"Is it gonna be loud momma?" He said timidly as we walked back to our house in the middle of town.
"Yes Toni, but it's not a bad loud. Besides you've already seen them before."
"But it was such a long time ago and I forgot how they are!" He pouted.
"It's only been a few weeks since the fireworks festival!" I laughed at how naive Toni acted sometimes, yet he was still a kid and time did not feel fast for him. Sometimes I felt jealous of that.
The town had grown larger since we first moved in, buildings were being erected at almost every corner now. Thankfully we all agreed to not touch the forest or mountain area, an area that gave the town its character. Sometimes I wished Toni's father was still with us, even if it was only just for him. The boy needed a father figure, something I couldn't provide. He ran ahead of me, excitement making him giddy for the New Year's fireworks.
"Slow down there Toni! You might run into someone by accident!" I yelled as he just happened to run into Henry, the local farmer who helped renovate this town.
"Ah! Sorry Mr. Henry!" The boy said apologetically, squirming in embarrassment.
"It's alright Toni! Just listen to your mother!" He said as Toni ran back to me, to find cover from his regret.
"Off to see the fireworks show?" He walked over to greet us properly, under his arm a bundle of lumber from the local forest.
"Yes, it's a bit early but we were gonna get a good seat to view them from." I responded.
The farmer nodded and went on his way back to the farm. Toni tugged at my sleeve.
"Mr. Henry seems to always be working mother, even more than you." He commented sincerely, the way most children talked before learning how to conceal their honesty.
"Well he does have a lot of people counting on him, especially his animals."
Toni beamed at the talk of animals. The boy loved seeing and collecting them much to my disgust. He would always bring back a handful of beetles he found and would keep them in a jar at night. I would always have to let them out in discreet for I felt sorry for the creatures to be sealed in a glass jar. Thankfully he hasn't caught on that I let them out while he was asleep and still believes the creatures have the ability to open containers.
We got to the village square and took our seats. A few of the local villagers were already here and gossiping the latest issue of the village paper. Dunhill shows up, greets us and thanks me for providing the latest blueprint for the construction of an inn.
Time feels slow for Toni as he becomes restless waiting for midnight. The boy swings his legs on the chair and hums a tune then gets up.
"Momma can I run and see if there's a bugs?"
"No, it's pretty late Toni. You might get lost in the forest at night." I scolded him.
"Just sit and wait for the fireworks. Think about all your plans for the upcoming year." I said as he sat back down on the chair.
"Hmmm..I wanna make more friends!" He chirped!
"That's a good one."
"More friends like me!"
Of the corner of my eye I see a new face come into the square. It was a slightly large man who had a small boy with him. Immediately Toni got up again.
"Can we go meet them? Oh please, please, please!" He begged.
"Alright, alright lets go." So much for reserving seats.
We walk our way to greet the new residents. A man called Hossan and his son Niko. Almost immediately Toni and Niko get along well.
"I'm glad we can finally meet!" Hossan said.
"I wanted to thank you for designing the inn! I used to live here but the lack of customers made me leave elsewhere."
"It's understandable, glad we have an inn back in town. "
Henry walked to see us, his eyes appeared tired but he still wanted to celebrate the new year.
"Ah Mr. Henry!" Tony excitingly said as he noticed his presence.
"This is my new friend Niko!" The other boy smiled shyly and introduced himself.
"I'm glad to see you have a new friend Toni." He replied smiling.
"Ah it's you! Thank you for helping build the inn the other day!" Hossan said sincerely.
"It's not a problem, just doing what's needed for the town."
The fireworks would soon start and we all took our seats. Although we lost the good viewing we were still able to see them as we all sat together for the sake of the kids. Tony on occasion would comment on how pretty and massive the sparks were to Niko as well as Henry sometimes. The man would nod his head in agreement when the boy would excitingly tell him.
We all got up when it was over, the boys whining that it was done but still energetic. Out of his rucksack Henry brought out some sparklers and lit them up to give them to the kids. Immediately Toni made a big grin on his face as he swung the sparkler around. We all watched them run around the square, happy with their after party mini light show.
"Well its getting late, and it seems like a new chick is going to hatch tomorrow." Henry commented casually.
"Let Toni know that he is free to visit the farm to see the new baby, as long as he doesn't plan to make nuggets." He chuckled. Henry said his goodbyes and walked back to his farm. The boys came back a while later with their sparklers all done.
As we walked back to the house Tony was happy and smiling all the way. I realized the boy didn't need to have his father here. He was doing alright especially now that the town was growing as well as he had Niko and Henry to talk to.