A Date at the Carnival - Part 2

After a short walk, we were now in the center of the fair, deciding on what to play to make the best of our limited supply of tickets.

“Hmm, what would you like to try?” I asked.

“How about something we can play together? Oh, like that over there!” Maple said, pointing at a water gun game. “Let’s go before someone beats us to it!”

The game was a 2v2 team experience with the objective being to shoot as many targets as possible within five minutes. To make the game more volatile, scattered amongst the positive targets were negative ones that subtracted from the team’s score. Whether it was from the enemy or friendly fire, any hit counted, so it was imperative to have both accuracy and speed.

Our opponents were a husband and wife duo. From what I overheard, both were former police officers.

“Do you think we stand a chance?” I said.

“Paige, there’s nothing to stress about. It’s only a game, not an exam at school, so try and have fun!”

Her reassurance lifted my confidence. “Thanks, Maple.”

“No problem!”

“Are you two ready?” interjected the host.

We replied with two affirmative nods.

“Good, now remember, whichever team wins will win this!” Displayed proudly in the air was a gigantic horse plushie. It seemed incredibly fluffy, to the point where it could double as a pillow. Funnily enough, that’s exactly what a pair of kids were shouting about behind me, presumably the couple’s children.

“Mommy—win us that toy, pleaseee!” said the girl.

“Yeah, go get ‘em, Dad! Show them who’s the boss!” said the boy.

A minute later, and we were off to the races. Unfortunately, our opponents were indeed expert marksmen, nailing every single target with precision. The game dragged on with water splashing everywhere, much to the disgruntlement of my clothes. About a quarter of the way through, we were down 500-1200, seemingly with no way to close the gap.

It then dawned on me.

“Maple, let’s aim for their negative points! The value of the negative targets outweighs the positives!”

“Good idea!” she replied.

Sure enough, the strategy paid off. The score was now 500-600. With each point lost, the father grew increasingly irritated.

“How are we tied now!?” yelled the father. “Just a minute ago, we were smashing them, but now we’re neck n’ neck!”

“How could I know, hubby!? Maybe you should try what they’re doing?”

“I like the sound of that! These dang kids aren’t beating us today!”

“You can do this, Dad!”

“Mommy, don’t give up!”

A lump caught in my throat. “Hey, Maple, I think we should pick up the pace!” But there was no reply. If anything, she did the exact opposite of what I said.

The buzzer sounded.

“Our winner is… Team 2!” declared the host.

“Yippie! Mommy, Daddy! That was an awesome game!” Rejoicing together, the family walked away with their prize.

“Maple, how come you gave up at the end?”

Without a word, she pointed towards the family who appeared as if they were having the time of their life. Daughter hugging mother, son fist-bumping father, it was the quintessential image of a happy family. I couldn’t help but wonder if the spirits back at the house were just as merry.

“Do you understand why now?” Maple asked.

“I do.”

“Excellent! Well, on to the next game we go!”

Our afternoon was packed with carnival games and activities. From throwing rings onto rubber decks to having our faces painted, there was no shortage of things to do. And yet, we still hadn’t ridden a ride; that was until one caught Maple’s eyes. The attraction was named “Gravity Defier” because of its use of centrifugal forces to hold riders against panels off the floor. Shaped like a giant flying saucer, it endlessly spun in a nauseating motion while emitting light.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Maple hinted.

“Y—Yeah! I think it’ll be ok since this isn’t a roller coaster. I hope.”

“Heh, knew you would budge! Don’t worry, if you get sick, I’ll help clean up the mess!”

What followed was an exhilarating experience mixing components of a light show and what it must have felt like to be in a laundry machine. As we spun around and around, the forces of the ride held us firmly against the walls. Moving so much as an arm was virtually impossible. While Maple screamed into the air with delight, I was as stiff as a wooden plank.

When the ride finished, I collapsed onto the metal floor, soaking in its coldness.

Maple peered down, a smile on her face. “Wanna go grab a bite?”

I was about to decline, but my grumbling stomach went ahead of me. “I guess… but what should we get?”

“There’s a spot offering a seafood boil with things like crab and crawfish. You aren’t allergic to shellfish, are you?”

“No worries, I’m not. But fair warning, I’m going to be a complete novice. They’ve always come off as fiddly to me with all the shells and tidbits, so I never learned how to open them.”

“Fear not, I’m a total pro at opening them! I’ll give you a shellfish master class unlike any before!” Maple proclaimed, brimming with joy.

Decision settled, we hurried out of the ride and strode to the seafood restaurant.

Greeting us was a huge crab sign on top of the roof overhanging the dining area. As we sat down, a waiter came by to take our order, but there was something familiar about him…

“Would you look at that, you went out with Maple! See, I knew it was with another woman! And here you were trying to hide it!”

“Daniel!? What are you doing here!?”

“I wanted to make some money, and it just so happened that they had a spot open for the weekend. Talk about luck!”

“Paige, did you talk to Daniel ahead of time about the carnival?” Maple asked.

“I did, but only for recommendations on where to go.” I was starting to feel nervous. Was she going to hate me for this?

“Why the anxious face? It’s nothing to sweat about!” Wrapping her arm around me, Maple drew me in before handing Daniel her phone. “Can you take a photo of us?”

“Yeah, no problem at all! Say cheese!”

“Cheese!” Maple said while making a peace sign.

After receiving her phone back, Maple squealed in delight. All things considered, it was a cute photo, and I felt relieved having dodged a bullet.

With the picture taken care of, Daniel cleared his throat and readied his pen.

“Alrighty, what would you two like to order?”