“Yes,” said Terri. “And someone else with anything other than food?”

Ned stayed low beneath his baseball cap and cautiously raised a hand. “You might like to buy your sweetheart some pretty flowers for her birthday.”

“And she’d be a lucky girl, Ned,” said Terri. “But if it was Christmas and you really loved her, what do you think you might buy her then?”

Ned shrugged. “Some fancy dishwasher?”

A woman in the group cleared her throat. “It would have to be real fancy if you planned on gettin’ lucky, Ned.”

“OK,” said Terri. “And moving on. But a dishwasher is going in the right direction. Anyone else at all? Anyone? Just keep them coming.”

Terri continued pacing the circle looking for more suggestions. But Peter could only see Cooper, who just sat there, hair spilled across his face, chest heaving. He never answered back to people. Never. But it would’ve taken more courage for him to talk in public than a rabbit scurrying beneath an eagle sky and now he’d been made to feel stupid. Becky’s hand stayed on his knee and Peter leaned forward. It should be him doing that.

“What about you, Peter?”

This should all be him.

“Peter?”

“What?”

Terri smiled as if to absorb how rude that had sounded. “Do you have an answer for us?”

“No. I’m OK.”

“Now, come on,” she said.

“I can’t think of anything.”

“From what I hear you were a real little shopper back on the lake with all those river traders.”

Peter shook his head and willed Cooper to look at him. “I guess.”

“So, hazard a guess.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Try.”

“I—”

“Try, Peter.”

“A damned car. I guess you could buy your loved one a car.”

Peter sank back into his chair, too scared to look Cooper’s way now in case he was disappointed in him. But Terri was jubilant.

“And he’s gone big, folks,” she said slapping her thigh. “Huge! So, you see, these are just some of the ways we can get through a year, looking forward to things and celebrating them. And our friends from the credit rating department are here today to help you achieve those goals with a range of available loans so you and your loved ones don’t have to miss out on a single celebration together.”

Terri held her hand out towards the stand where the woman with the smile wider than a canoe was standing, indicating for the group to applaud. And they did.

“They’re coming now,” said Teddy leaning in. “It’s the televisions.”

“But before all that,” said Terri. “We have a special surprise to help get you all back on your feet.”

“Told you.”