since this is
your special day.”
That changed Zoe’s tune. Her head whipped back around, sending some strands of her dark hair
into her mouth. “No, watch the boat parade with us, Eli. Please?” she whined. Her whole little
body went into a ragdoll sag so that Nick had to bend his knees if he wanted to keep holding her
hand.
“You really don’t have to,” he said to Eli at the same time Eli said, “I don’t want to horn in.”
Then Mrs. Ward’s high, thin voice cut through the chatter of the crowds. “Is that Nick Wu? Eli,
tell him they can come watch with us! We’ve got this great spot.” She gestured to the enviable
piece of real estate she and her husband had claimed with their camping chairs. Not only did it
have a great view of the waterway, but it was close enough to the seawall that no one would be
in front of them. Zoe could see everything, even if she wasn’t perched on Nick’s shoulders.