Finding Solace

XXIX

"I'm sorry, August, but you can't come." His head titled and his big, warm eyes pleaded at me, as I almost changed my mind to stay home with him. It was as if he knew we were leaving.

"He can come if you. Pets are welcome. Everything is outdoors. You just can't go on any rides with him." Maverick bent down, petting August until he was belly up.

"I guess you are going then." I mused, grabbing the leash off the hanger by the door, causing August to pop of off the floor and pounce his way over to my feet. He was bouncing at my feet, wiggling around, making hard to clip the leash onto his collar.

"You're going to get so much attention. There's gonna be a lot of kids there just begging to pet you." Maverick scooped him off the floor, making it easier to clip it on. Once it was secure, Maverick handed him to me, grabbing one of the pies Mrs. Somers and I made yesterday. Mrs. Somers followed us out to truck, her in drivers seat and Maverick opened up the passenger door for me.

"You're not coming?" I asked when he didn't jump in the back seats.

"Not yet. Dad and I had a call in and have to go to the clinic. We'll meet you guys there later." He walked away, patting against the bed of the truck and Mrs. Somers started it up.

Country music was playing at a low volume while we chatted aimlessly. August had his big ears pointed upwards, pressing his hands and nose against the window, smudging the glass. I couldn't resist rolling down the window for him, laughing at his tongue flapping in the wind. Once it got later in the day, it grew colder and I rolled the window back up. He then opted to take a quick nap before we arrived.

We got out and headed towards the food booths. We passed pens off goats and other animals, where you could pet them. Children were running about, holding cotton candy and various stuffed animals that had been won from the games. Elated screams could be heard from the moving rides and I got dizzy just looking at a few of them.

We set up at the pie booth and took a look around the competition. I don't know what they were judging for but they all looked equally delicious in my opinion. We sat down, watching people walk by and judge wearing ribbons examine the pies and tried them.

Maverick was right, August was getting more attention than he knew what to do with. Children and even most adults took one look at him and immediately asked if they could pet him. It went on like this for a few hours before he fell over beneath my feet, taking another nap.

Once the sun set and it grew dark, the fair really came to life. The neon lights flashed around and more people arrived. I noticed that most of the younger kids were gone, leaving teenagers and adults to have their fun. Maverick arrived when it got fully dark, his dad no where to be seen.

"Dad stayed behind but he sent me ahead. It wasn't much to worry about but he wanted to stay behind just in case there were any complications."

"Well why don't you two go off and have fun. You've just been sitting here with me the entire time." She placed her hand on my shoulder, gently coaxing me to get up.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to sit here alone." I slowly got up, August waking up below me, shaking out his fur.

"Of course my sure." She shooed next to the other side of the table to stand next to Maverick. "Go enjoy the fair." I hesitated but by the look in her eye, she wasn't going to back down from this.

We eventually walked off together, August with his nose either to the ground or high in the air, taking in everything he could. Approaching a ticket booth, we waited in line so we could actually play games and do things. Maverick insisted on paying with I disagreed but he slipped the money over to the teller before I could pull my wallet out.