Arizona Sunsets - Sam Hubbard

XXXV

Sam was already tired from shaking hands with people who stopped Liz and him on the street before they even arrived at her parents. But hearing Liz introduce him as her boyfriend each time with a big smile on her face made it all better again.

Arriving by Robby and Violet's, Robby immediately pulled them both to his side. "Ah, there you finally are" he hugged them both before turning back to the man in front of him. "Sam, this is our neighbor Thomas. Tommy, this is Sam. He's..." suddenly quite unsure, Robby looked between Liz and Sam.

"Sam's my boyfriend" Liz jumped in and smiled at Sam, who politely shook Tommy's hand and exchanged a few pleasantries before Tommy grabbed a beer and took his leave.

Surprised, Robby looked at his daughter. "Boyfriend? You were saying before..." he began, but his wife interrupted him. "Honey, will you please leave the kids alone? I'm sure Liz wants to meet up with her friends" she gave him a punishing look before smiling at Sam and Liz.

"Honestly, the others wanted to pick Sam and me up here while grabbing some of your famous lasagna, so as long as they're not here yet, we'll stay" Liz explained shrugging her shoulders and gratefully accepting the beer her father handed her.

Sam also got a beer and shortly after a plastic plate with a piece of the lasagna Liz had just mentioned, before they sat down on one of the benches with tables that was set up in front of Liz's parents' booth.

While the two ate along with Luke, Sam looked around the street for the first time. Everywhere there were small tables or tents spaced apart with people serving food. Most people were engaged in conversation with their fellow man, laughing loudly or just pulling a new interlocutor joyfully into a hug.

In general, there was a very familiar, cozy atmosphere, while also more and more people stopped by Violet to also get a piece of the lasagna, which Sam had to admit was really tasty.

Sue had just finished eating when Ava crashed down on the bench next to Liz with a full plate and a loud sigh, not even mumbling a proper greeting as she was already shoving a fork of food into her mouth.

Mia, Ben, and James followed only a few seconds later, greeting the others at the table at least briefly before they too went after the lasagna like predators.

Only when everyone had finished their plates and beers was the silence broken. "Honestly, Liz, your mom makes the best food at the whole street fair. It should be more often just because of the lasagna" Ava groaned as she licked the last bits off her fork.

"I guess Wanda's chocolate cheesecake is next, huh?" she had already jumped up, but James held her by the shoulders and pushed her back onto the bench. "I guess you forget that we have someone in our midst who is here for the first time" Ben nodded at Sam while putting his arm around Mia.

Ava sighed. "Which means we have to look at every booth before we get Wanda's cake?" she asked defiantly. When it came to good food, Ava could be as bad as James and his sports. When it came to food, she knew no friends.

The group nodded as Sam cleared his throat. He was uncomfortable with the group changing their actual plans because of him. He wanted to be an inconspicuous part, not the one everyone followed. "I...I don't need to see all the booths. I really don't. Do what you guys always do and I'll just...be there" he shrugged.

"But no, we don't mind at all" Mia countered and the others, even Ava, nodded in agreement. "Besides, it might be interesting for us to see what's new since last year instead of doing the same thing every year" Ben added.

"Unless of course you want to go alone with Liz, then of course that's totally fine with us" James winked at him as Sam smiled. "Very sweet of you guys. I'd love for you to show me around the booths" he explained.

Armed with new bottles of beer and a brief introduction from Mia about how the first street fair happened back in the day and what had changed since then, the group set off.

After grabbing cupcakes at various stands, they finally did get a slice of chocolate cheesecake from Wanda, who Liz and Mia told him used to be called the Chocolate Witch by the kids because she had a huge herb garden and always gave the kids chocolate cookies.

Sam had to say that the cake made by the older, gray-haired cute woman who sat on a folding chair next to the countless trays of her cake and gave everyone a warm smile was one of the best he had ever eaten. It was so substantial that it would be considered a sin if he thought of eating just a small piece during the season.

They finally left the food area and only a few feet later found themselves back in the flea market section. Tables and blankets were spread out everywhere, piled high with old CDs, vinyl records and DVDs. Others were selling jewelry, dishes, decorations, self-crocheted blankets, old clothes. Anything they could give away.

The group spent endless time rummaging through all the odds and ends, marveling at old paintings and laughing at the silly hats James donned. Liz bought the vinyl record of songs from "Grease." Ben bought Mia a beautiful necklace with a ruby pendant. James bought three new cowboy hats at once, and Ava snagged a fairly new-looking handbag.

When none of the group paid attention to Sam for a moment as they snapped pictures of James in his new hat, Sam also made his first purchase of the evening. A brown leather bracelet with a silver pendant in the shape of a sunflower. Liz had held it in her hand for what must have been five minutes, looking at it rather dreamily before putting it back after all, but not without turning almost longingly to it several more times.

The flea market section also came to an end at some point and led into the last part of the festival. The fun area, which immediately attracted attention because of the huge colorful bouncy castle for children, in which Ava and James also jumped after less than a minute.

Shaking their heads, the two couples left the two behind and explored the rest of the booths. There were little games to play to win small prizes, most of which were sponsored by some Scottsdale club or store.

Liz became the proud owner of a small stuffed animal cow wearing a cowboy hat that Sam had won for her while duck fishing while Liz, Ben and Mia had eagerly cheered him on. The cow was given the name "Kelsea" after the song "Miss me more" by Kelsea Ballerini was just playing in the background as Liz hugged the cow with a grin, then gave Sam a big smack on the lips.

Ben also won Mia a little teddy bear wearing a tshirt with the logo of one of the golf courses. He was pretty cute too and like Sam, Ben was also rewarded with a kiss from his wife, but overall Liz just thought her Kelsea was better.

After dragging Ava and James back off the bouncy castle, the two of them having by now chased off all the kids and just barely not butting heads, they slowly made their way back to Liz's parents' booth.

In the meantime, the parents and siblings of the other four had gathered there, in addition to Liz's parents and brother, and while Liz was almost cuddled to death by everyone, Sam gleefully greeted the men he had already met this morning and introduced himself to all the new ones at the same time.

The group then sat down on the street with a good supply of beer a bit away from their family and enjoyed the hustle and bustle around them. They drank a can of beer on shotgun and just let the rest of the evening end quietly in the company.

Sorrrrryyy for not posting for so long!! It's vacation time in Germany and as im writing this Im sitting on my terrace in the way too warm Italy and getting eaten up by mosquitoes. I swear as soon as vaca time is over ill be back regularly and we will bring this story to an end.

Hope youre all having an amazing time!!

WHO DEY 🧡