Love Finds You

Love Finds You - Part 9

Chapter 9

The fair was full of people. A Ferris wheel, cotton candy, kettle popcorn and even a 'deep fried anything' booth were among the many attractions that scattered the area. Jen was having a blast! Who knew these things could be so much fun? Aunt Gabby had shown her around and introduced her to some friends. The day was beautiful; not too hot, at least, Jen didn't think so. She actually felt quite cool in the outfit Annie had picked out for her: a pink and blue plaid shirt with sleeves that went to her elbows, tucked into a pair of cut-off jean shorts that sported a belt with a downright legitimate western buckle! The outfit was pulled together by a pair of brown cowboy boots that Jen felt were quite comfortable. Annie was right; she looked like a born and bred country girl.

Jen separated from her aunt and walked into a grassy area away from the main bustle of the fair. There was a slight breeze and Jen lifted her head to let it catch her hair. She closed her eyes and breathed deep.

"Looks like Annie got her way."

Jen spun around to face Zack, a smirk on his face.

Smiling, Jen folded her arms. "Her way with what?"

Zack walked up to stand beside her. "Annie told me she was going to give you a makeover, so I bet her that you wouldn't agree to it. Looks like you did, so she won."

"What did you bet?"

Zack smiled and popped a couple pieces of kettle corn into his mouth as Jen waited for him to explain. "Kettle corn?" he offered, still grinning like a child.

Hmmm, so you're going to be like that! Jen rolled her eyes and turned to start walking.

"You wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" he asked, clearly changing the subject.

"Are you serious?" Jen laughed. Stopping, she turned to look at him. "Aren't we a little old for that?"

"Ouch. I'm not that old. Besides you are never too old to have fun at the fair." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "Am I right?"

"That's a common misconception," Jen stated as she began walking again. "You can definitely be too old to do certain things."

Zack followed her. "Why are you always so uptight?" he asked, chewing his popcorn as he walked. "You seem a little young to have forgotten what it's like to be young."

Jen stopped, and for a moment seemed far away in thought. "I guess the last few years of my life have been so busy with law school and work that I sometimes forget that I can have fun," she finally said.

"So, what could we do to fix that?" he asked, his head slightly tilted to one side. Again, Jen thought of a puppy.

"Fix what? How to have fun?" Jen wanted to make sure they were on the same page. Zack asked a lot of questions and she didn't like trying to fill in the blanks. Why couldn't he just say what he wanted to say? After all, that's how miscommunication happens. People assume and don't communicate clearly what they mean. She saw it a lot working with her cases. From what she noticed, miscommunication led to a lot of problems in society.

He smiled at her. "I would like to fix..." he paused, "I want to get to know you better. I want to show you how much fun you can have. I thought we had a lot of fun together the other day, going riding. I want to create more experiences like that one. After all, we're friends, right?"

Jen thought a moment, looking up and tapping her foot, as if it were a very big decision. She finally smiled and nodded but didn't say anything.

Zack laughed, "See! We're friends, and friends have fun together."