After jumping about a foot, both men waved back. She dragged the megaphone hand down to prevent any further bellowing and said, “The fair’s a huge success, Mom. I’ve never seen so many people here. Congratulations. You did a great job.”
“Thanks, I’m so happy it all worked out. The weather turned out perfect!” Then Daphne jerked as though she’d received an electric shock. “There’s a reporter from Seattle with a camera crew. I sent out press releases, but I never imagined…” She used a hand to check that her hair was in place and then strode forward.
“Go get em, Mom,” Marguerite called after her.
She was bagging potatoes and carrots for a woman who was telling her how lucky she was to live in such a ‘darling little town,’ when she glanced up to see Chuck standing in line.
When she’d taken the ‘darling’ woman’s money, she turned to say, “Hi. This is a surprise.”
“Hi yourself. I thought I’d check out the fair. You made it sound like a lot of fun. And it is.” He perused her wares. “Got any apples?”
“Sold out first thing. I can give you a carrot.”
“Okay. How much?”
She handed it to him. “On the house.”
“So, this is your town.”
“It is.”
“There’s some good hiking around here. We should hit the hills.”
“Sure.”
Two people stood ready to pay, so he said, “I’ll text you. Thanks for the carrot.” And he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
As she said, “You’re welcome,” she glanced up and found Alexei watching her. He’d no doubt seen the kiss. She waved. Maybe it was childish, but she wanted him to know he wasn’t the only one getting attention from the opposite sex.
She managed to escape for a few minutes around two in the afternoon and strolled through the fair stretching her legs. Paisley was doing a brisk trade at the face painting tent, though it was obvious that some of the young men lining up were a lot more interested in Paisley than in having a fanciful animal or star painted on their face. Paisley was the youngest and prettiest of the Chance girls.
Even with the black-rimmed smart-girl glasses she’d taken to wearing, she only looked more adorable. “Hey, Kiddo, how’s it going?”
Paisley looked slightly worried. “I’m not artistic. I warned Mom, but you know how she is. I’m okay with the rainbows and stars but some kid asked me to paint a cat on her face and I think it looks like I put the sign of the devil on her.”
“I’m sure it will be fine. And remember, the paint washes off.”
A small boy approached and sat on the face painting seat. “Do you want a star?” Paisley asked hopefully.
“No.”
“Maybe a rainbow?”
“Can I have a dragon?”
“A dragon, um…”
Marguerite leaned in. “Just do another devil cat. And put some red flames coming out of its mouth. It’ll be great.”
Geoff was front and center at the Sunflower booth and she was happy to see that Iris was sitting on a lawn chair sipping something from a cup. She waved as she went by. It seemed her Mom had roped all of her kids into helping, or all the ones who were around. To her delight she saw her oldest brother Evan helping their youngest brother Cooper with the kids’ games. Even Prescott, the world-famous architect had turned up. She suspected he was supposed to be a floater since he wore a fluorescent green vest. He was on his knees in front of Edith May Tittlebury, which made her stop for a moment. Not that she had any intention of rescuing him. Edith May was the worst busybody in Hidden Falls and the way her eyes were flashing and her beaky nose was bobbing up and down like she was hunting for worms, she was either interrogating Scott about his own life or, more likely, letting him in on all the gossip in town that he couldn’t have cared less about.
Her stand sold knitting and crochet items that she worked by hand. Everything from frilled toilet roll covers to potholders knitted in the stars and stripes covered her table. There were doilies and socks and an entire section of knitted baby clothes. Marguerite itched to buy something small for Iris but of course she’d never get away without an interrogation about who it was for, and she wasn’t a good enough liar to get past Edith May. Prescott had somehow got roped into holding a skein of knitting wool while she rolled it into a ball, though it was obvious that she was talking a lot more than she was rolling.
As she snuck past, she heard Edith May say, “Of course, I don’t like to speak ill of the less fortunate, but what was she thinking letting that low life ex of hers borrow her car?” She tsked. “I told your brother James about it and you know what he said?”
“I can’t imagine,” said in a flat tone.
“He said that the law can help a person if their car is stolen, not if they lend it of their own free will. I tell you, young man, the laws are too forgiving, that’s what. And there she is, having to ride her bicycle to work. I see her, every day, when she goes past my house…”
