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“How about sheep?”
“Sheep are okay. Baby ones are cute.”
“I believe there’s a petting zoo. We’ll have to go check out the baby animals. It might be the highlight of your day.”
They continued down the alley for four blocks, then came out at the street fair. It was actually in the park and not on a street at all. But like the parade, it was large and had booths from every business in town, along with a lot of private booths with arts and crafts. There was one section that was all vendors offering a variety of food.
John smiled. “You were right about the food.”
“Yeah. Are you hungry yet?”
“No. Let’s walk around a little.”
They started at one end of the booths and walked slowly so they wouldn’t miss anything. When they came to a booth selling cowboy hats, Ember tugged on John’s arm. “We need to get you a cowboy hat. You can’t be working around horses without one.”
He wanted to argue with her about it. But the thought was appealing. “Okay. Which one do you like?”
“Hmm.” She looked at him. “You’re not a bad guy, so black is out. And white will probably get dirty really fast.”
“I’m sure plenty of good cowboys wear black hats.”
“Do you want a black one?”
“I don’t know. How about that beige one?”
Ember took it off the rack and handed it to John. He looked at it for a moment, then put it on. It felt right, and once again he felt like he did when he first got in the saddle on Sugar. He adjusted it on his head, then looked at her.
“What do you think?”
She looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Very nice, John. It suits you.” She pulled him to a mirror hanging on a post. “Take a look.”
He looked at himself in the mirror and he had a flash of memory. Nothing specific. He just knew he’d spent a fair amount of his life wearing a cowboy hat.
He smiled at Ember. “Is this the one?”
She patted his chest. “Yes. It’s perfect.”
John paid for the hat and they continued on. “Now you need to get something.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” She tucked her arm through his. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
They got to the end of the first row and crossed over to the other side to work their way back toward the food booths.
“I think by the time we get to the end, I’ll be ready to eat.”
“Me too. I’m pretty sure there’s a beer tent, too.”
“Even better.”
They stopped at a booth selling candles and Ember found what she wanted to buy. She got two candles for the house that smelled like baked goods.
“Now it’ll smell like I’ve been baking all day when you get home from work.”
“Isn’t that cheating?”
“Yes. But you may have noticed I haven’t made us any desserts. Baking isn’t my strong suit.”
“Is that why you’re obsessed with chocolaty chipities?”
