Three Converts

Part 10

The school closed down the week of the fair, so the kids from town were running rampant from ride to game to candy vendors. Little girls with braids flying behind them held hands and dragged each other giggling in their little sundresses. The council would definitely slap me with a lecture (or worse) if they knew how I couldn't help but envy the girls. What would it be like to be so carefree? To not have three conversions hanging over my head since the beginning of my time? I couldn't imagine, but it seemed like a lovely life.

Shaking the pity off myself, I wandered around the rides, grinning at the little kids laughing as they spun around and around, empathizing with the kids wringing their hands as they waited for their turn on the rides. I considered looking around for a friendly face to recruit, but there was less pressure knowing I'd be talking with Griffin later. I may be putting all my eggs in that basket prematurely, but it was easier to do that than to face another rejection.

For the rest of the morning, I amused myself by walking around, "people-watching" as Misty used to say. That was her favorite part of coming to town. I should have known she wasn't trying to make any conversions. When my stomach began to grumble, I decided to walk back to the vendors' area. I passed Franklin on the way, but was spared a conversation with him. He was already talking with a man (who, I noticed, looked very much like he wanted to escape).

The long aisle of booths was even busier today than yesterday. Nobody seemed deterred by the heat. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. The town was always several degrees warmer than the comfortable coolness of our mountain commune. I pushed the sleeves of my robe up knowing they'd slip back down immediately. Brother Aiano was the primary robe maker for our commune, and a member of the council. His theory was the more fabric between us and the world, the better. Easy for him to say when he sat in the shade on a mountaintop all day. I aborted my thoughts before I could curse him further. Thinking ill of any councilman was an evil thing to do. The heat must be affecting my thinking.

I spotted Griffin's mop of hair right away, and couldn't help but smile. He was encouraging a man to sit in a beautifully ornate chair. I was jealous of how easily he smiled and chatted with his customers. If only I had his sales savvy. He gave me a little wave as he continued talking with the man. I saw a bruise on his face and cocked my head, curious. I could ask about that first instead of jumping into my informative lecture about Diety. Not wanting to interrupt his sale, I puttered around, looking at the neighboring booths, pretending to be a normal townsperson. The woman I spoke with earlier was swamped with customers, but I caught her eye and gave her a wave too. She motioned for me to come over.

Some of her customers gave me a dirty look, but she didn't seem to mind. "I didn't catch your name sweetheart!" Everything she said was exclaimed.

"I'm Lucy," I stuck out my hand, hoping she wouldn't be offended by how sweaty it was.

She wasn't. She gripped it in both of her own sweaty hands and pumped it up and down. "I'm happy to see you again, Lucy. I'm-" her eyes flickered to the right. "Annie."

"It's nice to meet you, Annie. How's business?" She waved a hand dismissively, "Business is fine, but the real question is... did you rethink the donuts?" She motioned toward the box. I smiled. They were tempting. So, so tempting, but I had to set a good example. I had a potential convert right across the aisle!

"I'd love to, Annie, but I can't." I pouted. "Thank you for offering, though!"

"I'm going to offer every day! One of these days you won't be able to resist!" She chuckled. A hand popped over my shoulder and into her box of pastries.

"I'll eat hers for her!" Griffin said, taking a huge bite. Annie's chuckle bloomed into a full-belly laugh.

"You take as many as you want Mr. Griffin. You're welcome to them." I thought I heard a line of sadness running through her words, but it was gone again when he took another one, "for the road."

"Ready?" he asked me as though this were the most normal thing in the world. I nodded.

"Bye Annie!" he called "Thanks for the donut!" I gave her a wave and we began weaving through the crowd, single-file. When we reached the end of the aisle, and could walk abreast, we finally said our hellos. "So you met Annie," he said. "She's the best. Very generous," he added, holding up the last bite of his donut before popping it in his mouth.

"She seems wonderful," I smiled. "Is your booth always across from hers?"

"It has been the last several years."

"What about at the other fairs?"

Griffin looked confused. "Other fairs?"

"In other towns?"

He stared at me. "I don't go to other towns."

Now I surely looked confused. He clarified, "I live in Mayrood, Lucy. This is the only fair I attend."

"Oh! Oh." My heart sagged. If he lived here, he certainly knew about the commune already and probably Diety, and our lifestyle, and everything. He was probably just being nice, but if he wasn't considering joining us, it wasn't nice. It was just a waste of my precious time. "Oh." I said a third time.

"You look really hot." He pinched the sleeve of my robe. "Good grief. No wonder. Let's have lunch by the water. It'll be cooler there." I couldn't resist that even if this was a waste of time.

"What happened here?" I was careful not to touch him when I pointed to his face.

"This? I whacked myself with a tool. Hazard of the job."

"Who knew woodworking was so dangerous? Firstthe splinters, then the flying tools?" He returned my smile with a laugh. Wewere far enough from the crowds now that I could smell the lumber on him again.It made me smile wider.