Curtain Call by Liz Botts Page B

pound squirming toddler dressed in full winter gear proved much harder than I had anticipated. By the end of my block I was sweating, and by the middle of the next block I preferred to fall face first into a snowdrift before carrying her any further.
    â€œHannah! Wait up.”
    My heart fluttered oddly in my chest as Josh jogged up to us. “Hey,” I said lamely, trying to shift Britney’s weight more comfortably on my hip. “What’re you doing here?”
    Josh reached out and took Britney from me. She looked up at him and squealed her excitement. “Someone’s happy to see me,” Josh said to her, affection lighting his eyes. When he looked back at me, his eyes still held affection, but also a deep sadness. “I was just heading over to Crossroads, and I saw you guys walking.”
    â€œOh,” I said, feeling oddly disappointed. I wondered if I wanted him to be coming to see me. “That’s where we’re going.”
    â€œI’ll carry Brit for you,” he said as we began walking again.
    â€œThanks. Harlow had some emergency teacher union meeting, and Mom couldn’t babysit or whatever. So Harlow dropped her with me unexpectedly. And we were getting hungry. I have no food, so we are going over to Crossroads to eat,” I said. Immediately I wanted to smack myself for babbling. This was Josh. Why did I feel so…nervous, unsettled?
    Josh slanted a grin at me, the corners of his mouth twisting up. “We could all have dinner together. How does that sound, Britty-girl?”
    Britney clapped her mittened hands together. “Seems like she’s down with that plan,” I said.
    â€œWhat about you?” Josh said in a tone that suggested he was being purposefully light.
    His smile had softened, and he was looking over at me with an intensity that made me shiver in delight. “I…of course I want to have dinner with you,” I said, my voice faltering.
    We walked in silence that felt both thick and comfortable. I had so many things on the tip of my tongue that I wanted to share with Josh, like my script and how the process was coming along, but suddenly I wasn’t sure what the rules were in our situation.
    Josh saved me. “So how’s your senior project going?”
    â€œHmmm? Oh, really good,” I said. “Max and I came up with a fantastic storyline, and I have the first draft almost finished. We have to get it approved in like two weeks. Grandma’s going to have a guest spot.”
    Josh laughed. “No way! Doing what? Wait, do I want to know?”
    â€œA toned down version of her Sugar Bomb show,” I said with a giggle. “I know it sounds crazy, but we think it’ll be just risqué enough without getting us in trouble.”
    â€œSo, um, who’s starring in this production?” Josh asked.
    I shrugged and adjusted the diaper bag on my shoulder. “No idea,” I replied. “We’re going to hold open auditions sometime in March. Max wants to see if we can find some undiscovered talent.”
    â€œOpen auditions, huh?” Josh said, almost to himself.
    Britney pointed to a dog across the street and said, “Doggy moo.”
    I laughed. “Doggies don’t moo, Britney.”
    â€œMaybe that one does,” Josh said. “Maybe Britney knows something we don’t.”
    â€œSure, the government conspiracy to disguise cows as dogs to infiltrate suburbia with toxic methane gas,” I said.
    Josh did his best shifty eyes, and said, “You never know.”
    By the time we got to Crossroads, Britney’s nose was red, and I couldn’t feel my thighs through my ice-cold jeans. The restaurant was already busy, but we found a seat in the back by the awesome racetrack display mounted on the ceiling. Every fifteen minutes or so, five cars raced around the model track. Needless to say the area was a magnet for kids. Britney would be in good company.
    After we got