Chapter 5: Cherry Season (May - June) Part 5
"Now that I thought you'd remember. Yes. You spent an entire summer here when you were ten."
"After I was sick."
"That's why. Your mom and I had the carnival, so we sent you to recuperate here at my old college roommate's farm. Wow -- lots of good stuff on this menu." Larry looked down, reading intently. Fabian looked out of the diner window, thinking about his dream. There had been a swing -- a board on two ropes suspended from an impossibly high limb on a white birch tree. Swinging was as close to flight as it was possible to get. It was every bit as wonderful as a carnival ride. He remembered a grape arbor -- green, shady, and smelling of the promise of sweet grapes. A chicken house with a pungent, feathery smell; the broody hens uttering Morse code murmurs in the heat of the day. Long tunnels in the hay or straw bales in the barn. A kitchen window full of morning sun; the smell of butter and eggs for breakfast. There really was a place like that? He supposed so, since it turned out the gazebo existed.
"Fabian? Fabian?"
"Uh, what?" He turned his face from the window and noticed the waitress had arrived. Then he realized that the waitress was the girl who had liked Bruiser the day before. The one with the blue, blue eyes and the adorable nose with the smattering of freckles. The one he hadn't been able to stop thinking about.
"Good morning," she smiled. "What can I get for you?"
Fabian looked down quickly at his menu, but suddenly wasn't at all hungry. He hastily ordered what he usually got in places like this. His father ordered. Fabian noticed the place mat had puzzles and games for children; he picked up his fork and traced the maze to occupy himself.
"These might write a little better," the waitress told him, laying down two crayons. "How is Bruiser?"
Fabian glanced up, mumbled "Fine," and went back to tracing the maze.
"I'll be back with some coffee," she said.
"What was that?" Larry demanded in a low voice as the waitress stopped at another table.
"What was what?"
"Your face is flaming red and you started acting strangely as soon as that pretty waitress came over here. Something you might like to explain?"
"Just leave it," Fabian muttered crossly.
"I'm not teasing you. I'm curious. Is she someone you've met before?"
"Not really. She was at the carnival yesterday. She likes my dog."
Larry frowned. This was completely out of character for his playboy son. He'd never seen Fabian blush for any reason, and his not being able to talk to a female was definitely something new.
"She likes Bruiser? I'm confused, Fab. Start at the beginning."
Fabian looked up, just in time for the waitress to return with a fresh pot of coffee and a little pitcher full of cream. She poured coffee into each of their mugs, then set down the cream.
"That's the real stuff, gentlemen," she told them. "From my family's dairy."
"I don't usually take cream," Larry smiled, "but I have to try this."
"Thank you," Fabian said softly, blushing again and ducking his head in a way that reminded Larry of a turtle.
"Your orders should be up soon," she said, and headed to the kitchen. Larry stared after her. This was different, too. Usually, women of all ages flirted and fawned over his handsome strong man son.
"Your mother warned you," Larry said with sudden insight.
"She has a disturbing habit of being right," Fabian said. "She told me that some day I'd meet someone who scared me silly and who wouldn't be interested in just playing."
"I think you found her. She's not pretty in the way you usually like."
"She's beautiful!" Fabian argued.
"Okay - okay. I didn't say she wasn't pretty at all. I said she wasn't what you usually like." Larry waved his hands in a calming gesture. "Tell me what you noticed first about her."
"She has the bluest eyes and the cutest nose I have ever seen," Fabian sighed. "I wish I knew her name." He noticed his father was staring at him. "What?" he asked defensively.
"Fabian DeSanti, that is the first time I have ever heard you answer that question without mentioning breasts. You haven't even looked at her breasts."
"How would you know that?" Fabian asked, realizing that it was true.
"If you had," Larry smiled, "you'd know her name. She's wearing a name tag. Her name is Lisa. And if you could look up for more than two seconds, you'd realize that she was blushing, too."
"Really?" Somehow, that made Fabian feel better.
"Really. Another thing. If she grew up on the dairy farm, she's my old college roommate's daughter. Since I didn't see a wedding ring, her last name is Kreider."
"How do I do this, Dad?"
"Same way I got your mom, son. Make friends with her. Being a good friend is a great way to teach her to trust you. And make sure she can trust you. That means no pretty girls back stage after the show and no whatever it is with Marlene."
"How did you know about Marlene?"
Larry rolled his eyes.
"Son, you really don't believe that woman possesses an ounce of discretion, do you? Everybody in the carnival knows about you and Marlene. Including her husband. You're lucky he doesn't care."
Fabian covered his face.
"The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Dante," he said.
"You didn't. The only way you could do that would be to believe anything Marlene said about him. Your mom and I aren't thrilled, mind you."
"Truthfully? Neither am I," Fabian said, wincing. "I had absolutely pledged that there would be none of that this summer. I'm not a kid any more, and I need to start to act like it."
"You could have any woman you wanted, Fabian. Why Marlene?" Larry frowned in disgust.
"At first because she promised more than I could get anywhere else," he confessed. "Later because ... she was threatening me."
"With what?"
"Telling Dante. Now that I know he knows I don't have to worry about that. She's most of the reason I looked forward to getting back to school every year."
"And the reason you've dreaded coming back to the carnival?"
"Some of the reason. Not all." Fabian shook his head, then made a strangled noise that sounded like "eep". His face colored and he looked down, pretending to be occupied by the dot to dot on the placemat.
"Two eggs sunny side up with hashbrowns and bacon? Oh -- beg pardon. Go ahead and finish that." Lisa turned to Larry. "Short stack with sausage."
"Looks and smells great," Larry smiled. Fabian cleared his placemat so that Lisa could put down his plate of breakfast. Her arm had freckles and her skin smelled like sweet cinnamon.
"I was at the carnival yesterday," she said. "I really enjoyed it."
"Glad to hear it," beamed Larry. "We really enjoy being here. I'll have to remember to stop in here later on and have some pie. Isn't this where the prize-winning pies are sold?"
Lisa laughed.
"Yes it is. I also bake them for the farmers' market."
"That's you?"
"That's me," Lisa smiled. "Can I get you anything else?"
"Ketchup," Fabian said.
"Not a thing, my dear," Larry told her. She left with one more smile for both of them.
"Dad!"
"You do have it bad," Larry remarked, picking up the ketchup bottle that was next to the napkin dispenser. Fabian covered his face again. "I'm not even going to ask what you want it for. You didn't order anything you usually put it on."
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