บท 24: Blackberry Season (July) Part 3
"Thank you. Believe it or not, when I was little I used to sleep under there." He went to the kitchen area. Between the door and the stove was a sink; Bruiser's dishes were on the floor. He made sure the water dish was full and poured some kibble into the kibble bowl. Bruiser didn't even raise his head.
"I think he's worn out," Lisa grinned, nodding at Bruiser. "You really used to sleep under there?"
"Really. It was bigger then -- I altered it for storage and for Bruiser. For a while when I was a kid, though, there was a mattress under there and all four of us fit. Sometimes it got stuffy in the summer, but it was fun. There are panels that slide for ventilation. Everything has storage, as you can see. Gypsies were great savers of space -- they had to be. These wagons were their homes."
"How do you get these from place to place?" Lisa wanted to know. "It's not exactly like a house trailer that you could tow behind your pickup truck. And I know you don't have a horse."
He laughed, opening a drawer under one of the couch-like benches. He pulled out a towel and placed it over his shoulders.
"We use flatbed trucks," he told her. "The ones we use as stages now. We take the wheels off of the vardos so the extra height isn't a problem during transportation. My parents store theirs in the winter; I've lived in mine all year round. Ready?" He gestured to the door and she nodded, preceding him back to the door.
"Oh," he said. "I forgot to show you this." He motioned to a very ornate door with fogged and etched glass similar to the skylights. "This is the bathroom." He opened the door. Inside was barely enough room for a toilet and a sink. "I could put a shower in here," he said, "but there's enough in here without trying to shower around it. I'm hooked up to one of the camp site hookups, so there's running water both here and in the kitchen. There's a holding tank under the vardo that I have emptied every few months."
"This is really amazing, Fab," she said. "And goodness you're tidy!"
"I have to be," he laughed, "don't you think?"
I suspect the Kendalls felt guilty that their son got Amy Wright in trouble. They gave up their vacation house to give them a place to live and everything! -- overheard at the diner
"Wow," Fabian said, looking at the rambling Bauhaus in the woods on a steep bank of the lake. From the front, it looked like a redwood ranch house with an almost flat roof, but a side view revealed a wraparound deck, garage, and daylight basement in the side of the hill. "How old are Greg and Amy again?"
Lisa laughed and led Fabian up to the front door.
"They're renting this for now," she said. "Greg's family owns the department store downtown -- Kendall's." she said. "This was the family vacation house -- Greg's family's home is in town. Greg and Amy both work for the store. Greg is in management and Amy does displays. Sometimes she goes with Greg's mom to do buying for the store. Amy was going to go to art school before Ryan happened, so Greg's family throws a lot of the art projects her way. She's great at promotion. Oh -- one thing you'd better know. Amy is expecting again. She gets really emotional. We're used to it; we remember last time, but you should be warned. She might be overly affectionate or get grumpy easily. Let her roll off your back."
"Thanks. I'll try to keep that in mind." Then he looked at her, puzzled. "Wait -- didn't you say you were bringing pie?"
"I made two blackberry pies and dropped them off before I came over to the carnival to meet you. I also dropped off my swimsuit and towel. She looked at his shorts and raisesd an eyebrow. He loved when she did that and smiled.
"These are my swim trunks," he informed her.
She rang the doorbell, and Amy answered. By now, Fabian could reliably tell the difference between Amy and her sister. Being a twin helped. Even though he and Franco hadn't looked alike for years, sometimes people still confused them and he found it annoying. He tried to make a point of paying attention when he met people so he wouldn't make those errors.
"Hi!" Amy said, giving Lisa a hug. Then she hugged Fabian. "And you! You can't know how glad I am to see you both together! Come in!" Lisa and Fabian followed her into a very stylish living room full of modern style furniture. At the same time, there was a mood of a getaway cabin as though every day was vacation. Fabian then noticed the other guests. The diversity of this town never ceased to amaze him. The carnival itself was diverse, which had occasionally received a lukewarm reaction in some places they'd been. Twin Mills seemed to welcome the Gypsy and Italian and wasn't at all resistant to African-American clowns. This crowd was a good sample of Twin Mills population. Several people were Asian; more than a few looked distinctly Latin. Lisa took him around and introduced him first to her brother and sister-in-law. Craig Kreider's eyes were more gray than blue and his hair was more sandy in color. Fabian judged that Craig was probably just a little older than he was.
"I remember you," Craig smiled, "and I understand you don't remember. I wish you did. It was a good summer. Well, up to the last day, anyway. Glad you're back, Fabian. And it's good to see you with Lisa. This is my wife Felicia." He indicated the tall, beautiful Latina standing next to him.
"Ah, the apprentice in the dairy," Fabian smiled, holding out his hand to her. "Lisa told me. And recommended the cheese to my sister."
"Oh! You're Adrianna's brother! She's been to see us!" Felicia said with a huge smile. "We look forward to the challenge. Hey Carlos! Come here! Fabian, this is my brother Carlos Moreno. He's taking over the mill from my parents. Carlos, this is Fabian DiSanti."
Fabian looked at Lisa, who smiled.
"The Moreno family runs what we call the cloth farm," she said. "They raise sheep and grow that blue stuff you once asked me about."
"We have farms in Texas and Mexico that grow cotton," Carlos added. "We work with that, too.
"And that's the east mill," Fabian said.
"Very good," Lisa smiled.
"I pay attention," he replied, and she laughed. He looked at Carlos and Felicia. "I went to college with a Pablo Moreno who was from this area," he said. "We played on the football team together. Relative?" He felt Lisa tense beside him. Carlos nodded.
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