have been used to having to see people, and you must have had a big family? Glenn mentioned that a lot of the people he was close to moved away.” As she mentioned Glenn his eyes flickered but he didn’t comment on it.
“My parents died a long time ago, so I was taken in by Glenn’s parents and we grew up together. But I was never part of them. I was always the black sheep and it stayed that way as we got older. Then my aunt and uncle died and we all had to make our own decisions. Glenn was angry at his siblings because they all took their inheritance and ran. I think he expected them to stay and help him run the business because our family has been around for a long time and there’s something to be said for keeping tradition, but they all wanted to go traveling or do other things so when Glenn asked them what their plans were they deserted him. I was the only one who stuck around and I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me for that.”
“But why would he be mad at you and not them?”
“Because I’m here to be mad at. And because my presence always reminds him that when it came down to it I was more devoted to the legacy of our family than his siblings, and he’d rather have me leave. I’ve thought about it many times and I try to keep my distance but I know my parents would have wanted me to have some say in the business matters, and while I don’t take as big a part as I perhaps should I still do take an interest. But it’s just never good enough for him. He always wants me to do more, but even when I do he doesn’t listen to my suggestions.”
“Sounds tough. Sometimes I’m glad I don’t have a big family.”
“You’re better off. But we can’t choose our family, more’s the pity.”
They fell into a silence and considering all the amusement around them they were talking about dark and serious matters. Ana didn’t want things to descend into depressing matters but Colton wasn’t giving her much to work with. As they walked along the silence stretched out until it was starting to feel tense. Ana chewed on her lip but everything she thought about seemed juvenile and unimportant.
“Do you want some candy floss?” he asked, eventually cracking the silence.
She agreed and they both had two big pink, fluffy clouds of candy. They started eating it. At one point Colton reached up to point at the top of a tree, as he was explaining something or the other, but as he did so the candy got stuck in his hair. He didn’t notice at first, but Ana did, and she mischievously waited to tell him until he noticed the strange stares he was getting from people.
“Do I have something in my hair?” he asked, reaching up.
When his fingers touched the candy floss his face twisted in frustration and Ana broke down laughing. She cracked up so much that tears ran down her cheeks as he tried to pull out the candy floss from his hair. The situation was so ridiculous that he ended up laughing as well, especially when it was clear that he wasn’t making any progress.
“Come here,” she said, and he leaned down. She stood on her tiptoes and ran her fingers through his thick, lustrous hair. She carefully pulled the candy floss out, and as she pulled the hair on his scalp he winced in pain.
“Stop being such a baby,” she teased, and let her fingers stroke his hair even after she had cleaned all of the candy floss out.
He stood back up to his full height and they looked in each other’s sparkling eyes. There was a moment of electric sexual tension between them and around them the weather changed dramatically. The sun quickly set under the horizon and gave way to the night. Lights were put on all around the rides and the whole fair took on a new aura, a bit more in the realm of something magical.
The darkness shrouded them and it made them feel like they were more on their own but the large crowd were still around them. Yet there was an intimacy growing
John Steinbeck, Richard Astro