tugged softly on its roots. He definitely felt like pulling his hair out at the moment.
“Got anything for me to do?” Sam asked, looking up from his cell phone. His teenaged body, tall and lanky, hunched forward over his device, shoulders rounded and his scrolling thumb primed to keep swiping up on his screen.
Jack started to shake his head and then reconsidered. “Yeah. Step over here for a moment.” He waited until Sam was standing right beside him and then gestured at the calendar. “I promised Emma that I’d get her 5K on the park’s schedule this summer. But look.”
Sam took a moment to run his gaze over Jack’s handwritten notes in the large square blocks of his desk calendar. There wasn’t one empty weekend block. Not even a section of white space in those squares to add something new. “Looks full,” Sam said.
Jack massaged his forehead where a headache was wrapping its way around his brain. “That’s my dilemma. Emma needs a spot, and I don’t have one for her.” Jack looked up at his nephew who looked so much like Amanda.
“Mom says you should never make promises you can’t keep.” Sam blew a bubble with his gum, making it pop loudly.
The sound penetrated through Jack’s brain. “I was desperate.”
“For what?” Sam continued to chew on his gum.
Right. Jack couldn’t disclose his arrangement with Emma to Sam. “Doesn’t matter,” Jack said. “Emma and I had a deal, and now it’ll be called off because I can’t keep my end of the bargain.”
Sam leaned farther in to look at the calendar. “So Emma wants to do some kind of 5K thing, right?”
“Yep.”
“Why can’t she do that on the same day as one of these other events?”
Jack shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way, buddy. When I book the park, it’s the whole park. The folks who are planning their event don’t want to share.”
Sam lifted his gaze. “Unless the two events help each other. Like, maybe Emma’s event would somehow bring people to the park to enjoy the other event. And vice versa. Kind of like a symbiotic relationship.”
Jack furrowed his brow. “A symbiotic relationship.” He looked at the calendar again, and instead of looking for empty spaces, he looked at the actual events already in place. There was going to be a kite-flying festival. Walkers and runners would have to dodge kite-flyers. Not a good idea.
On another afternoon, a remote-control airplane event was planned. Not ideal.
There was going to be a dog appreciation day at the park, where dog owners brought their canines in for a bath, a treat, and a long walk along the hiking trails. Dog walkers would probably interfere with Emma’s event.
There was also a kayaking race on Silver Lake and a Mentor Match picnic for Mayor Everson’s latest charity.
Jack held out his palms. “I just don’t see anything that will mesh.”
Sam jabbed a finger onto the calendar for a Saturday in early August. “It’s so obvious, Uncle Jack. This one is perfect.”
Jack narrowed his eyes, following Sam’s gaze. “The Women’s Wellness Fair?” Jack remembered booking that one. The Women’s Wellness Center in town was having a day of increasing awareness about women’s health issues. They were doing free screenings and selling a few items to raise money to offer more free services to women throughout the year. “The Women’s Wellness Fair,” Jack repeated, trying to make sense of how Emma’s 5K could jibe with that.
“What’s Aunt Emma’s 5K for again?” Sam asked.
Jack whipped his face up to his nephew. “Aunt Emma?”
Sam chuckled. “Just trying it out in case you two get married.”
Jack massaged his face again, but his headache was now receding. “Emma is organizing a 5K race in honor of her mom. Entrants pay a fee, get a T-shirt, and the money goes to a charity. I don’t think Emma has decided on what charity yet. She wants to make a difference in her mom’s name.” The hairs on Jack’s arms began to rise. “Funding these free screenings that the Women’s Wellness Center does would make a difference. It might even save a life.” He looked up at Sam and patted the side of his arm. “You’re brilliant.”
Sam looked away and shook his head. “Anyway, is there a skate park or something here where I can ride my board?”
Jack patted his nephew’s arm again. “Welcome to Sweetwater Springs. Where nature is your skateboarding platform.”
Sam rolled his eyes in a playful way. “Can I go check things out?”