Riley goes one way while Carson and his girl go another. I follow the scent of baked goods to a catered room filled with pies, cookies and homemade bread. I ate a huge breakfast a few hours ago, when I woke up midmorning, and snag a couple of cookies, unable to resist the pull of real food.
There's a punch fountain on one table and a cocoa fountain on another. No booze, given the youthful crowd, and I settle for a bottle of water. Once I've gotten my bearings, I pull out my cell and text her a message I'm sure will get a reaction. Whether it's good or bad or even if she'll respond, I don't know.
Where are you? Pushing send, I tuck the phone away and make my way through the sweets again, picking out pieces here and there.
My phone vibrates, and I check it.
Petting zoo.
She responded. That's something. I return to the lobby, where there are candy canes acting as poles that have arrows pointing to all the different rooms. I follow the one towards the children's section. It's loud and even more over the top than the rest of the club.
"Captain Mathis!"
I turn at the child's voice to see little Jacob headed towards me, followed by Jenna and Morgan. Jacob is digging something out of his pocket. I'm hoping it's not a spider.
"You came!" Jenna exclaims. She's absolutely adorable dressed as an elf, cute enough that even I crouch to give her a hug.
All three of them hug me. They smell like food and peppermint, a scent I will always associate with Katya and camp.
"I have one more left," Jacob says, handing me a handcrafted arachnid. "It's a Christmas spider."
"I see that," I say. The white spider is covered in green and red glitter. "Did you make it here?"
"He brought it from home," Jenna answers for him. "Look, I have one, too." She proudly points to the spider pin on her hat.
"Me, too," Morgan adds and shows me the one she has on her jacket.
"You have to wear yours. We're a team," Jacob says firmly.
I laugh, not expecting to have left such an impression on them. I pin the spider to the collar of my long-sleeved polo.
"What did you bring us?" Jenna asks.
"Nothing, sweetheart. Not this time," I reply, smiling.
"Will you next time?"
"From Iraq?" I ask skeptically. "What do you want?"
"A camel," Morgan replies instantly.
"Desert spider," says Jacob.
"Maybe …" Jenna is thinking hard. "A pyramid. A little one."
"Those might be a little bit much," a woman says from behind them. "I heard a lot about you, Captain Mathis. I'm Morgan and Jacob's mother, Teresa."