So with a stolen flyer in hand, Vera had puppy dog eyed Isaac into going. Well she gave him the eyes. Who was to say it was what had won him over in the long run but she let herself believe it for now. It had also gained her an explanation on why the fourth of July was such an important holiday but once she had understood, seemed like a perfect day to celebrate.
Wearing Red and Blue, okay, jeans and a red shirt but close enough, Vera slipped into the Fair just before Isaac could get through the entrance. She stopped looking around like a kid in a candy store before smiling. “Whatever I’m smelling, let’s find it!” Her stomach growled in agreement at the warm, sugary sent. “It smells so good!”
~~~
Isaac chuckled at her excitement. “You’re going to have to lead the way.” While sweets weren’t really his thing, when it came to fairs there was always room to make an exception especially when it came to the grilled corn on the cob and a turkey leg.
“I’m not entirely sure what you’re smelling, it could be anything from deep fried candy bars and elephant ears to cotton candy.” Right as he mentioned the last one a kid, no more than six, walked in front of them with a wad of the sugary fluff on a stick that was bigger than his head. With blue stained lips he looked at the two and smiled before scurrying on after his mother towards the rides.
~~~
Looking down at the child, Vera had the smile at his bright blue smile and sticky fingers. He looked as if he couldn’t have been happier before taking off to his mother, blob of sugar in hand. “That looks far to messy.” Vera chuckled before turning back around to face Isaac. “And if that child is any idea, WAY too much sugar for me. However THAT!” She was walking now to the right of Isaac as she watched someone walk past her with a paper boat filled with something covered in white.
“Excuse me.” Vera smiled sweetly, making a move for the woman holding it. “Where did you get that?” She asked as the woman blinked, looked down at her boat and then smiled. “The funnel cake? At a booth just back over there. Better hurry. I think they were about to switch to fried oreos instead.” The female smiled with a wave of her hand back to the small row of food stalls set up on this end. “Happy 4th!” She added before going back to the man who was beside her before playfully scolding him for stealing a piece.
Glancing back at Isaac, she didn’t say anything but just smiled at him.
~~~
Isaac held his hands up in surrender. “If that's what you want to spend your paycheck on in not going to stop you. But while you do that I'm going to get in line for a Turkey leg and roasted corn on the cob.” The only thing that made fairs worth going to.
“Also, just so we know ahead of time what the plan is, if we get separated let's meet up at the tallest ride.” If his youngsters wtw examples too lead by then deciding on a place ahead of time what to do in an oh crap situation would be a wise idea. Thanks to Jesse and his brother playing hide and seek then stowing away in the petting zoo area, everyone had to spend over an hour looking all over the State Fairgrounds looking for them.
Little shits Isaac smirked to himself. Despite his mental comments he still loved them regardless of their mischievousness.
~~~
“Turkey leg? What is this? Thanksgiving?” Vera teased, smiling as she did so. Turkey leg seemed to suit him better than fried dough. A hunk of meat for all those ‘rippling pectorals’. “But sounds like a plan. Should we get lost more so than just knowing to find you in the turkey line, then I will meet you in front of…” Vera glanced around, looking for the ‘tallest’ ride she could see. That came quickly after she spun around. “That!”
Pointing with her hand, Vera motioned for the Ferris Wheel at the other side of the field. It might have been a debate which was the tallest when one ride next to it was running but that stayed the tallest so keep it simple. “So why don’t we grab our snacks and then go check out either the games or the animals. I hear there are some new additions to the petting zoo.”
~~~
“Might want to save animals for later. Animals are attracted to food, the last thing you want is to get bit.” Baby animals are cute, and although they could just wash their hands, there were other reasons to hold off.
“We can do a few games then look around at some of the booths for a bit.” There were always interesting craft people brought with them to sell or a new gadget nobody needs nonetheless the demos are entertaining to watch.
~~~
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you hm?” Vera offered with a smile. “We could always just sit outside the area and watch them but you are right. Better to sneak around the booths than risk animals rebelling about not getting at the human food.”
Glancing back, she quickly realized the line was getting longer and winced. “Oh! Meet you back here in a minute?” Not fully waiting for an answer, Vera slipped off into the line for funnel cake. While she waited, she politely chatted with the woman in front of her and the young man behind. The woman had been there with her friends but they had slipped off with their boyfriends making her roll her eyes at being left alone. So she planned to make the best of it and make them pay her back later. The look in her eye told Vera that the girl had plans and those friends were going to get it. Oops!
The male behind her was laughing at the topic and commenting on how lovesick they were. It became a hysterical exchange until they got to the front of the line and were informed that the vendor was in fact...out of batter.
A choir of groans went off around them and several people headed out of line. The pair around Vera walked off together, chatting about the practicality of how to get even with friends on a practical joke level while the raven-haired woman just smiled and shook her head.
Paper boat in hand, Vera had selected a chocolate and banana crepe to replace the funnel cake. It had taken longer than expected but she headed towards the turkey line to look for Isaac.
~~~
“Vera! Over here!” Isaac waved her down from the table he had procured from a couple who had just finished resting their feet.
While he waited for Vera to join him, Isaac set the foil-wrapped Turkey leg on the table and began taking several bites of the corn on the cob before the melted butter soaked the napkins he had been given. Delicious, just as he remembered.
Once she finally sat down he looked away her desert curiously. “Change your mind?” he asked, one brow raised questioningly as he took another bite of his food.
~~~
Fork and knife all but forgotten as she sat at the table next to him, Vera instead opted for the dig straight in method of sliding the crepe out of the paper boat and eating it over the edge. Wasted less chocolate that way!
Also ended up with some on her face but that was easy enough to clean.
“They ran out of batter.” Vera offered between a bite and licking whipped cream off her finger. “I figured this would be just as good instead of joining the crowd headed to the other booth across the fair.” Her face seemed to light up as she sucked the cream off her finger. “I do not regret this choice.”
“How’s the corn? Looks like fresh summer corn.”
~~~
Isaac nodded his head approvingly. “Worth the wait.” he finally replied after swallowing the mouthful of food. “Kind of regretting not buying a lemonade though.” Something to wash the seasoning salt down with.
~~~
Smiling at him, Vera grabbed one of her crumpled napkins and stood up. “Hold that thought.” She offered, cleaning the sides of her face as she made her way over to one of the smaller, less crowded stands. It moved quickly and she was back with two plastic cups of yellow liquid.
“One lemonade as requested. I had them add an extra slice of lemon to yours for a bit more kick. Hope it’s alright.” Vera smiled as she sipped her own, sliding back into her chair to continue munching, though the chocolate had started to melt out of the crepe at this point.
~~~
“You are a godsend.” Isaac accepted the offered drink and took a greedy gulp. With how warm it has been out he felt rather stupid for opting out of buying one of his own when he was ordering food.
~~~
All but licking the boat clean, Vera polished off her snack and sipped the cold drink as she looked out at the rest of the people running around. “We really do live in an amazing place.”
~~~
While there were more dangerous places out there than here, Iraq for instance, Destiny City was no gem. From what she saw this place may seem pretty spectacular but there were things she didn’t know about, things he refused to let her in on such as his meetings with Stibnite.
If Vera knew about the magic-wielding terrorists and the type of fighting that went on at night, not just what the new media fed the population, but how events actually went down she would likely pack her things up and move. Not that he would blame her for doing so.
If anything this city was a corrupt s**t show wearing a mask of normalcy. Once the sun went down the fiends came out to terrorize the citizens. But he wasn’t about to shatter that illusion, not when she actually looked happy.
For now, though it was best to live in the moment because there was no knowing if or when another like this might happen. They were here to enjoy the faire and so his only goal, for now, was to make sure that smile remained on her face so that she would have a happy memory to hold on to.
Sirene Naiads
Another Mega Backlog
