“Oh, I was paying attention.”

The tingle was suddenly back and I could have jumped his bones right there. (It really had been a long dry summer.)

“I even took notes,” I added demurely.

As if reading my mind, he said, “How about we deliver April’s message and get out of here?”

We drew near Tally’s Dozer, and remembering the errand I was on made my thoughts take a more serious turn.

At first, I thought the game was unattended because I couldn’t see anyone looking out over the top. We went around to the door flap and I opened it to peer inside. “Tally?”

She was seated on a low stool at the rear of the space, leafing through a magazine. “Oh, hey, Deborah! When did you get here?”

She rose and came out to join us.

“You know Major Bryant, of course.”

“Oh yes.” Her smile was so like Andrew’s, I wanted to go right over to his house and throw him back under that cold shower. Anything to bring him to his senses.

“Arnie told me how it all came out this evening. The kid that stole back his grandfather’s pictures? And the mother paid three-fifty to get them back? She must’ve really loved her father.”

“More like she loved her son and was glad you and your husband weren’t pressing charges,” I told her.

She gave a sad shrug. “Kids do crazy things sometimes.”

I put out my hand to her. “Tally, April came to see you this morning while you were out at your place with Dwight here.”

“Oh?”

“She wanted to meet you and tell you to be sure to invite as many of your friends tomorrow as you like. She and some of my sisters-in-law—your aunts—will he serving lunch after the service, and they don’t know how to fix for less than an army.”

That got a small smile. She started to speak when the booth on the far side of the Dozer suddenly exploded with flashing strobe lights and ear-piercing sirens that seemed to go on for a full ninety seconds. Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to watch as the winner of the Bowler Roller stepped up to claim his prize.

“Thank God that only happens about two or three times a night,” said Tally when the lights and siren finally cut off. “Flash is one thing, but that damn siren’s a killer.”

“Pulls them in, though, doesn’t it?” I said, watching young men line up to try their luck at setting the bells and whistles off again.

“That’s the whole point,” Tally said with a resigned shrug.

One of her customers called for change, another was ready to cash in her prize chips. While we waited for her to come back, I glanced around the end of the tent where little children were splashing their hands in the water, trying for prizes at the duck pond. Across the way, a teenager was demonstrating to potential customers how easy it was to climb the rope ladder to reach the prizes at the top.