Something that makes him withdraw when I compliment him or ask him about it. The only time he’ll ever read is when Art asks him to. And even then, I can see reluctance in every line of his body.
Right now, we’re exhausted. All three of us.
Since it’s Saturday, I took a day off. We rode the bus to get here and spent the entire afternoon at the carnival.
I used to go to these when I was a kid but I haven’t been in a long time. We tried everything. The rides, the games. The cotton candy.
I asked for a blue one. But Zach and Art both refused.
“It feels like eating your hair, Blue,” Art explained.
“Yeah, Blue,” Zach echoed.
“It’s gross,” Art continued.
“Totally gross,” Zach said.
“Whatever, dudes. I don’t care. I’m eating it.”
And to show them, I took a huge bite of the fuzzy candy and moaned. Art went ew but Zach watched me with a hunger that he usually keeps reserved for the nights.
Anyway, the sun’s setting and the sky is purple, and I think it’s time to head out.
Art’s dragging his feet and so Zach heaves him up and sits him on his shoulders. My steps go unsteady for a second at seeing the cutest little kid on the shoulders of the most beautiful guy I’ve ever met.
My two boys.
We’re on our way to the exit when Art spots a giant alligator he has to have or he’ll just faint right here. It’s to be won in a game and Zach approaches the counter.
Sighing, I begin to follow but my eyes get caught up at a different stand. The chalkboard by its side says, Written in the Stars. And there’s a sketch of a mountain, a lake and a moon with twinkling stars.
The tent’s navy blue with off-white stars all over, and wind chimes hang off the cloth ceiling.
It’s a fortune teller.
I’ve never been a big believer but something makes me approach it. A lady sits at the counter and upon noticing me, she smiles.
She looks… normal, a little bit older than me.
I mean, no chains or beads or a million rings to show off that she can see the future. She is wearing a poncho though, and a purple band in her red hair.
“Hi there,” she greets me.
“Hey,” I say, feeling a little stupid. “I don’t…”
“You don’t believe?”
I hug the giant teddy bear Zach won for Art by throwing a ring around a bottle. “Do you?”
She sits back in her chair, still beaming. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“I’ve heard that you guys are just people readers.”
“Yeah. But that’s what fate is, isn’t it?”
“Uh, fate’s what?”
She shrugs. “About people. It’s not something magical. Though there is some magic. But mostly, it’s about us, what we want.”