“Did you and Smokey do this every year?” Diana asked.

“Yep, it’s where I always found something unique for y’all and the kids,” Tootsie said. “I hadn’t thought to go this year, but Diana and Luke need a couple of days apart right now.”

“Why would you say that?” Diana asked.

“I’m an old woman even if I don’t look a day over fifty.” She winked. “But my gut never lies to me. Something isn’t right between y’all this week.”

“Maybe we’re having second thoughts about that dating business.” Diana toyed with the napkin dispenser.

“We’re not getting into any more of that right now.” Tootsie waved her hand around. “These two days are for us girls, with no relationship problems, moving issues, or divorce troubles. We’ll have our empty nesters’ meeting tomorrow night in my room and discuss all of it then. That way we can have two whole days to clear our minds.”

Diana sure wished she could wipe away all thoughts of everything but buying Christmas gifts for the next couple of days, but it would take more than the holiday music playing everywhere to make her believe in miracles.

“Okay, now what?” Joanie asked when they reached the fairgrounds and Carmen had parked the truck. “Do we all stick together or go our separate ways?”

“Let’s split up and meet back at Smokin’ Bob’s Barbecue Wagon at noon,” Tootsie suggested. “Smokey and I always ate there when we came here.”

“See you in a couple of hours, then.” Joanie took off in a fast walk. It sure made shopping for the other three easier since they weren’t right there. She inhaled deeply when she bypassed a caramel-apple-and-fried-pickle vendor and almost stopped at a cinnamon-roll wagon but forced herself to stay on track. She stopped at a handmade bracelet place and had just bought one for Zoe when her phone pinged. She pulled it out of her purse and read a message from Brett saying that his retirement papers had been filed, and as of December 1, he would be officially retired from the army. The rest of the month would be spent in meetings and helping Gerald choose two new team members. And he’d called a real estate agent so that they could get a jump on selling the house.

She sat down at a picnic table under an awning beside a taco wagon and sent back a heart emoji with a message: Can we talk?

Immediately a sad face appeared. Am with Gerald right now, so no.

She sent a GIF with a bear hugging a heart.

Putting the house in the hands of a real estate agent seemed to finalize the whole thing in her mind. Maybe over the next few days, Zoe would be able to call again, and they could discuss everything rather than waiting for letters to go back and forth.

“I miss hearing her voice,” Joanie muttered.

Tootsie sat down beside her. “If you’re talking about Zoe, so do I.”

“It’s a done deal now. December first is the official retirement day for Brett, and he’s even called a real estate agent already,” she said. “I can’t wait to tell Zoe. She’s going to be so happy that her dad is retiring and will be home every night.”

“Did you already let her know about Brett getting out of the army?”

“In a letter, but—”

“It’s not the same as hearing her voice.” Tootsie finished the sentence for her. “When Smokey was deployed, we wrote to each other nearly every day, but it wasn’t the same as hearing him. For one of his last deployments, I bought us each a tape player, and we made cassettes. Felt really strange at first, but I put his picture in front of me and talked to it, and I listened to those tapes he sent over and over. Sometimes I even put them on continuous play and went to sleep to his voice. I bought all three girls a new leather wallet with lots of compartments. Zoe’s looked pretty pitiful last time I saw it.”

That was Tootsie—always observant and buying something useful rather than something frivolous. “We’ve got fifteen minutes before we go to the barbecue wagon for lunch, so I’m going over there to that vendor.” She pointed across the gravel pathway. “See that black lace parasol? Abby carries one like it on NCIS, and Zoe loves it. I’m getting her that for her second present.”

Scratch the idea of always being practical. “She’ll squeal when she opens it,” Joanie said. “I’m going to check out the scarf vendor right next door to the umbrella one. See you in a few minutes.”

Tootsie waved over her shoulder. Thank goodness she always had her cell phone in her pocket and kept it charged. As tiny as she was, she would have been hard to spot in a crowd if they all went looking for her. Joanie found a lovely red-and-green plaid scarf to give to Tootsie at the end of the trip as a small token of her appreciation. Then she bought three more in different colors for the girls. With her luck, Natalie and Rebecca would spend the winter in Florida or California for their training, but like the old adage said, it was the thought that counted.

“Hey, it looks like y’all have got some of your shopping done,” Carmen said when they reached the barbecue wagon. “Diana got here first and saved us a table. Are we ready to get in line to order?”

“I always get a pulled chicken sandwich with a dill pickle and chips.” Tootsie set her bag on the table beside two others. “Smokey liked their brisket, so I can vouch for that, too.”

Carmen remembered that Eli loved smoked brisket-and-coleslaw sandwiches. She closed her eyes and made herself think of Natalie, who always thought her father’s sandwiches were gross. When she opened her eyes, she was looking up into the aqua-colored eyes of a soldier dressed in camouflage. For a split second, she thought it was Eli, with his close-cut hair and round face.

“Do I know you?” the guy asked.

“I’m sorry. The sun was in my eyes, and I thought you were someone else,” she stammered.

“Daddy, Daddy, look what I got!” A little girl with a swinging blonde ponytail danced across the path and tugged on her father’s arm. “It’s a purple unicorn. Mama got it for me for my birthday.”

“Unicorns aren’t purple,” he teased his daughter.

“Mine are,” she protested.

Carmen blinked away the tears that were welling up behind her eyes. There was a purple unicorn on Natalie’s bed at home. Eli had brought it to her the last time he was home. So much for forgetting about divorce troubles over the weekend.