His eyes lit up as he saw the logo on the front. “Can I help plan?” he said as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. Before I could answer, he threw his body on the bed next to me, spilling the cup of coffee in my hand.

“Watch it, bud.” I dabbed at the comforter with the leg of my pajama pants.

“I can’t wait for the lollipop pull. That was so much fun. I won that elephant last time, remember? Are we going to do it again?” he said as he rested his head against my arm. His excitement mitigated my dread at having to plan it. Hopefully, I could make him proud.

I chuckled and nodded before I flipped open the binder to the “Games” section. I ran my finger down the list. They were fairly straightforward, like the lollipop pull, where the kids paid a ticket and got to choose a lollipop from a rack. If the end of their lollypop had a red dot, they selected a prize.

There was also the cakewalk; a bounce house; Bozo buckets, where kids tossed plastic balls into red buckets and received a prize if they got all the way to bucket ten; and a freeze-dance competition.

“This shouldn’t be too hard,” I muttered to myself.

“Mom, are you like the principal of the carnival?” Jack said as he stared at the binder.

“Kinda. I’m in charge but I will need a lot of help.” My anxiety began to climb as I realized I really only had two volunteers, both of whom I’d drafted against their wills. If Liz were herself, she would have appointed herself cochair and done the lion’s share of the work, without question. Other than Jess and Melissa, no one had stepped forward to help. So now I had to recruit people, in person.

Jack leaned forward and gave me a hug. “It’s going to be great, Mom. I’m so excited.”

I closed my eyes briefly as I pressed him to me. I had to do everything I could to live up to his sweet expectations. It was the least I could do for him.

In the Target parking lot, I watched as a blond woman with shoulder-length beachy waves climbed out of her car, wearing a pink shelf-bra tank top and black high-waisted leggings. Sarah Keener. She turned, saw me, and waved. Her face lit up with a brilliant yet insincere smile.

Exhaling slowly, I opened my door and smiled back.

“Hey there! How’s it going?” I said as I added some pep to my step.

“Oh, it’s going!” she said brightly. She waited for me to join her, and then we walked toward the entrance together. “It’s been so long! How’s your summer been?”

You don’t want to know. One of my closest friends has turned feral.