When Bob returned, she switched to assistant mode. The stream of people scarcely wavered and their energy proved contagious enough to keep her on her feet.
“Claire! Over here.” She turned toward Jo’s voice. She was a few feet away from the engineer table, waving a Kit-Kat and a thermos.
Claire’s stomach rumbled in response. “Hey, Bob. I’m taking a break. I’ll send up Walter or George. Whoever I find first.”
“We should have used the walkie-talkie system. Take a break. You’ve earned it.”
Claire pointed toward the side wall and took the “employee only” route to the meeting spot.
“Where’s Kevin? Is he okay?”
“He’s with Dylan, way back in the line.”
She held out her hands. “Thank you so much for the snack.”
Jo held back “Uh-uh. Is there a break room?”
“Kitchenette.” They wove through the crowd, and past the scrawled “employee only” sign taped to the door.
Jo gave her the bar. Claire barely had time to remove the wrapper before the chocolatey goodness filled her mouth.
“When did you last eat?”
“Breakfast?”
“Gracious. It’s 7:30. You need to remember to eat or else you’ll pass out from low blood sugar.”
“Yes, Mom.” She nudged Jo. “Thank you. I needed that. Maybe I should have more of a snack. Popcorn? So what’s up?”
“You know how I said I thought Dylan was not going to be back as Kevin’s therapist?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s not.”
“I have to say, you don’t sound too upset.”
“That’s because while Kevin was getting his shoes on, Dylan told me he asked to be reassigned, so he could spend more time with us, doing not just physical therapy. He also asked if he and I could have dinner sometime, just the two of us.” Jo’s eyes sparkled.
“Didn’t you say he was a little young?” Claire tried to hide a smile. She hoped they would all see what she did at the same time, although she might want to stand on the far-side of Jo in case she wasn’t entirely down with her vision.
“Only three years, I guessed wrong before.”
“Cougar.”
Jo stuck out her tongue, and Claire’s frothy bubbles of joy spilled forth as giggles as she wrapped her arms around her friend. “He’s a good person. I’m so glad you’re willing to give him a chance.”
“I’m excited. More than I should be.”
“What?”
“I’m happy, but I feel a little guilty after what happened with you...” A whistle blew in the background.
“Who needs that when I have all this?” She hoped Jo didn’t hear the way her voice cracked on the word that. She didn’t have time for frivolities of the heart. Not during train season, and maybe not ever. “You better get back out there so you can be there when Kevin gives the tour. I’ll get some water and try to catch up.”
“I brought you coffee.” Jo pointed to the thermos as she opened the door to leave.
“Even better.”
The hot coffee provided fortification and sealed the little pang of what could have been. She extended her break with a bathroom visit. Sometime during the chaos of the day, her left elastic had slipped out and her braid was working loose. She redid her hair into a ponytail using the one remaining elastic. By the time she went back to the display, Jo had caught up with Kevin and Dylan and they stood near the recreated Belkin. Kevin was pointing and saying something. Dylan and Jo’s gazes met above his head and Claire swore the temperature rose another ten degrees in the room. Dylan draped a giant arm over Jo’s shoulders and she leaned toward him, mimicking their position together on the miniaturized porch swing. If Jo or Kevin said anything about the swing being on the wrong side of the porch, she’d shrug her shoulders. Her Dylan colors were off, the hair not quite right – the problem of memory not a photographic reference – but the smiles were spot on. Anyone who came to the holiday trains could see how happy Jo and Dylan made each other, including the two of them.
Bob waved her over.
“I have to go – Patti likes me around when she does her breathing machine.”
The crowds began to thin after another hour. Walter snuck out, presumably for a cigar break. She initiated shut down procedures, which helped George corral the stragglers and usher them out the door.
“You got everything under control? Walter’s still here to help out.”
“I’m fine. Go on home.”
“Okay. It will get easier. My son-in-law’s going to help out tomorrow.”
The door closed with a clang as she drew the dust cover over the engineering board. A cool draft assaulted her and Walter came back in.
“That was a long day.” His voice sounded as if he’d eaten a handful of glass between puffs on the cigar.
“Thank goodness for the adrenalin rush. Day two is when the tired gets to me. But usually I get a cat nap on one day or the other.”
“You know Claire-bear, we need to bring in someone new. We can’t keep running this with four people, especially when three of us are old men.” He wrinkled his nose. “Some damn kid put a lollipop in the collection box.”
“Let’s hope it was a kid. The bank can separate the bills.”
“Take the final path walk?”
“Sure.” This was another task she used to do with Grandpa Clem. He’d look high and she’d look low for garbage. Then they’d walk the course from back to front for anything, from trash to damage, that they had missed the first time through. She stooped for a candy cane wrapper. “You’re not that old, Walter.”
“Bob is two years younger than Clem and both George and I are well past retirement age. We’re old, kiddo, and you’re so tired you look like a raccoon who got hit with red and green spray paint. What are you getting? Two or three hours of sleep a day?”
She snorted. “Something like that. It’s only for a few weeks. Who could we bring in? Jacob would, but he’s only seventeen. I
