"Garret! Sorry to make you wait. Have you been here long?" Jordan tucked her dark brown curls behind one ear and slid onto the barstool next to him.
"Nope, just walked in myself. I ordered us both a scotch – okay with you?" Garret smiled at her with genuine affection. "Or would you rather have a Guinness?"
"With the snow in the air, it doesn't really feel like a beer night, does it?" She wrinkled her nose at him and laughed. It struck him as funny too, and he joined in her laughter.
"And what, may I ask, is so humorous tonight?" Max set the tumblers of amber liquid down in front of them, and cocked an eyebrow at his daughter and her friend. For some reason, this caused them both to start giggling again, until Garret was gasping for breath and Jordan had tears in her eyes. Max grinned, shook his head at the two of them, and went to pour a draft for a customer at the other end of the bar. He liked seeing his beautiful daughter in such a good mood for a change.
Garret held up quarters and gestured at the pool table in the back of the bar. "Care for a game?"
Jordan snagged their drinks on her way out of her seat. "May I remind you of the whipping you took on this very same pool table last week, sir? Of course, I'd love to beat you again, if you think you're up for it!"
They continued their banter on into the evening hours, sipping their drinks, playing pool, and just enjoying each other's company. The bar slowly emptied as the hours rolled by. After winning three straight games, Jordan dug into her jeans pockets for more quarters and came up with the token she had found earlier that day. She looked at it again and realized she had rubbed some of the grime off earlier; the lettering was almost legible. She and Garret had their heads together over the token, trying to read it, when Max came over to check on the status of their drinks.
"Dad?" Jordan turned to him. "Have you ever heard of a Nipmuc Park? I think this is from an amusement park, but I don't recognize the name." She reached out her hand with the coin flat on her palm.
Max's jaw dropped, and he stared at his daughter. "Where did you get that, Jordan? Where? Tell me!"
"Dad? What's wrong? It's just an old token!" She was confused. "I found it in the parking garage this morning. Why?" Max was still staring at the token like it had sprouted wings, and Jordan and Garret exchanged blank looks. What was this all about?
"Ah Jordan, you've been to Nipmuc Park."
"I have? I can't remember ever even having heard of it before!" She frowned at her father. "Are you sure?"
Max sat down at the table and motioned for Garret and Jordan to do the same. He smiled at them and said "There's a story I never told you. You wouldn't remember it; you were only four years old. Your mother and I decided to take you to Mendon, to Nipmuc Amusement Park. It was only an hour's drive, and we thought you might be old enough to enjoy it.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the park wasn't too crowded. You had your first cotton candy that day. And you fell in love with the carousel. We bought enough tokens to let you ride it over and over again." Max smiled at the memory. "I can still see you on that carousel horse, grinning from ear to ear and waving at us every time you came around. When we finally got you off that thing, there were only three tokens left. You begged to keep one, and your mother said 'This was the best day ever. Let's each keep a token and…'"
Softly and slowly, Jordan interrupted. "…and remember this day for the rest of our lives." She had a look of surprise on her face when she continued, "I remember that! I don't remember the carousel, or the park, but I remember Mom smiling at me and saying that!"
"Jordan, you were only four, you couldn't possibly remember that."
"No, Dad, I do. She was wearing a yellow sundress, and she looked so happy. It was like a little ceremony, and it made me feel so special. Why have I never remembered that until now? It's so clear in my mind!"
Max frowned and looked down at his hands. "I threw those tokens in the trash, Jordan, after your mother died. It was too hard to look at them. That park closed down shortly after we were there, and it never reopened. That was over thirty years ago." He looked across the table at her and wondered aloud, "How could you have possibly run across a token from there in a parking lot in Boston thirty years later?"
Max shook his head, got up, and headed for the bar door to lock it. Jordan turned to Garret and took a deep breath. "Gar, I know it sounds weird, but earlier tonight I was wishing I could have a sign from my mother, to know that she really cared about me. Do you think it's possible…?"
Garret put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He spoke softly into her hair, "Yes, Jordan, I don't care how weird it sounds, I do think it's possible. Your mother loved you very much, and maybe this is your sign." He reached out and closed her hand around the token. "A token of her affection, Jordan." And they both smiled.