Are they really leaving? It would be so great if they could stay at least until fall. We could have them in the parade and do an autumn fair....
The ferris wheel was arranged at an angle at the carnival, and the view was spectacular. By turning her head to the left, Lisa could see the first blush of reds, oranges and yellows on the trees in the gameland forest. Straight ahead was the best view of the lake and the gazebo she'd seen other than from Kendall's. She could see the town to the right. The signs and streetlights were just coming on and she could also see part of what was a fabulous sunset. The ferris wheel finally seated everyone and began to revolve. First slowly and then picking up speed. She leaned on Fabian, enjoying the ride.
It finally slowed and began to let people off. The wheel revolved and stopped; revolved and stopped until they were at the top.
"Lisa," Fabian said. She looked and him and he leaned over and gave her a kiss that made her toes curl. Finally a kiss at the top of a ferris wheel. The rocking of the seat had her nervous at first, but she trusted Fabian and relaxed. When the wheel started moving again he broke the kiss and smiled at her.
"There you go," he said. "Happy forever." Lisa smiled and blushed, but felt a pang. Every now and then he would drop hints that he wasn't leaving. She wished she knew for sure, but was afraid to ask.
When they got off of the ferris wheel, Fabian led her to the carousel. He chose one of the outer moving horses, and Lisa looked at him doubtfully. This was Horse 14, now nicknamed "Old Reliable". It hadn't been working properly for the last few weeks. At some point in the ride, the horse would just stop and be still, to the disappointment of its rider. And it didn't happen all the time. This was the first horse she'd ridden on the carousel, but she wasn't sure that she wanted what could be her last ride ruined that way. Fabian lifted her up onto the horse, assuring her that it was fixed. She sat sidesaddle and grabbed the pole. Fabian didn't take a horse. He stood next to Old Reliable as if leading it, leaning against her knees. Lisa looked at Dave, surprised that he didn't protest. He'd yelled at Fabian before for trying to stand through the ride. Dave said nothing, appearing too busy to notice. The carousel started slowly and gradually increased speed. Lisa's hair began to blow in the breeze, and she threw her head back. The air was full of cotton candy, caramel corn, hot grass and diesel exhaust, with the unmistakable snap of impending autumn. She could hear crowd noises over the band organ music-- laughter, cheering, screams from the wilder rides, someone barking a performance. The carnival seemed to melt around the carousel, becoming a blur of lights, colors, smells and music. The warmth of Fabian's body against her legs and the motion of the horse. A symphony of sensation. She didn't want to think about the cooler, dry air; the changing of leaves, and whether that meant saying goodbye to Fabian. For the duration of the ride, it was still summer.
A dark shape approached the carousel and for some reason her horse stopped moving up and down. It sank to the nadir and stayed there. Before she could complain about it, Fabian left go of the bridle and grasped the bar just above her hands. He leaned outward, reached, and casually snagged the brass ring to a chorus of protest from a few other people on the ride. He showed it off to Lisa with an impish grin. The ride began to slow. He took one of her hands and looked into her eyes.
"Lisa Kreider," he said, "will you marry me?" She gasped -- somehow the brass ring in his hand had turned into a gold diamond solitaire.
"How did you do that?" was out of her mouth before her brain properly comprehended what was really happening. Fabian mistook her momentary confusion for hesitation.
"Please, Lisa. I love you and ...."
"Yes!" she shouted, bursting into tears and throwing her arms around his neck. He sighed in relief, breathing her sweet, warm cinnamon scent. The ride finally slowed to a stop. Fabian slipped the ring on her finger, lifted her down from Old Reliable, and kissed her.
"I take it the answer was yes," Dave announced over the carousel PA. "Congratulations Fabian and Lisa!" The crowd around the carousel and their fellow riders cheered and applauded.
"Now if you'd please fix the horse you broke." Fabian stuck his tongue out at Dave, left go of Lisa and climbed up on Old Reliable. He took a wrench out of his pocket and did something above the horse, then jumped down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, since the brass ring was rigged, please stay on for another ride. On the house." He started the carousel again, then smiled at Fabian and Lisa.
"Was there a brass ring?" Lisa wanted to know, a little lightheaded from both post-ride dizziness and the storm of emotions. Fabian produced it from his pants pocket.
"Sweetheart, my dad's a magician," he said. "I grew up doing things like this."
"Keep that one," Dave told her. "A souvenir."
"Did Fabian really break the horse?" Dave laughed.
"We've been working on that for weeks," he said. "Old Reliable was rigged to stop galloping when the ring arm came out. You almost caught us, back in August."
Lisa looked at Fabian in wonder. He had planned this. It wasn't a spontaneous gesture; it was something he'd put a lot of thought and effort into. She took a good look at the ring -- he'd put a lot of thought and effort into that, too. He smiled at her.
"Let's walk, sweetheart," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and steering her away from the midway toward Adrianna's and the mill road. Once they were clear of the noise, he said, "Before you start to worry about my leaving, I'm not. The carnival is ending for the summer, but it isn't leaving, and neither am I."
"I don't understand."
"The carnival did very well here. Better than almost anywhere we've been. The tourists and the camp people really loved it and so did the locals. And we loved being here." He felt her shivering and pulled her closer. "Your dad and the town council invited us to stay and we voted to accept. The carnival will close after Labor Day, but will be open briefly in the fall at Halloween for an autumn fair. Then we'll close for the winter and reopen in the spring. My parents are retiring from teaching and have bought a house near the east mill. Franco will stay with them when he's out of the hospital and then I'm not sure what his plans are. Adrianna is staying -- the restaurant will be permanent. Taryn has a job as a veterinary assistant, but she's saving up to start a dog-training school. She has a good start -- the puppies have all been sold and she earned enough that she asked if Bruiser would be interested in another date with Gertrude.
"As for me, I would have stayed anyway. I have a job."