The park was full of things that were almost ready.

Almost-ready wagons. Almost-ready bicycles. A sign that said LITTLE PARADE, although one end was still considerably higher than the other.

Linda held the low end.

Mimi stood back to inspect it.

“A little higher.”

Linda lifted it.

“Your other higher.”

A Cardboard Truck Comes Through

Across the grass came Gary, guiding a large cardboard garbage truck by one of its carrying handles. The far end skimmed the grass.

It had paper headlights, a pinwheel on the roof, and one corner with ideas of its own.

“Coming through!” Gary called.

The far corner brushed a bush.

A young woman with long blonde hair stepped into view, smiling.

“Gary, I love your truck. Can you see that far corner?”

There was a pause.

“Some of it.”

“Let’s find the rest.”

Della steadied the front. A young man at the edge of the path took the other carrying handle.

With one person at each end, they lifted the cardboard truck level and guided it back toward the clear path.

Gary looked at the bush.

Then at the path.

“That explains the leaves.”

She Handles Introductions

Emi walked around the front of the cardboard truck and sat beside the young man’s shoes. Her soft, wavy golden coat caught the morning light. A ball dropped from her mouth.

Apparently, he had been hired.

“I’m Russ,” he said.

“Gary. You’ve already met my assistant.”

Emi nudged the ball closer.

“She handles introductions.”

Mimi came over carrying a roll of ribbon.

“And this is my granddaughter, Della. She’s the City’s safety supervisor.”

Della smiled at Russ.

“Today, I’m helping everybody have a good time and get around comfortably.”

She looked at Gary’s cardboard truck.

“First, let’s sort out these carrying handles.”

Gary nodded solemnly.

Russ grinned.

The Sensible Handle

They moved the cardboard truck to a worktable off the path. Gary explained that it was supposed to lead the little walking parade.

The more he explained, the larger the imaginary truck became.

Russ listened. Then he pointed to the two carrying handles at either end.

“What if we just make this one easier to carry?”

Gary considered that.

“You start sensible. I’ll catch up.”

Nearby, Big Bertha waited in the separate truck-display area. Mark was showing visitors where to stand, and Tommy was studying her smile as though it might be possible to smile back just as widely.

Linda brought over the decorating supplies. Mimi steadied the cardboard while Gary and Russ adjusted it.

Della checked their handholds and made sure both men had room to see and walk.

“Now try it together.”

Gary lifted his end.

Russ lifted his.

The little truck stayed level.

The Inspector

They set the truck back on the low table for one last look.

Then Pepe appeared in the window.

Gary leaned a little closer.

“We seem to have an inspector.”

Pepe peered through the opening, disappeared, and reappeared at the other side.

Della laughed.

“Very thorough.”

Carlos Enters the Parade

Behind the hedge, Carlos had also decided to enter the parade.

His plan involved a small abandoned decoration cart, a paper rosette, and considerably more confidence than space.

Brenda tried to hold the rosette upright.

Caleb went looking for something more interesting.

Carlos pointed to where Caleb ought to have been.

He was pointing at nobody.

Room at the Finish

On the main path, Della walked the parade route. Linda joined her at the finish. At the finish, two little wagons had pulled up side by side beneath the sign.

There was barely room for anyone else.

Della looked beyond them at the broad, shady part of the path.

“Let’s finish over there. More room for wagons, walking, and anyone who wants to take their time.”

Mimi nodded.

“And the grandparents.”

“Especially the grandparents.”

They moved the finish sign. Linda helped the waiting families spread out, and the path opened up again.

Nobody Left Watching

Russ had noticed a smaller problem at the start.

Several children were standing beside their decorated wagons, watching rather than joining in.

One of them was seven-year-old Ryleigh, Della’s younger sister. Mimi stood beside her as she watched the little wagons roll past.

Emi dropped her ball at his feet again.

Russ looked at her, then at the empty space in front of the parade.

“Could she lead the first few steps?”

Della’s smile widened.

“With someone walking beside her, that sounds perfect.”

Linda brought Emi’s lead, and Della walked with them to the start. Russ gave Emi a gentle invitation.

“Ready?”

Emi was ready.

She had been ready for twenty minutes.

The first child followed. Then another.

A wagon started rolling.

A pinwheel turned.

Tommy waved both hands from beside Mimi, safely away from the parked trucks.

Gary stood at one end of the cardboard truck. He could have asked anyone to take the other handle.

He waited for Russ.

“Coming?”

Russ handed Emi’s lead back to Linda and stepped into place.

“Which way?”

Gary pointed down the clear path.

They set off together.

Their little truck wasn’t the biggest thing in the parade.

It wasn’t the straightest.

But whenever somebody needed a little more room, Gary and Russ made room.

Della walked alongside the route, greeting families and guiding the turns with a smile. Mimi watched her granddaughter welcome an older neighbor into the shade.

“You’re good at this,” Mimi said.

Della glanced at the parade.

At the finish, Gary and Russ lowered the cardboard truck onto the grass, standing clear of its sides. Emi settled beside them. Pepe inspected one last corner.

The Last Little Wagon

Then Della noticed one little wagon still near the back.

Ryleigh stood beside it, looking at all the people ahead. Mimi gave her an encouraging smile.

Della walked back and crouched nearby.

“There’s no hurry, Ryleigh. We saved you a place.”

Linda brought Emi alongside them. Emi sat patiently, her soft, wavy tail sweeping the path.

Ryleigh smiled.

“Can she walk with me?”

“She’d love to,” Della said.

With Linda holding Emi’s lead, they walked the last stretch together. The cheers for the final little wagon were just as big as the cheers for the first.

Now the whole parade had arrived.

Mimi gave her granddaughter a hug.

“You didn’t leave anybody out.”

“Emi helped,” Della said, rubbing one soft ear.

Tommy looked from Della to Emi.

“The parade heroes!”

Gary raised his hand.

“I second that.”

Emi dropped her ball on his boot.

She had a fairly simple idea of an award ceremony.

Behind the hedge, the raccoons finally moved their cart. The enormous rosette turned around and covered Carlos’s face.

Brenda stopped. Caleb leaned sideways to see.

Carlos pointed confidently toward the same bush.

Pepe watched from beside the cardboard truck, apparently adding something to his inspection report.

The little parade had been a great success. There had been crooked decorations, wobbly wagons, and more than one wrong turn. But there had also been helping hands, happy faces, and a place for everyone.

Della and Emi had helped turn a line of people into a neighborhood.

Meet the Real One

Across the park, Big Bertha’s eyes softened.

Gary nodded toward her.

“Want to meet the real one?”

Russ looked at the big green truck, then at the little one they had carried together.

“Yeah. I do.”

They headed toward Mark at the display entrance. Mimi and Linda followed, Della walking beside them, Emi’s tail still waving.

Russ had arrived that morning wondering where to stand.

Now Gary was walking beside him, and somebody ahead was waving him over.