Liam’s dad was missing out. But maybe he’d realize that eventually.
The band played several sets of music, and in between they had different speakers. I snapped tons of pictures, more of Liam than of anyone else; but I got some good ones of the whole band as they played and sang. I got some great crowd shots by climbing onto a stack of chairs. I was already thinking about the cool posters I could make them for their next concert.
Ben was one of the speakers. He talked about the band’s spiritual roots and even mentioned abstinence. It felt nice to be someplace where I didn’t feel so odd and out of place.
I looked over to where Brian was standing with Darby, his arm around her shoulder, and refocused the camera to snag the shot. I looked at it on the camera and stared.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say my big sis was falling in love.
CHAPTER 25
After the concert it was one long push to the day of the fundraiser.
Darby, Dad, and I got up crazy early so that we could load the SUV with all the camera equipment and get to the warehouse in time to set up everything.
We were still loading the backdrops when Mom came down all dressed. She poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Why are you up so early, honey?” Dad asked.
She took a sip and shrugged with one shoulder. “I figured we had to leave early.” She picked an apple from the basket on the counter and took a bite. “You do need help, don’t you?”
“The more the merrier,” I said.
My mom was definitely still struggling with all the changes in our family, but I knew it was only because she was scared. Scared of losing Darby, me—all of us.
I could understand that. The pictures in my head from that day were still crystal-clear, but I believed Darby had changed. It wasn’t just that she had a new guy or that good things were happening. It’s that Darby was different, deep in her soul.
When we arrived at the warehouse, we immediately set to work setting up the photo station. Both Liam and Brian came over to say hello, but Tess shuttled them to the stacks of tables so they could start setting up.
It took us a while, but once Dad made it to the point where he was just checking his lighting, I went to find Tess. She was pacing in a corner chewing on her fingernail and staring at a clipboard.
“What can I do?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know! I feel like I’m forgetting something major.”
I looked around at all the volunteers. Liam and Brian were setting up rows of tables for the donations to be checked in and sorted. Ben and the other guys from the band were setting up the music equipment. Santa was chatting with my dad. There was plenty of space for everything.
“I don’t think it’s possible that we forgot anything. Everything will be perfect,” I said.
Katie came running over to Tess. “Some people are at the door who are headed out of town, so they want to drop off their donations early. What should I tell them?”
Tess went from frazzled and worried to calm and collected in less than a second. “Tell them to bring them in. We have a station already set up here, so if you don’t mind going through the stuff,…” Tess walked off with Katie.
I went back over to my dad. I turned on the computers and pulled up my files. I was so glad to have a computer job. Tess had agreed that the elf costume would be wasted on me if all I was going to do was sit there and work with photos. I had designed three different frames for the Santa pictures. After my dad took the digital shot, I could position the picture in the frame and print it out. It would cost us less than two dollars for an 8 by 10, but we were charging ten dollars. That allowed us to have a profit to buy the uniforms but was still cheap enough to make them affordable.
Mom pulled up a chair next to me. “Did you make those?” she asked.
“Mm-hmm. They choose the design from these printed samples.”
“You’re so much like your dad,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Mallory. This last year, well, I feel like I was so worried about Darby that I forgot to watch out for you.”
“I’m okay.”
“I know, but I want you to know that I’m here, and that I’m going to try harder.”
“You know, I didn’t mean for any of it to happen the way it did. But…”
“But things turned out pretty well,” she finished. “I guess… change is hard for me, and we had a system. Even though the system wasn’t working—for any of us.” She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “I’m so proud of you—you know that, don’t you?”
“I do now.”
“Excuse me? We’ve got people lining up here, ladies,” Darby scolded us playfully.
Mom smiled at me the way she used to, and I felt all cozy inside. She stood up. “I guess we better get busy then.”
And we did. Darby and Mom handled the order forms and the money while Dad and I handled the pictures and printing. We worked as a team, and every once in a while I’d look around at Mom or Darby or my dad and allow myself a moment of amazement that we had come so far.
Liam and the guys made everything Christmasy with the music, and they got a bunch of kids to dance to “Jungle Bell Rock.” I tried to watch and make sure Tess was okay, but she was in her in-charge mode, and even I wasn’t going to mess with that.
We had to stay open nearly two hours later than we’d planned because of the sheer amount of people who came by. We received unbelievable donations. Once we had packed up the equipment and tables, we looked out over the mounds of toys, many of them brand-new.
Tammy, the woman who ran the shelter, shook her head. “Way more than what we need at Hope House. But I can already think of more places that could use some presents for families. I’ll start making some calls.”
We had a week in the building to get all of the toys distributed, so I knew we had time to find a place for everything. We were going to make a lot of kids happy.
Tess came over, the clipboard now gone and happy exhaustion on her face. “Hey, how much money did we make?” she asked.
“Three times what we need for the uniforms.”
“Good. Then we can give it to Hope House or even the homeless shelter….”
“Tess. We already voted on what to do with the extra money.”
“Who voted? Nobody told me about a vote.” Tess put her hands on her hips.
“The whole squad.” I waved the girls over. “We want you to have it.”
“No way. I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. And you won’t argue with us,” I said.
Tess pressed her hand to her mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes. The squad surrounded Tess, clapping, hugging, and encouraging her.
When they dispersed and it was just the two of us again, I handed her the envelope of money.
“How did you…,” she started.
“The Bakers told me that you’ve got a stack of medical bills for your mom at home, and I know it probably won’t solve the whole thing, but it will help. No one knows the details—I was very careful. But when I said you needed some help, it was unanimous.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything.”
“So now I’m a charity case?” she said.
“Look at it this way. At least you’re not the Virgin Queen of North County.”
“Good point.” She laughed.
I joined in, realizing that Tess was right again.
The whole thing was kind of funny. Now.
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Me & My Invisible Guy Page 20