Night at the Fair - Part 2

Nan raised her head. The clown cut her eyes to the side, a mirthless smile frozen on her plaster face.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"You alright?"

"Excuse me, sir, but you can't just barge to the head of the line," said the woman.

"I go where I want."

"Come on, kid."


A crowd had begun to gather. Normally the hawker liked a crowd, but only if they had come for the right reasons. She tried to smooth things over.


"You know, I think that gun you chose just might have been jammed. I'll be happy to give you another try. For 25 cents."

"Shut up, clown."


Nan was hefted to her feet.



"As for you, Joker, I believe you have something that belongs to this little girl. Hand over the purse."


"SORRY, SIR," she shouted, hoping to drown him out. "YOU HAVE TO BUY A TICKET TO PLAY."


The crowd hushed. He regarded her coolly.


"That's funny," he said. "I thought all you needed was a gun."



"Wait!"

click

"It has to be-"

"-one of our guns!"

"Wrong again."

The crowd dove for cover as projectiles went flying. The stuffed bear watched in horror as his Lady Love stood stone still in the midst of the chaos.

"Now. The purse."

"Not a problem, sir."

"Here, kid. Try to hang onto it."

Nan was astounded. This was the first truly helpful adult she had ever encountered.

And she was not about to let him get away.

"It's a satchel," she said. "Not a purse."

He turned around. "What?"

Success.

"Thank you," she said, in the sweetest tone she could muster. "Oh, there is one more thing. . ."

He shifted on his feet, suddenly aware of the crowd watching the whole scene. "What would that be?"


"I think we won a prize. I'd like that little bear."

"You mean the reindeer?"

Annoyed by the contradiction, Nan started to repeat herself, but, realizing she needed to stay on his good side, quickly changed gears. "The b-reindeer. Yes."

He plucked it off the line.

"Here. One breindeer."

Nan gripped her prize tightly.

"Breindeer," she smiled. She looked up to thank her hero but he had already made his way into the crowd.

Nan stood up and picked her way out of the debris, Breindeer on her shoulder.

"Well, that was fun," she said.