A Fair Fate
by
Owlcroft

Lydia's Home Economics teacher had strongly encouraged her to enter her work at this October's county fair. She agreed and managed to finish up the pajamas Delia had commissioned for Charles (a pale blue background with tiny blue plaid teddy bears), then added her favorite spider-web-patterned hooded cape to her entry, and threw in a svelte black velvet dress. Beetlejuice was impressed by the dress and wanted her to model it, but she was saving it for the school Christmas dance.

"You'll see me in it then," she told her fiancé, who was helping her with her entries. "And I'm going to make something special for you to wear that night, too."

Beetlejuice lowered his brows and frowned at that. "You mean this –" he indicated his favorite stripes, "isn't good enough?"

Lydia grinned at him. "You just wait and see what I have planned. We'll knock their eyes out. Not literally!" she added quickly.

By this time, they'd arrived at the building housing the Agriculture and Home Arts exhibits at the fairgrounds and signs directed them to the back of the enormous one-room building. The Textiles/Crafts entries were allowed space at the back and one side, next to the Prepared Foods tables, and Beetlejuice immediately started eyeing the baked goods. Then he found out that most of the pies and cakes featured things like fruit and lost interest.

They were just through with the set-up, having carefully pinned Lydia's entries to the required background, when a burly fellow approached with a big smile and a decidedly anticipatory look. "Hey, little lady. I'm here to check out your goodies."

Beetlejuice's head swiveled slowly and Lydia could see twin flames in his eyes. "What . . . did you say?" he uttered dangerously.

"Uh, I think," Lydia, having noticed the 'Judge' badge that the big man wore, said hurriedly, "you want the stand next to mine. She's displaying cookies and brownies."

"Oh, thanks." The judge glanced to the side and his gaze was immediately captured by the sweet treats displayed on the next table. "Yum!" he said, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically, and went looking for the exhibitor.

Beetlejuice was still breathing hard and staring venomously.

"Beej, come on." Lydia pulled at his sleeve. "He didn't mean what you thought, okay? Beej?"

"Grrr," was his answer.

Lydia stood in front of him, interrupting his glare. "Jealous bug bit you again, huh?" She waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Hey, short, blond, and cute as a beetle. I'm right here, the woman who's engaged to marry you. Besides, don't you want other people to think I'm attractive?"

"No!" He looked at Lydia and saw that maybe wasn't the right answer. "Do I?" He thought for a moment, then said again, "No!"

"So then you want them to think I'm ugly."

"What? No! You can't be ugly, even if you tried." He thought some more. "But if other people thought you were, would I mind? No. Yes. Yes, because that would mean they don't see how beautiful you are. But no, 'cause . . . I don't want them . . . I don't want them interested in you that way."

"Well, I suppose that's flattering. And honest." She put her hands on his chest and reached up just a bit to kiss him. "As long as you're interested in me that way." She smiled at him. "Come on. We're at a county fair and they're not going to judge my part for a couple of hours at least. Let's go have some fun!"

ooooo

First, they rode the merry-go-round, with Lydia on an ostrich and Beetlejuice posing like a jockey on a camel next to her. Then they looked at the Ferris wheel and decided not to, Lydia especially giving a firm veto. So the bumper cars were next, with both of them ramming every car they could, multiple times, including each other's. They had so much fun, they treated themselves to a second round before visiting the midway. There, Lydia won a large glass bowl at the dime-pitch.

"It'll be perfect for holding loose buttons," she said, tucking it into her tote bag. "Oh, Beej, pony rides!"

Unfortunately, they were over the age limit for the pony rides, but the Tilt-a-Whirl was just down the way and they screamed with laughter during the entire ride. Staggering out, slightly dizzy, they spied a demure tent with a signboard in front which read, 'Madame Sibyl – Fortune Teller, Prognosticator, and Oracle".

Lydia looked at Beetlejuice and he looked back. "What do you think?" she asked. "It's only $5 a person. I think it would be fun; it would certainly be interesting."

"Whatever you want, babes. I've never had my fortune told. So why not?" He waved her toward the tent.

Lydia went in first. As she entered the darkened tent interior, a silver-haired woman with a purple veil pinned to the top of her head moaned and waved her hands gracefully.

"I can sense someone . . . someone who . . . wants her fortune told!" Madame Sibyl opened her eyes and grinned at Lydia. "How'm I doing so far, hon?"

Lydia laughed with her and said, "Batting a thousand." She sat on the wooden folding chair at the round table and looked around. "Do you read my palm or is there a crystal ball somewhere or what?"

"Naw, basically, I just 'read' you, doll. You ask me a question about your future and I'll do my darndest to 'see' it for you. How 'bout you put your hand here and ask me what you wanna know?" Madame Sibyl patted the top of the table in front of her.

Lydia placed her hand there, palm down, and said, "Okay. Will my fashion career be successful?"

The oracle closed her eyes, hummed for a few seconds, then peeked at Lydia and said, "You don't need all the schtick, do you? Naw, didn't think so. Okay. Let me see what I can figure out." Silence fell, then Madame Sibyl opened her eyes fully and said, "Are you a twin? You're not . . . all there. Part of you's missing and I usually get that with twins."

"Nope. Only child, in fact." Lydia waited patiently.

"Well. Let's try again," and Sibyl rested her hand lightly on Lydia's. After a short pause, she said, "Huh-uh. Still only getting part of you. There's somebody that's . . . somebody that needs to be here with you. Did you come here with somebody else?"

In response, Lydia turned her head and called through the tent flap. "Beej, can you come in here?"

Beetlejuice obediently stuck his head through the opening and asked, "Is it okay?"

Sibyl immediately said, "Yeah! That's it. You, buddy, you sit there next to her. Put your hand here next to hers and be quiet a minute." She put her other hand on his, then suddenly started and said, "Oh!" She looked closely at Beetlejuice, then said "Oh," once more.

Beetlejuice and Lydia looked at each other, then shrugged.

Sibyl stared at them for a moment, then she shrugged as well. "Hey, who am I to judge. Whatever floats your boat, hon. Now." She pressed down just a bit on the backs of their hands. "Say your question again."

Lydia obliged. "Will my fashion career be successful?"

"With your smarts and drive and . . . unusual viewpoints . . . yeah." Sibyl cocked her head and stared at Lydia. "Yeah, it will. And that's not even looking very far ahead. Yeah, you'll be a hit." She turned to Beetlejuice then. "How 'bout you, buster? You gotta question you wanna ask? It's only a five-spot, y'know."

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, looking down at the tablecloth. After a moment he asked, "Will she be happy?"

Sibyl laughed. "That's an easy one. It all depends on you, bub. I think you'll be good at it, too." But then her voice changed and even her manner of speech became different. "You're . . . together you're ivy and a brick wall. But you switch back and forth. When you," she nodded at Lydia, "need confidence or support, he's the wall that props you up. When you –" she turned her head to Beetlejuice, "need help with . . . developing or handling your emotions, she's the wall you cling to. You complete her." She looked again at Lydia. "As you fulfill him. Fate has touched you, brought you together, and your future holds great happiness."

The three sat in silence for a few seconds, then Sibyl blinked and raised her hands to her forehead. "Oh, what a headache! Hey, did I say stuff to you guys? Like a foretelling?" When they nodded, she smiled. "I haven't done that in months! No wonder I got a headache." She shrugged. "Ah, it's worth it. And it'll go away fast enough."

Lydia took hold of Beetlejuice's hand, still resting on the table, and looked at him. "I think we should let Sibyl rest and take some aspirin."

ooooo

"Fate, huh?" said Beetlejuice as they left the tent. "So . . . we met because it was foreordained or something? Fate."

Lydia clung to his arm. "I don't know about you, but I believe it. I do, Beej." She looked at him. "It got a little spooky there when she changed like that. Didn't you think so?"

"Yeah, I did. And it's hard to spook a spook." He took a deep breath, then pointed at a cart on the side of the crowd. "Lyds, didn't you say you wanted one of those yucky things?"

"Oh, yes! Oh, I have to have a candy apple. It's almost a tradition at a county fair." She reached for her wallet, then said, "You can wait here for me if you want."

"Nah, I'm going over there. See that stand with the jingly stuff hanging down?" Beetlejuice pointed in the opposite direction of the 'yucky things'. "I need to get you a fairing."

"A fairing?"

"It's something you buy at a fair, to remember it. Meetcha back here." And he headed over to the vendor selling various fair trinkets.

In just over a minute, he was back, carrying a small object in one hand. He cast one glance at Lydia's shiny bright red apple and made a disgusted face. "Yuck," he said succinctly.

"Mmmm," was Lydia's response as she crunched into it.

"Anyway, here." Beetlejuice took her free hand and dropped a small brooch into it. It was a metal heart surrounding the letter "L".

Lydia examined the badge with appreciative eyes. "It's beautiful, Beej. Thank you so much! I didn't have anything with my initial before. It's perfect to remember this fair by." She turned her face up to his and gave him a sugary thank-you kiss.

"You know," he said, his tendrils clinging desperately to his brick wall, "your name's not the only word that letter stands for." He stared off into the distance as she thought that over, then grabbed her hand and pulled her along hastily. "Babes, the judging! You know what time it is? It's showtime!"