Thank you to ALL who have reviewed! I really love it and this chapter is for all of you. Disclaimer—I do NOT claim rights to anything in this story, least of all a beloved comic book character from that era.
Trapper, Margaret and Holly are all walking to a area filled with games, music and food and noise. A carnival. Margaret has on the knee lengths shorts of the time, and Holly has on a darling red dress with black dots sewed all over the dress and a black belt and small bows on the puffed up sleeves and a black hair brad holding her hair back and Margaret asks:
"Are you sure you want to do this John?"
He looks taken aback then says:
"Do what? have fun?"
She smiles then says:
"Well, it's a little bit different taken a 3 year old to the carnival than other things"
He takes out his wallet and turns to her and says:
"You forget, I've been through this twice, I know about 3 year olds"
He goes to pay for the ticket and Margaret bends down to Holly and she points out this and that to her mother and then John comes over with the tickets and they go in.
A little while later as Margaret and John relax eating cotton candy and Holly looks at everything in amazement, John licks his fingers, looks at Holly then asks Margaret:
"What's with her dress? Why does it have dots all over?"
Margaret smiles then says:
"Oh, that's from the character, 'Little Dot', haven't you heard of her?"
Trapper thinks on that for a moment then says:
"I think I have…I think I remember Becky and Kathy asking me to buy a comic named that…they had just started to read and begged me to buy that!"
Margaret smiles and says:
"Well, my three year old daughter can't read but thanks to Mrs. Gergandy's grand daughter, my daughter had to have a dress exactly like 'Little Dot's'"
He smiles and so does Margaret and they walk on down the road with games to play on either side and Margaret asks:
"You don't talk about the girls much do you?"
He thinks on that then says:
"I guess I don't, it hurts a lot, to have left them behind"
They look at Holly staring at everything then Margaret asks:
"Is it because of them, you want to be with us?"
He smiles, winks then says:
"No, I want to be with you both, it's because of the girls that I can"
Just then Holly runs up to them and says in her excited girl tone:
"Mommy! Mommy! I want to go in there!"
She points to the Fun house and Margaret and Trapper laugh and Trapper takes their empty cotton candy cones, throws them away and they go on.
A little while later, Margaret and Trapper come off from a little child's ride with Holly and Holly just goes to look at something and Trapper asks Margaret:
"Margaret?"
She looks at Holly then back at Trapper and asks:
"Yes?"
He scratches his eye, looks at Holly then asks:
"You said in the summer, you wanted to take Holly to see Hawkeye…summer's getting closer"
She looks around, gulps then says in a timid voice:
"I know, but…let's not think about that now, let's just have fun, we won't be here to much longer"
He looks around and says:
"Yeah, there is only a few more things she can do and ride"
Margaret smiles and Trapper says:
"Let's go into the house of Mirrors" "Okay….Holly!"
Holly comes running and off they go laughing and enjoying the day.
In a short while, they come off the Ferris wheel, laughing and exhausted ( well, Trapper & Margaret are ) and Trapper says:
"Let's get something to eat"
Margaret shakes her head yes then says:
"Fine with me"
She turns to holler for Holly:
"Holly!"
Holly doesn't answer or come running. Margaret waits a second then hollers again:
"Holly!"
Trapper looks around and doesn't see her either so he hollers:
"Holly!"
No answer.
Margaret doesn't see her daughter in her red dress with black dots and she begins to panic. She swirls her eyes over the immense, growing crowd and she reaches for
Trapper and says:
"John?"
He looks around and says:
"Don't panic, we'll find her"
They go through the crowds screaming and hollering for Holly but still no answer. Finally, Margaret says:
"Let's go to the police"
Trapper looks the crowd over then finally sees a round police officer with red hair, a beard and he is watching the crowd very carefully and they go running to him and Margaret and Trapper almost start at the same time:
"Officer! Officer! My little girl!..." "We have a little girl missing…"
The officer throws up both his hands then says in a easy to understand British brogue:
"Now! Now! One at a time will ye? You…"
He points to Margaret:
"You go first!"
Margaret takes a deep breath then says:
"It's my daughter, she's missing, she's 3…"
The officer looks around and asks:
"Where did you last see her?"
Trapper points to where they were standing a moment ago and the officer asks:
"And what was the little lass wearing?"
Margaret's heart skips a beat then she says:
"A red dress with black dots all over and her hair pulled back by a hair band"
The officer thinks it over and says:
"Let's get to looking"
They all go off in search and Margaret thinks:
'Oh God, I would rather go through anything else…be back in Korea, watch a patient die…have hot wax poured in my veins…not this! Not my little girl! Please! Let her come back!'
She then goes to screaming Holly's name and running through the park but they don't see a little girl in a red dress with polka dots sewed on watching the Merry-Go-round in amazement.