Providence by Lisa Colozza Cocca

by me. They reminded me of the band at my old school. And the majorettes that followed behind the band really tugged at my heart. I’d practiced twirling a broom handle behind the barn for weeks, getting ready to try out for the Tyson Twirlers. Mama and Daddy would have none of that foolishness, though, with so much work to be done at home on the farm. A flash of light in my eyes brought me back to the here and now. A man was walking along snapping pictures of the crowd and the parade. He looked like he was about to ask us something, until I glared at him real hard. He moved along and I returned my attention to the parade.
    Veterans dressed in uniforms marched in straight lines, and a horse-drawn wagon was filled with children who were tossing candy out to the crowd. A whole pack of boys zipped down the middle of the street, riding Mr. Garcia’s decorated bikes. At the very end of the parade was Mr. Garcia himself. He was walking on stilts, dressed in stars and stripes, and wearing a white wig and beard. Every time Uncle Sam bent over to tip his hat at the crowd, he would sway back and forth on top of those sticks. I wondered if he would make it to the end of Main Street.
    When the last note was played and the parade turned from a stream of people to a swirling pool, the crowd wandered off in search of their cars. Baby Girl had managed to doze off in my arms during the festivities. I was debating the merits of putting her back in her stroller when Rosie took charge of the situation.
    “I’m going to put this pail back in the store, along with the flag money. When I come back out, we can bring these chairs across the street for the picnic. I can smell that pork barbeque already. It’s got my mouth watering.”
    Rosie pushed the stroller while I lugged the two chairs. She had some difficulty deciding where the chairs should be set. “We want some shade,” she said. “But we want to be in the middle of things, too. No sense going to a party and not knowing who danced.”
    It took about ten tries before Rosie settled on a spot. “I’m going to go down to see if Lydie needs some help again,” I said. But when I looked in the direction of Needles and Notions, I saw Mr. Garcia walking up the middle of the road wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and his stars and stripes top hat. He had Lydie on his left arm and her chair on his right arm.
    The road in front of the Tick Tock filled with the people who spent their days on Main Street. Even Miss Willis, the librarian, was there. I didn’t recognize most of the folks, but Rosie knew each of them by name. Two men had brought guitars, and it didn’t take much convincing to get them to start strumming away.
    A man cleared a space in the middle of things and started dancing to the guitar music. He spun and strutted as fast as a jackrabbit with a hound dog at his heels. When he wore himself out, he bowed to the crowd and made a sweeping motion with his arm. Folks took up the invitation and found a place on the dance floor. Pete Garcia stood in front of us. He tipped his hat toward Rosie. “Señora, if you please.”
    I swear Rosie turned as red as the stripe on his hat, but she got up and took his arm. I stood on the side swaying to the music with Baby Girl. I had my eyes fixed on Rosie and Pete gliding and twirling their way through the crowd, so I didn’t notice when Dottie first joined me. “Are you having a good time?” she asked.
    She startled me so that I lost my rhythm, which of course set Baby Girl off. “Now I’ve gone and upset the apple cart. I guess you two were having a better time before I came over.” Dottie ran her fingers through the swirl of red curls.
    “We’re having a great time.” I kissed Baby Girl’s forehead and picked up the pace of my swaying. “Does your boss throw a party every year?”
    Dottie laughed so hard, I thought she was going to pee in her pants. “First off, Ray isn’t my boss. He’s my husband, and if you take a look at him over by