3
The fair was big with big rides, lots of smells and lots of people. But it was open, she could see the sky and see empty spaces where she could walk if she needed to get away from a group.
It was strange having such a large group of people there. The odd one out was Drew, whose wife was getting ready the back to school season in Florida. She was a special ed teacher who specialized in autistic children. But having Drew as a friend was something she enjoyed because he didn't treat her like a little girl.
"Do you have your phone with you?" She asked Drew.
Much like a trip to the zoo, Drew was going to be the cameraman. The WWE liked to have something called kayfabe, which happened outside the show. Since Drew was a heel, he wasn't supposed to be seen with a group of faces like Fergal or Colby or even Jon.
"The cameraman is ready to go when you are." He announced.
"Hey guys," Jon said.
When they turned to look at him, he grabbed Renee's hand and waved. "Bye guys." Renee laughed as her husband pulled her away from the group.
Fergal snuck in a kiss to Dottie's temple. "Where do you want to go first? I think they have farm animals here."
She nodded. Now that she was actually in the fairgrounds she saw the amount of people that were there. Lots and lots of people, more people than at any WWE event or even at Grand Central Station. Her hands clasped into fists at her sides and she looked at all the things that were going on.
Tall rides, loud rides, kids laughing and screeching. The weather was warm and she was starting to get hot and her back was starting to get sweaty.
"Take deep breaths, Dot." Drew reminded her as he came up to her side. "Stick with us and you'll be fine."
Fergal linked his fingers with hers, brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. "I'm right here with you."
She nodded. Then she looked back at Cait and Colby, both of whom were holding hands just like her and Fergal. Cait smiled at her and Colby did the same.
They walked down what was essentially games of chance. There were kids with stuffed animals, parents eating cotton candy and just people having a fun time. Dottie was having a hard time and she squeezed Fergal's hand harder as it got worse.
"You're doing just fine, Lovely." Fergal whispered in her ear. He shook his hand free and drew her under his arm. "Let's find a different route."
He guided her off towards a side of the games, heading towards the sweet smells of food and a large enclosed Food Court thing. The sweet smells she could get used to. Dottie particularly looked at one thing.
"Want some, Dottie?" Fergal asked as they passed another stand with the colorful food hanging in the plastic bags.
"The blue one." She said.
Cotton Candy was a treat, she didn't want to eat anything at the moment. It had been so long since she actually had a good taste of cotton candy.
"Our Dad took us to a carnival once." She said, sneaking a glance at Cait. "That was the last time that I had some of this."
"Did I like it then?" Cait asked.
"You ate half the bag." Dottie frowned. "We got to ride horses and touch goats. You tried to hug a chicken, Cait."
Colby started coughing. He put his hand over his mouth as his face grew red. Fergal laughed as he plucked a small piece of cotton candy for himself.
"She couldn't walk at the time, but a chicken came right up to her as she was standing and she tried to hug it." Dottie told the guys.
"Chicken Hugger Cait." Colby managed to get out.
"Shut up." Her sister snapped but she was fighting a smile on her face.
A quick glance at Drew and he was smiling. He was holding his phone in hand, not filming at that moment but Dottie suspected that he was getting certain pictures. He would send all the pictures over to Fergal and then he would do with them what he thought. Usually uploading them to social media or sending pictures to his folks.
The group made it through the Food Court without a problem. Having Fergal, Cait, Colby and Drew there, talking while she walked, it eased her up some as she ate her cotton candy. After getting used to all the strangers, the noises and sights and smells, Dottie was able to feel the strain from her shoulders ease off.
Where the farm animals were being held was off set from the rest of the fair, which made the noises more bearable especially when hearing the bleets of goats and sheep as they approached.
"That's an Alpaca." She said, looking at one of the camel like animals behind a fence. "They were used by the Mayans as pack animals because they could climb up sheer mountains. And their wool were used in textiles, or the cloth making process."
Fergal laughed and squeezed her hand. "I hear they spit, too."
"Llamas do, they are the cousin to Alpacas. Both were used in the same manner."
There was a section for cattle and horses, of course sheep and pigs. Though it was warm out, the people who owned these farm animals had various fans and misters to keep their animals cool.
Then there was the petting zoo. Sure there were children in there, but Dottie was content with leaning on the waist high fence and petting the goat that had wondered up. Fergal seemed more interested in watching her interact with the animal, who was interested in the hem of her shirt.
"Hey, don't do that." She tugged back, stepping away from the fence. "You ought to know better. Shirts aren't food."
"WAH!" It pretty much yelled at her.
The laugh that came out of her was pure light and joy. This was what she liked, she liked animals because they didn't care if she was different than a normal person.
"Forget it, Wah Wah, this is mine." She hid the cotton candy bag behind her back, leaning forward to look at the goat's horizontal pupil eyes. "You're still cute."
"Not as cute as me, though, right?" Fergal asked, tugging her back under his arm.
"Maybe." She fought the smile and lost horribly.
"Maybe? You think a silly goat is cuter than me?" He leaned in a little.
Dottie bit her lower lip. She nodded, already feeling the heat under her flesh. It only got hotter when his thumb started rubbing her cheek.
"Then you aren't getting a kiss from me." He stepped back, dropping his arm.
The hurt in her chest flashed suddenly. She went to take Fergal's hand but he pulled away.
"Oh no, nope." He shook his head as he stepped back from her. "You said a goat was cuter than me, Dottie."
"I'm sorry, don't be mad."
"Oh I'm hardly mad. Just playing around with you. You thought I was serious?" He asked, his head tilting to the side slightly.
She nodded. "I thought you were."
"Oh, Lovely. No, I'm not mad. Just playing with you." He kissed her forehead. "There, that better?"
"For now."
"For now?"
"Yep," she nodded as she stepped back. "The goat's still cuter though."
"Why you little…" He smiled a slow almost evil grin.
Dottie laughed or she squealed. She turned around and had to dodge a baby stroller to escape from the mock rampaging Irishman that was hot on her tail.
After Fergal chased and caught Dottie around the waist in front of the pig pins, with her squealing as loud as any piglet could, they walked hand in hand around some more. They had lost Cait and Colby somewhere, so it was just Dottie and Fergal, with the ever quiet Scottish cameraman following not that far behind.
"Have you ever been on a roller coaster?" Fergal asked as they neared the rides again.
She shook her head. "No. I never had the opportunity to."
"I think you should go on one ride before we stop for lunch." He said.
"I liked your idea of the Ferris Wheel. I'm not getting behind the wheel of a go cart. Or a bumper car."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid of driving." She looked away.
"Nothing wrong with that. I didn't even get my driver's license until I was thirty-four." He said. "When you live in an area that has more than enough alternative transportations, you take that instead of an automobile. Plus, I had friends to drive me around."
"Must have been nice to have that."
"Yeah, sleep is a powerful motive for not driving." He added a chuckle into the end of the sentence.
"Then I wonder why Colby does it so often."
Fergal had bought him and Dottie tickets to ride the Ferris Wheel and went to stand in line. Drew stood off to the side, facing the ride itself. The line wasn't that long, so they didn't have to wait for a chance to get on. They got into carriage number nine, which Dottie scrunched her face up at. It wasn't a four number but if Fergal was smiling then she could deal with not having a four number.
The other reason why Dottie liked the Ferris wheel was because it didn't go fast. After the NASCAR qualifying ride she had with Nick Nemeth, she hadn't liked going over the speed limit. Roller coasters went over the speed limit. Whereas a ferris wheel she could see how big the fairgrounds stretched, as they went up and down in a circle.
"The carnival we went to as kids had a carousel, I insisted that I had to sit on the alligator while Dad had Cait on the nearby elephant." Dottie said when seeing that particular ride nearby. "What I really remember about it, there was an owl nesting up in the top peek of the ride."
"Wow." Fergal pulled her closer to him.
"Did you ever go to carnivals, do they have them in Ireland?"
"Festivals, yes. One time mom took us to a medieval reenactment festival. My sister Anne Marie was chosen by the Queen of the Fairies to ring the fairy bell." He said.
"Fairies in Ireland are different than storybook fairies, like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan." Dottie said. "Human size in some renditions of the folktales."
"Ah, you've been reading up on Irish myths?"
She shrugged. "Not much. Google helps though."
He chuckled and kissed her temple. "Thank you for taking time out to understand where I come from."
She reached up and grasped his hand that was resting on her shoulder. As she looked out over the top of the fairgrounds, over the booths and stalls and the tall rides, beyond where homes were nestled, Dottie rested her head on Fergal's shoulder. This was enjoyable, sitting there doing nothing but hold each other.
In the beginning she didn't like to be touched, now she was being hugged and kissed and getting turned on by a man that she really cared for.
The moment was broken when her phone started going off.
"I hate these things." She mumbled as she dug her phone out of her pocket.
"They are a bit of a pain if you are having a moment with your girlfriend. Is it Cait?"
Dottie didn't even bother looking at the ID on the screen, she'd just wanted to shut the annoying ringing off. "Hello?"
Her mother's voice came across the line. "Dorothy, where are you? What is with all the sounds?"
"I'm at a fairground with Cait, Fergal and a few of our friends." She answered. "Why are you calling my phone?"
"You're at a fair? WIth people? Does this have anything to do with that man you're seeing?" She asked.
"Yes. We're having fun. We're on the Ferris Wheel."
"Dorothy, you better be careful, you hear me. I don't want you wondering off from you sister. You have to stay with your sister, okay."
"I can't see her. Mom, you're ruining my time with Fergal."
"Dorothy, where is your sister? If she left you unattended with that man I'll…"
Dottie couldn't hear what her mother said, Fergal grabbed the phone.
"Hello, Mrs. O'Connor. Listen, Dottie is safe with me. Whatever you are saying is starting to upset her and I don't want my Lovely to be upset right now. We are fine, I believe Cait and Colby went to go find something to eat for lunch. And that is all you need to know." He held the power button down and waited for the screen to go black.
"You hung up on my Mom." She stared at him.
"Oh yes. Besides, I told Cait to contact me first instead of you if she needed to get ahold of you for something." He pushed her phone into his pocket before going back to holding her shoulders. "Now where were we? Oh yes, I was about to do this."
He tilted her chin up and kissed her.
There was a part of her that wished the ride didn't have to end, not if Fergal was content on holding her the way he was.
