Chapter 16. The Tour and Interruptions

"You'll come visit again, won't you?" Matilda asked as she saw them to the door, the midmorning sun sitting lazily in the sky.

"We will," Mark promised as he placed a small kiss on his mother's cheek and pulled away so that the two women could hug.

"Try and find happiness in this mess, okay?" Matilda whispered into her blonde hair as she wrapped her arms around Carla's small form and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"There's only one way I'll truly be happy," Carla responded with a cryptic smile as she pulled away and joined Mark to leave the green-eyed woman to herself.

"You two seem to be getting along, pretty well," he pointed out with a proud and hopeful gleam in his eyes as they joined the hustle and bustle of the small community.

Now that the sun was out and the day had officially begun, Carla could see that their little settlement had far more people than she had originally thought.

Everywhere she turned people were going about their business, ch