Loyal

Chapter 27

Fantasy by Mariah Carey

Vera's POV

At the carnival, Colin opts out of disguising himself. I hold on tightly to his arm as we make our way through throngs of people enjoying the festivities.

            "Where first?" Colin asks. Bright colored flags hang on streamers above us, connecting each booth in the carnival. The fairgrounds thrive with the excitement of roller coasters and carnival games, the smell of popcorn overwhelming the senses. I point towards a booth, grinning. Colin looks down at me and winks.

            "Baby girl wants me to win her a teddy bear, aight, let's do it," Colin says, leading me towards the booth. People part in front of us, and I realize we're in a sea of flashing cell phones. Everyone is straining to get a picture of us. I feel myself reddening, and Colin pulls me closer to him. Is this how Colin lives his every day life? Can he even go to a carnival to enjoy himself without being suffocated by random people? As soon as we get to the booth the man working it jumps forward in excitement.

            "How many shots, sir?" He stutters. Colin reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crisp twenty.

            "How ever many I can get with that, but I'll only need one," he says cockily, winking down at me. I roll my eyes. The booth worker hands Colin a tattered baseball and points towards a pyramid of milk bottles. They're lined in a high pyramid, angled in a way that would make it more difficult to knock down than meets the eye. 

            "Knock one down and you get the small prize, knock two-" before the man can finish explaining the rules and prizes; Colin throws the ball full force towards the center of the pyramid, knocking every milk bottle down to the ground. Colin points to the largest bear hanging at the top of the booth.

            "I'll take that one for this beautiful lady right here," he says. The man nods, stumbling onto a stool to reach for the bear. Colin grabs it from him and gives it to me, leaning over and enveloping me into a deep kiss. I close my eyes, feeling myself lean back. He pulls away too soon, and I feel a rush of butterflies depart from deep within me. I am falling. Hard.

            "Colin! Colin!" A small voice comes from behind us. A cute little brown haired boy with a toothless grin is hopping up and down before Colin. Colin gives an excited gasp and bends over to lift him up into his arms. A man who seems to be with the little boy is following not too far behind him.

            "I knew that was you, Colin!" he smiles. The man is middle aged with bright blonde hair. If the boy is his son, they share no resemblance. 

            "Hey John! How you guys doing?" Colin asks, giving the man a handshake. John smiles lovingly at the little boy and nods.

            "We've been great, just wanted to bring Nate to the carnival, he has a thing for the basketball booth," John laughs. Colin looks a few booths down to the basketball one.

            "Do you mind if I win Nate a prize real quick?" Colin asks me. Nate has his arms wrapped around Colin's neck, giving me a toothless grin.

            "Sure! Anything for that cutie," I smile. Colin gives Nate a high five and they head over to the basketball hoop booth.

            I stand awkwardly with John, watching Colin and Nate head over to the booth.

            "So, are you Colin's--?"

                        "Friend," I smile awkwardly. Why did I answer so quickly? Friends do not do what we've been doing. Or do they? John nods understandingly.

            "Colin's a great guy," He says, looking lovingly at Nate.

                        "Is Nate your son?" I ask politely.

            "He is, thanks to Colin. Nate lost his mom to drugs and was about to go into the foster system. Colin got us together before that could happen."

            Colin had never talked to me about Nate before. I watch him as he holds Nate up at the waist so he can reach the hoop.

                        "I heard he was starting a center for foster kids," I say quietly, almost thinking out loud. John nods his head.

            "Colin lost his parents at a young age, so he identifies with a lot of the youth dealing with loss." I look over to Colin, he's making the free throws now, and Nate now has three monkeys hanging around his own neck. "He also does a lot of community service after he got into that rough spot a few years back...but it wouldn't matter. He does it out of the kindness of his own heart." 

"Trouble?" 

               John nods his head, watching Colin and Nate. "Yeah, not too sure what it was about, some kinda settlement thing. No big."

            The two head back towards us, Nate sitting triumphantly around Colin's shoulders grinning with several stuffed monkeys. Colin holds two large teddy bears under his arm, putting his arms up like a champion. 

            "Victory!" Nate yells, holding a fist in the air. Colin lifts Nate from around his shoulders, easing him onto the ground. Nate shows his prizes proudly to his father, who helps to carry them.

            "Did you say thank you?" Nate nods, grinning his toothless grin. We wave goodbye and watch John and Nate walk away, Nate happily jumping up and down.

            I look up at Colin, grabbing his hand into mine. What settlement? 

            "That was so sweet. I had no idea you liked kids!" I say, choosing my words carefully.

Colin rubs the back of his head, squinting his eyes in the sun.

            "I love kids, I hope to have some of my own one day," he says, looking down at me. I grip my large teddy bear. Kids. 

            "Let's go on some rides?"

                        "Will you fit?" I laugh. Colin rolls his eyes and grabs me into his arms.

            We go on a roller coaster, get dizzy in a neon colored spinning ride, and have fun crashing into each other on bumper cars. The whole while I try to avoid dirty looks from other young women as Colin shamelessly holds my hand the entire evening.

            "We have to go on the ferris wheel!" I exclaim, pointing towards the center of the carnival. I finish up my funnel cake as Colin shoves half of one into his mouth. 

            "Let's go," he says, licking excess powdered sugar from his fingertips. He grabs my hand, holding me from behind, kissing my cheek. We make our way towards the enormous ferris wheel, spinning slowly like a watermill against the sunset, its bright lights becoming more vibrant as darkness brushes its way over us.

            A warm breeze blows through my hair as we're locked into a compartment on the Ferris Wheel.

            As we move upwards I notice Colin staring at me. 

            "Is there something on my face?" I ask, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Colin smiles, his eyes warm over me.

            "There's nothing on your face, baby girl. You're just, beautiful," he says quietly, pulling my face towards him with a single finger. I look up into his eyes. There, way above the ground, I realize I'm falling in love. He pulls my mouth towards his and we kiss passionately, overlooking the entire carnival. Everything slips my mind...and I forget to ask about the settlement.