“Of course!” Harry said, his eyes widening with surprise. “But it was a long time ago now.”

Daniel nodded. “I spent some years in Tennessee.”

Chantelle looked up at Harry and beamed then. “That’s where I get my accent from,” she said.

Harry smiled at her, seemingly taken by her spirit. Emily noticed his fingers re-entwining with Amy’s. She felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Behind them, the flag parade streamed past. Then the thirty-strong marching band started, blaring out “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty” in trumpets, French horns, and woodwinds. The crowd surged toward the road to get a better look.

“Do you come to the parade often?” Emily asked Harry as people filtered past her. She was eager to know more about him.

“Of course, every year,” Harry explained. “We come from military ancestry. Both on our mom’s side and on our dad’s side. So it means a lot to both George and I.”

Emily wanted to speak to him further but the band was fast approaching and the noise was too great. She fell silent and watched them, thinking, as she was here to do, of all the fallen men and women.

At last the band passed, but the noise didn’t lessen because hot on their heels came the antique fire truck procession, their bells clanging. It was a long stream of them, not just fire trucks but old military tanks, too, clanking and rattling along the road on caterpillar treads. It was quite a sight to behold. And with the heaving crowds, it felt very loud and chaotic. Emily wondered if her overwhelmed feeling was partly from the pregnancy hormones heightening her senses.

“We have to follow them to the park now,” Chantelle said, grabbing Emily’s hand. “ That’s where they’re doing the gun salute. Quick! I don’t want to miss it!”

She tugged, and Emily followed her. The huge crowd of people who’d been watching streamed into the park. Emily felt like she was in a river of people flowing along the streets, caught in a current. It was a somewhat claustrophobic feeling. The only thing grounding her was Chantelle’s hand squeezing hers tightly.

She looked around, searching for Daniel, Amy, and Harry. She caught sight of them being herded along with the flow of people. Harry was looking adoringly at Amy, a protective arm around her shoulders. Her expression was serene, as though she were completely lost in her happiness. Emily smiled again, realizing that Amy was completely smitten. She couldn’t wait to learn more about Harry once the noise and furor had died down.

As the crowds reached the park and dispersed, the others caught up with them. They huddled around the group of military personnel in uniforms, who had their guns pointed to the sky. Emily felt a sudden sense of anxiety at the thought of the loud noise. Though she knew it was perfectly safe she couldn’t help but worry now, knowing that it was more than her own safety that mattered. The power of her maternal instinct to protect her unborn child almost took her by surprise.

“Let’s stand a little way back,” she said aloud, hovering a foot or so behind the crowds, trying to take a step backward.

“But I can’t see,” Chantelle complained. She bobbed up and down on her tiptoes, frowning, eager to get nearer to the action.

“Daniel, can you take her closer?” Emily asked, finally staggering back enough to be beside the benches. She gripped the back of one to steady herself as a panicky sensation swept through her.

“But I want us to go to the front together,” Chantelle said, her voice verging on whining.

Daniel knelt down and looked Chantelle in the eye. Emily overheard him say in a hushed voice, “Remember our secret? Emily needs to be here, at the back. So either you come to the front with just me, or we all stay together. You can climb on the bench or get on my shoulders if you want a better view.”