Thicker Than Water by Anthea Fraser Page B

those tricks were possible.’
    ‘Gravity-defying, certainly,’ nodded the man. ‘Used to ride a bike myself once, when I was young. Makes me hanker for it again.’
    Inch by inch, they moved forward. Only two bikes went out at a time, presumably for safety reasons, and from what Callum could make out, the ride consisted of six circuits of the field. He was reassured to see a St John Ambulance vehicle by the gate.
    ‘Prepared for all eventualities,’ said his companion with a smile, seeing the direction of his glance.
    ‘Hope it won’t be necessary.’
    At last Josh and the other boy reached the front of the queue, and were fitted with their helmets. Callum felt a flicker of nervousness as Josh climbed on the machine and put his arms round the rider’s waist as instructed, glad he had Bob’s permission for this ride to take place. Josh’s rider waited till the bike in front had reached the far end of the field, then they too were off, flying round the perimeter with dizzying speed, leaning into the corners at what seemed to Callum acutely dangerous angles, straightening again to roar down the long side of the field. The noise was deafening, and he feared for his recovering head.
    Then it was over, and a hyper Josh was being divested of his helmet.
    ‘That was awesome!’ he enthused. ‘Can I have another go?’
    Callum nodded to the length of the queue behind them. ‘It’d be the best part of an hour before you worked your way to the front again. Sorry, Josh, enough is enough. We’ll head back to the village, and you can have another go on the dodgems if you like.’
    Josh pulled a face. ‘They’ll seem tame after the bikes.’
    But he fell in beside Callum cheerfully enough, jingling his remaining money in his pocket. The wind was stronger now, and the sun had disappeared, giving way to heavy clouds.
    ‘Looks as though we might be in for some rain.’ Callum remarked.
    Josh barely heard him. ‘I can’t wait to tell Dad about it,’ he exclaimed. ‘It felt great going round the corners – I could almost have touched the grass.’
    ‘I’m glad you didn’t,’ Callum said feelingly.
    When they reached the centre of the village, they found several of the stalls had already closed, having presumably disposed of their stock. The strengthening wind was blowing bits of paper and plastic bags along the road, and quite a number of people were making their way back to their cars, the excitement of the day behind them. Callum glanced at his watch. Two thirty. He hadn’t been far out in his estimate; by the time the last of the pillion riders returned, the fair itself would be virtually over.
    As promised, they made their way to the playground and the dodgem cars, where Josh, despite his reservations, spent a happy quarter of an hour zooming round crashing into everything in sight.
    The ride over, they walked back to the main street, finding it still crowded as people continued to pour back from the display field.
    ‘Nothing else you want to do?’ Callum asked. By this time he was longing for the warmth and comfort of his car; his back was aching after all the standing, and the first tendrils of pain warned of a return of his headache.
    ‘I’d love another coke,’ Josh said.
    Callum sighed. ‘The stalls are closing down now. I doubt if—’
    ‘We passed one just before we turned off for the playground,’ Josh told him eagerly.
    Callum looked back the way they had come. It would mean forging their way against the crowd for a hundred yards or so, and his heart sank. ‘Can’t you wait till you get home?’
    ‘I’m thirsty,’ Josh said simply. ‘Look, you wait here if you like. I’ll only be a tick.’
    ‘I don’t think—’
    ‘Really, it’s fine.’ And with that he was off, vanishing as the oncoming crowd parted to let him through. Callum edged back against the wall of the adjacent building and briefly closed his eyes. Well, their last expedition had been a resounding success. He was sad that