Chương 43: Apple Season (September-October) Part 8
People who have been in those gypsy wagons say they're really nice inside. Wood, stained glass, tile -- much nicer than an RV.
They'd stopped by Lisa's apartment so that she could change and get Buster, then they took a walk through the carnival grounds.
"Did I ever thank you for him?" Lisa asked Fabian as they walked.
"Repeatedly, sweetheart. And as I recall, he picked you out, so I'm not sure how much credit I should get here." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"Having him has helped a lot," she said. Every now and then, Buster would stop to sniff things. Fabian and Lisa weren't in a hurry, so mostly they just let him do it.
"Pets are great that way," Fabian nodded. He felt her shiver and moved away from her long enough to shed his suit coat. "You should have grabbed a sweater when we picked up Buster," he said, wrapping her in his coat.
"I'm not sure that would help," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I can't get warm." Fabian pulled her close again.
"I'll stoke up the Aga," he told her. "You can get warm while I change."
There was some activity on the carnival grounds. The carnival had taken September off, but was soon opening again for an autumn fair. Fabian wouldn't be participating, but there were plenty of attractions without the strong man show. This time, there would be a craft fair and art show in addition to the baking contests. The carnies had been busy during the off-month of September; Lisa noticed that the carousel was now enclosed in a round building with a lot of windows.
"Wow," she said. "That's nice work!"
"We have some talented guys," Fabian nodded. "And they've all found good jobs and settled in here." They both waved to people they knew as they passed along the grounds. They finally reached Fabian's vardo. Buster knew where he was and started to bark, bouncing around happily. From inside the vardo, Bruiser answered. Lisa unsnapped Buster's leash as Fabian went to the vardo and let Bruiser out. Bruiser pushed past him for a doggy reunion with his son. The two dogs capered and raced happily around the grassy area in front of the vardo. Knowing from experience that they'd be fine and they'd stay on the grass, Fabian ushered Lisa into the vardo. He paused in front of the wood-burning Aga stove in the kitchen section, stirred the coals, and put a few small pieces of wood on. When they'd caught, he closed the firebox door and led her to the padded bench closest to it. He opened a long, thin cubby next to the bed and took out a hanger. Then he started to unbuckle his belt.
"Fabian!" Lisa gasped and blushed, hiding her eyes.
"What? I'm changing my clothes. You have a dad and an older brother; you can't tell me you've never seen a man in briefs before." He kicked off his shoes and shed his pants.
"Not you!" Lisa kept her face covered.
"Honey, eventually you're going to see me in a lot less than underwear," he replied, taking off his slacks and hanging them on the hanger. He went over to the bureau and got a neatly folded pair of jeans from the bottom drawer.
Lisa thought about that. Strange how "getting married" was almost abstract. She knew it meant being with Fabian, living with him, but she'd never really thought about exactly what that involved. She thought about being a child, sitting on her parents' bed as they dressed to go out or got ready for church. As though reading her mind, Fabian said, "There's more to intimacy than sex, and it's the part we need to work on now. Being comfortable with each other."
She sighed and dropped her hands, then swallowed hard, moaned, and put her hands back up again.
"What now?" he asked, fastening the jeans.
"Another reason for keeping some semblance of modesty," she said. "My God you're beautiful, Fabian."
"That is a good point," he said. "I'm not sure I could sit through you changing your clothes in front of me, either, now that you mention it. In fact, as I recall I had a similar reaction to you in a swimsuit at Greg and Amy's party." He unbuttoned his dress shirt. Lisa uncovered her face, then looked at him, confused.
"Now what?" he laughed, shedding the dress shirt and hanging it on another hanger in the cubby.
"Why do you look different?" she asked. He laughed again.
"Another reason why I am never going to do the strong man show again," he said. "I hate shaving my chest." He grabbed a college sweatshirt in one of the drawers and pulled it on. He found another one and tossed it to Lisa.
"Doing what?!" Lisa stared, appalled.
"You do not want to know," he said. "I'm not doing it any more. You are marrying a man with a hairy chest."
"That's fine," she said. "As long as he's you." She shrugged off his suit coat and handed it to him. He reached in the pocket, pulled out the sodden tissues he'd taken from her at the funeral and threw them into the firebox of the Aga. Then he hung the coat on the hanger with the pants. She pulled on the sweatshirt, enjoying the smells of clean sweatshirt and Fabian. Although she noticed that there was a very faint stain on this sweatshirt.
"I spilled some tea," he explained, following her gaze. "I haven't been able to get that stain out."
"I'll work on it before I give it back," she promised. She wriggled contentedly -- she liked wearing Fabian's clothing. Fabian pushed his feet into a pair of sneakers, then went to the door of the vardo and whistled for the dogs. Both bulldogs came running. Fabian re-attached Buster's leash, then put Bruiser's on. Lisa got up and went over to them.
"Walk, guys?" Both dogs shifted from foot to foot and grinned doggy grins.
They walked through the woods on the lake shore, behind the second carnival residential section. The dogs sniffed a lot; obviously this trail was very popular with Taryn's performers and Gertrude.
"You owe me a story," Fabian said. "You have for quite some time."
"Oh?"
"Pablo Moreno. I especially want to know since there was apparently something between Moreno and my sister."
Lisa sighed.
"It's not really my story," she said. "I was involved, but ... it's mostly Amy's story. Pablo liked me for a while, or seemed to. He asked me out a few times. I knew Amy liked him, and I declined. He actually started dating Amy, but still stayed way too friendly with me. I couldn't figure it out until ... until the day he told me why. And I had to go to Amy and tell her ...."
"Tell her what?"
"Well, I didn't. I chickened out and told Greg. Greg handled it, and ...."
"Whoa, Sweetheart. You completely lost me. Go back to Pablo telling you why he was so interested in you."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't like to think about this story, and I tend to try to get it over with."
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