Installment 4
Magazine Launch (installment 5)
It was chilly night yet the
sidewalks were full of people.
“Why are there so many people out
walking?” I asked Byron.
“How should I know?” He shrugged.
“Maybe that’s just what they do here.”
“This neighbourhood reminds me of
Osborne Village,” I said. Winnipeg’s riverside neighbourhood had been the first
place we’d lived as a couple. We shared a smile and continued exploring.
“You going to watch the parade?” one
neighbour asked another.
Byron leaned in close to me.
“Parade,” we shared the word, savoured it. And we didn’t have long to wait.
Trucks, service vehicles, even two city buses—all decked out in lights. Some
even provided Christmas carols. When the last Christmas tree on wheels drove
past Byron said, “We should start our way back.”
My reading. I can’t be late.
Which way is back?
I started down one street but it led
us to unfamiliar sights.
“I don’t think this is the right way,”
Byron said.
“We’re lost. What if they call,
‘Leanne Dyck’—and I’m not there.”
“Won’t happen,” Byron said.
Sure he can say that. It’s not
his thing. He doesn’t really care. Well, he may not. But I do. And I’m going to find that hall; I’m not going to be late; I’m not going to miss this opportunity.
I stormed down one street after another—possessed by my mission.
I was
so relieved when Byron said, “There it is. See we found it. But we better
hurry—only five minutes to show time.”
My mother-in-law prepares her entry for
Mayne Island's fall fair
Saturday, August 17th
