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I followed them around, keeping my distance since they seemed to be having a good enough time without me really being involved. I watched them walk among the crowd, holding hands with Em in the middle.
The more I looked at my brother Derek’s life, the more I started to question my feelings about it. For years, I would see what kind of man he was and what he had, and I’d tell myself we were different. His life was nice, but it wasn’t for me. As time went on, it wasn’t clear anymore if I actually felt that way, or if I told myself I didn’t want his life because it hurt to admit that I was just incapable of achieving it for myself.
As Em walked ahead with them to get some balloons, I hung back and leaned against the railing near the carousel, feeling more down than I wanted to admit. I wasn’t in the mood to flirt with the girls from out of town, or any of the local girls, either, for that matter. All I could think about was Lana.
The big Ferris wheel was lit up in the middle of it all. It brought back so many memories of coming here as a teen, hoping to get some girl to ride that thing with me. Any time it stopped with you at the top, you hoped to steal a kiss from her.
I wondered why I never ended up at the top of the carousel with Lana. Maybe it wasn’t too late? At least when we were up there, she couldn’t run away from me as easily as she usually did when things got too intense.
“Uncle Keith!” Em called out to me. “Are you coming?”
I smiled back at Em, realizing maybe I wasn’t as easy to forget as I thought.
“Yeah. Wait up.”
Derek flashed me a strange look as I walked up. “What’s up with you? You’re not still stressing over the marina, are you? I think we have a good plan worked out for it all.”
“I’m sure it will all be fine,” I said dismissively.
I was worried about the marina…but more so my business partner, than the marina itself. And the thoughts that were devouring my mind had very little to do with business.
My thoughts were soon drowned out by the folk band playing on the stage in the distance. Their music drifted across the screaming kids, bleating goats and sheep, the bells and whistles of the games and rides, and crying toddlers. I was starting to think I wasn’t so much in the mood for the fair, but I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint Em by leaving early.
Suddenly, Em’s hand ripped from mine. She took off running, yelling as she went, “Mrs. Foster! Mrs. Foster! You’re here!”
I turned around slowly to confirm that Claire was, in fact, a few feet behind us. My eyes drifted up, and sure enough, Lana was standing right there behind her.
Sometimes, kids were a blessing and a curse. I was happy to see Lana, and Em running up to Claire like that gave me the perfect excuse to talk to her. But it was still unexpected. It would have been nice to have some kind of warning, to think about what I could say after the way she ran off from me the day before…yet again.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. Really, I was an idiot to think I wouldn’t see her there. Everyone in Silver Point came to the town fair, and yet it still didn’t create a big enough crowd to prevent you from running into someone.
I was going to play it cool, maybe even wave and walk off like seeing her didn’t affect me at all. Or maybe that urge was just from all the nostalgia of the fair, making me feel like I was a dumb high school guy all over again. Either way, I looked to Derek and Melody for an escape, only to find that they had slipped off together by the shooting range game. Derek was wrapped around her, making that cheesy move of showing her how to hold the gun. It didn’t look like they were going to untangle any time soon, which left me alone with Em and Claire…and Lana.
“Hey,” I waved, accepting my fate. I slowly walked closer.
“Hey, Keith,” Claire chirped innocently.
I knew instantly that Lana hadn’t told her about anything happening between us. Was she ashamed of me? Or was she just too embarrassed to admit how she couldn’t resist me?
“Hi, Claire. It’s good to see you,” I offered.
Lana’s eyes burned into me, as if I was committing some kind of sin for being there. Or maybe she was just as frustrated as I was over this little run-in. She could try to deny it all she wanted, but I knew she wanted me the same way I wanted her. If anything, it had to be harder on her. At least I owned up and admitted to the spark between us.
“Claire wanted to get out of the house,” Lana explained.
“As if I’d ever miss the fair!” Claire laughed. “Wheelchair or not.”
Em swung back and forth in front of Claire, clutching her hands. “Mrs. Foster, are you coming back to school soon? We all miss you.”
“I will come back just as soon as the doctor tells me it’s okay. Hopefully, just a few more weeks!” she told her, just as bright and cheerful as ever.
I knew she was likely in such high spirits because she had to be for Em. She would never let on to the hardships she was going through in front of her students. Still, it was just like Claire to act like the world was all rainbows and sunshine, even after everything she had been through.
Em smiled, then quickly changed the subject—the way little kids were so good at doing. “Do you want to come with me to see the ducks and pigs? I think you’ll like them.”
“You know what? I would love to,” Claire beamed.
“Here, I’ll come with you,” Lana quickly offered.
