Chapter Sixteen
As much as he was enjoying this, he couldn't ignore the hand tapping incessantly on his shoulder. "You're not Danny." a sweet little voice said.
He pulled away from Kate and turned to see who was so determined to interrupt them. A miniature version of Kate, the only difference was her big blue eyes, stood on the bench facing him. "Why are you kissing my sister?" She asked innocently.
"Because she's pretty." Colin replied with a grin.
Becky wore a hooded sweatshirt, sheer pink skirt, pink tights and scuffed sneakers with floppy pink shoelaces. Her corn silk colored hair was in pigtails tied with pink ribbons. She said, very matter-of-factly, "If you're not her boyfriend you shouldn't kiss her. Danny is Kate's boyfriend."
Kate finally was able to find her voice. "Becks…"
Becky stared at Colin with definite interest. She talked without taking a breath it seemed. "He's not just her boyfriend he's Maggie's brother too. She's my best friend. I'm Becky." She said with a huge grin, revealing her newest missing tooth.
"I'm Colin." He held out his hand.
"The band guy?" Becky asked as she gave him hers.
"Becky! How do you know that?" Kate was shocked.
"Maggie said Danny was talking to Dr. Ian about it." Becky replied, her face full of innocence. She turned her attention back to Colin. "So are you?"
"Yeah. I guess I am." This kid is a riot, he thought to himself.
Becky started to walk up and down the bench like she was on a balance beam. "I don't have a boyfriend. I think boys are pretty yucky. 'Cept my brother. He's really cool. He's cooler than Danny is."
She stopped and looked at Colin thoughtfully. "I think you're cooler than him too. Don't you think so Katie?"
"Yeah, Katie." He said as he gave her a grin. "Don't you think I'm cooler than Danny?"
"Please. Don't encourage her." Kate said with a sigh. She gave her sister a glare. "Becky. Stop.
"What?" She asked. Kate got annoyed with her all the time when she wasn't even doing anything wrong. Like right now. All she was doing was talking. "Geeze Katie"
Kate grabbed Becky's hand and helped her off the bench. Becky landed with a bit of a thud. "C'mon. Mom wants us home for dinner. It's time to go. Say goodbye to Colin."
She resisted the tug Kate gave her. She turned her face up to Colin and smiled. "Do you want to come to my party? I'm going to be eight."
"Eight huh?" Colin crouched down so he could meet her eyes. "You know - if your sister won't let me be her boyfriend, maybe someday I can be yours."
Becky's voice got really serious. Her face scrunched up as she answered him. "You might have to wait a while. Like…" Becky concentrated and counted on her fingers. "I think it's 22 years. Daddy says I can't go out with anyone until I'm thirty. I think he's kind of kidding but I'm not sure. Maybe not."
"Dad's not kidding - Becky - trust me." She looked at Colin. "We really do have to go."
Becky wasn't near done. "It's on Saturday. At our house. Mom's making me a pink cake. All my friends are coming. Daddy's going to grill because he's not that good a cook. Not like Uncle Cam is. Uncle Cam cooks really good. So does Maggie's mom. She's a chef. She's not Danny's mom even though she's married to his dad. She's his stepmother but she's not evil. Not like Cinderella's. She's really nice. She talks a little funny. So does Dr. Ian. It's 'cause they're from Irishland."
"It's Ireland - Becky." Kate said, laughing.
Colin was amazed. Becky was a fount of information. He learned more in the last ten minutes about this town than he had the whole time he'd been here. And there seemed to be no end in sight.
"Oh yeah. Ireland." Becky giggled and then faced Colin, pouting a bit. "Please say you'll come?" Becky asked again. "Please - please - please?" She batted her eyelashes at him.
Saying the words was making Kate's heart break but she said them anyway. "Becky, Colin has to leave. He won't be here for your party."
Becky blinked back tears, incredibly disappointed. "Why? Why do you have to leave?"
"God help your dad. You're going to be a little heartbreaker." Colin said as he placed a hand on her hair. "I was going to leave but you know what? Maybe I will come."
"Colin…" Kate warned. "Please. Don't make a promise you can't keep. She'll be so disappointed." And so will I. She thought with a sigh.
He smiled down at Becky. "Who says I won't keep it?"
"I do. You're leaving aren't you?" Kate asked him then.
He stared into Kate's eyes. "I was thinking about it. But suddenly I think I might have a reason to stay."
Her heart began to pound. "Really?" She whispered.
"Really." He ran a hand over her cheek. "Do you have a pen?" He asked.
"What?" Kate was still lost in his eyes.
"A pen. I'm not going to run around trying to find you anymore. I want to be able to call you."
"I have a marker in my knapsack." Becky said as she sat on the bench, rummaging through it. She found it and pulled it out of the bag triumphantly as she handed it to Colin. "It's pink. My favorite color. It smells like bubblegum."
"Pink's your favorite?" He said with a laugh. "I wouldn't have guessed. Do you have paper in there too?" He tore his eyes from Kate and smiled at Becky.
"Uh huh. I've got my notebook. I keep it because like to draw. Hey. Maybe I'll draw a picture of you and your band. Oh wow. Wait a second. Can you play at my party? That would be really - really - really cool. Way cooler than Joanna Murphy's party. She had a stupid clown at hers. He didn't even do magic." She said with obvious distain.
"I'll see what I can do." Colin said as he wrote down his cell phone number and handed it to Kate. Kate took the marker and wrote down her own.
She shivered as his hand touched hers. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again but he was guessing he had to wait. At least he had something to look forward to. He had her number. He could call her and see her again soon.
"Say goodbye to Colin, Becky." Kate grabbed her hand and started to drag her away.
"Bye Band Guy." Becky grinned at him, half in love. She gave him a wave and then skipped towards the car.
"Bye Becky." He replied, half in love with her himself.