Laws Of Siblinghood

Chapter 12

"What's so special about the town fair?" Ray asked.

"It's the only event we have. We're a boring lot in this town. We mind our own business and there's only one time that we come together, which is the town fair," I explained.

"So it's a big deal?"

"The biggest."

"Is this a part of the trying thing we agreed on?" She asked me.

"I guess we can say that. It is one of the best places in town," I said.

"Okay. How about you take me to another one of your favorite places after the fair?" Ray suggested.

"I'm okay with it."

"It's a deal."

***

The townspeople took the fair seriously. It was basically half or more of the town coming together and selling different stuff. There were clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes, decorations, food and rides. The rides were something all the people with the stalls contributed for and set-up to attract kids.

Ray definitely liked the exhibition. She looked around the place as if she'd seen nothing like it before. Her eyes gleamed with joy as she looked at the jewelry stall.

"I want to go there," she said, pointing at the jewelry stall and dragged me there.

"I didn't know you were interested in jewelry," I said.

"Not much but this earring is absolutely perfect for mom. She loves this color and always wanted an earring of this color but never found it any store. I have to get this," she said.

She bought the earrings and grinned happily.

"What else does Carmen like?" I asked.

"Mom loves watching movies. It's her favorite pastime. She met my dad while she was watching a movie." Ray answered.

"How did your parents meet? If you're okay with answering that."

"It's okay." I said. "It was an arranged marriage. My grandparents were good friends. My mom lived in New Orleans and my dad lived here. They got married just a few days after my mom turned eighteen. Dad had graduated college and helped with my grandparents' business for a while."

"Your grandparents have a business?" Ray raised her eyebrows.

"They had a business. After dad got a job at the college, they handed over the business to a trusted employee and completely cut off their ties from the business. They wanted to relax," I told her.

"So what do they do now?"

"They travel and do charity work. They seem quite happy," I said.

"That's a nice way to spend time." Ray said.

"My dad's parents own a little nursery. They love gardening. Everytime I visit them, they show me around the garden and tell me all about the tiny little plants." She smiled. "On my mom's side, Abuelita gives piano lessons."

"You can speak Spanish?" I asked.

"A little bit. I can understand most of it unless the person is speaking too fast." She answered.

"That's incredible."

"This fair is incredible. So many different people with so many different things to offer. I love it. I'm going to look at everything."

"Dear Lord, save me," I muttered.

Ray wasn't kidding when she said she wanted to see everything. She took me to almost every stall. She stayed at every stall for seven minutes approx and did a detailed analysis as to why she shouldn't have given that stall so much time.