baseball hats watched the circulating crowds of wide-eyed city tourists with amusement or disdain, depending on their natures. The tourists, in turn, considered the farmers part of the ambiance and, when they weren't taking pictures of them, ignored them.
"Ridiculous leash laws in this part of the country," Cynthia murmured as the cattle left the ring, each dragging a child dressed head to toe in white.
"I think it's wonderful these kids have a chance to be part of the whole farming experience."
"Oh yeah, great experience. Today a beloved pet wins a ribbon, tomorrow it's in the freezer, wrapped in brown paper and labelled hamburger."
David winced. "Do you have to?"
"I call 'em like I see 'em." She tucked her hand in his elbow and propelled him toward the open doors of the hockey arena. "Come on, this was your idea, let's go see the rest of it."
The arena had been equally divided between tables of produce brought in to be judged and commercial booths. With the fair only a two hour drive from Toronto, most vendors were pushing variations on the country chic theme.
Throwing himself into the experience, David examined every fruit, vegetable, and flower, comparing those that wore ribbons with those that didn't, asking questions of anyone who seemed like they might have an answer. By the time he reached five tomatoes on a plate , he'd charmed an honour guard of little old ladies.
Cynthia lost interest by two ripe cucumbers over nine inches , and followed blindly, wondering if she could get her phone back in time to call one of their eastern suppliers. Her wandering attention returned with a snap as David stopped in front of a commercial booth selling decorative door stops.
"David, put that down."
"Don't you like it?"
"No."
"I think it's cute."
"For chrissakes, David, it's a cow in a dress!"
He grinned impishly at her. "Drew wouldn't let me have it in the house, but I could always use it at the office."
"Over my dead body."
Tucking it back in with the rest of the sartorial herd, he pulled her back outside. "Come on, let's try the midway."
A few moments later, Cynthia stared up at the double Ferris wheel and then down at David. "I was kidding about that over my dead body thing."
"It's perfectly safe. Look, people are letting their kids ride."
"These people have kids to spare. I'm not getting on that death trap."
*
From the top of the Ferris wheel, it was possible to see not only the entire fairground but a good piece of the surrounding town as well.
"They've got a scrambler!" The basket rocked as David leaned forward and pointed. "It's been years since I've been on one!"
Cynthia tried to work out the tensile strength of the pair of steel pins that seemed to be all that were holding the basket to the ride. "I wonder how often they check for stress fractures," she muttered as they circled around again.
"Hey! There's a fortune teller!"
"David, if you don't stop rocking this thing, I'm going to do something violent."
"I think the sign says she's a card reader."
"Great, maybe we can find a fourth for bridge, now sit still !"
*
Under normal circumstances, Cynthia wouldn't have gone within a hundred feet of a fortune teller, but with a ride on the scrambler – something she clearly remembered as being nauseating and mildly painful – as the immediate alternative, having her cards read – whatever that meant in the real world – became the lesser of two evils.
"So, what do you get when you cross a travel agent with an ophthalmologist?" she asked as they approached the tent. Pointing at the sign, she answered her own question. "Let Madame Zora Help You See the World Through New Eyes. David, you know I don't deal well with this New Age, crystal wearing crap."
"Then you're in luck because tarot cards aren't new age. They're derived from the oldest book in the world; the Egyptian Book of Thoth by Hermes Trismegistus, councillor of Osiris, King of Egypt."
She turned to stare at him in amazement.
"Ridiculous leash laws in this part of the country," Cynthia murmured as the cattle left the ring, each dragging a child dressed head to toe in white.
"I think it's wonderful these kids have a chance to be part of the whole farming experience."
"Oh yeah, great experience. Today a beloved pet wins a ribbon, tomorrow it's in the freezer, wrapped in brown paper and labelled hamburger."
David winced. "Do you have to?"
"I call 'em like I see 'em." She tucked her hand in his elbow and propelled him toward the open doors of the hockey arena. "Come on, this was your idea, let's go see the rest of it."
The arena had been equally divided between tables of produce brought in to be judged and commercial booths. With the fair only a two hour drive from Toronto, most vendors were pushing variations on the country chic theme.
Throwing himself into the experience, David examined every fruit, vegetable, and flower, comparing those that wore ribbons with those that didn't, asking questions of anyone who seemed like they might have an answer. By the time he reached five tomatoes on a plate , he'd charmed an honour guard of little old ladies.
Cynthia lost interest by two ripe cucumbers over nine inches , and followed blindly, wondering if she could get her phone back in time to call one of their eastern suppliers. Her wandering attention returned with a snap as David stopped in front of a commercial booth selling decorative door stops.
"David, put that down."
"Don't you like it?"
"No."
"I think it's cute."
"For chrissakes, David, it's a cow in a dress!"
He grinned impishly at her. "Drew wouldn't let me have it in the house, but I could always use it at the office."
"Over my dead body."
Tucking it back in with the rest of the sartorial herd, he pulled her back outside. "Come on, let's try the midway."
A few moments later, Cynthia stared up at the double Ferris wheel and then down at David. "I was kidding about that over my dead body thing."
"It's perfectly safe. Look, people are letting their kids ride."
"These people have kids to spare. I'm not getting on that death trap."
*
From the top of the Ferris wheel, it was possible to see not only the entire fairground but a good piece of the surrounding town as well.
"They've got a scrambler!" The basket rocked as David leaned forward and pointed. "It's been years since I've been on one!"
Cynthia tried to work out the tensile strength of the pair of steel pins that seemed to be all that were holding the basket to the ride. "I wonder how often they check for stress fractures," she muttered as they circled around again.
"Hey! There's a fortune teller!"
"David, if you don't stop rocking this thing, I'm going to do something violent."
"I think the sign says she's a card reader."
"Great, maybe we can find a fourth for bridge, now sit still !"
*
Under normal circumstances, Cynthia wouldn't have gone within a hundred feet of a fortune teller, but with a ride on the scrambler – something she clearly remembered as being nauseating and mildly painful – as the immediate alternative, having her cards read – whatever that meant in the real world – became the lesser of two evils.
"So, what do you get when you cross a travel agent with an ophthalmologist?" she asked as they approached the tent. Pointing at the sign, she answered her own question. "Let Madame Zora Help You See the World Through New Eyes. David, you know I don't deal well with this New Age, crystal wearing crap."
"Then you're in luck because tarot cards aren't new age. They're derived from the oldest book in the world; the Egyptian Book of Thoth by Hermes Trismegistus, councillor of Osiris, King of Egypt."
She turned to stare at him in amazement.
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