pee.” He shrugged. “I thought I might as well stay up for now.”
“Sleep well then, did you? I notice you’re rubbing your shoulder.” Dae sat back, his final repartee in place. There’s no point in antagonising the man any further. My work is done.
Ben ignored him but Dae noticed his hand drop away from the aching shoulder to frame his paper instead. Dae stood up and pecked a kiss on the top of Ben’s head. “I am glad your bird is better,” he said softly. “I know how much she means to you. All those animals have a special place in your heart. You’re a good man, Ben Sinclair.”
“Yeah, well, we were lucky it was nothing worse.” Ben pushed the newspaper aside and looked up at Dae standing with his hips leaning against the kitchen sink. “I’m sorry I went off the handle with you this morning,” he said gruffly. “I was worried about Honey. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
Dae waved a hand, relieved by the apology. “Consider it forgotten. Humans have a way of emoting that sometimes makes no sense, but it’s an endearing trait most of the time.”
“Of course we can go to the funfair. I like them too,” Ben muttered.
Dae grinned. “Wonderful. We had them all the time in Calado’r and my homeland. Wonderful affairs with lights everywhere, attractions that take your breath away, and magic sparking everywhere. I spent a lot of time in them as a child.”
Ben snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up for ours. The best you’ll get is a soggy hot dog, cotton candy that’d make your teeth rot, kids running around misbehaving, and the local lads starting a fight.”
Dae shook his head sadly. “Trust you to take all the fun out of it. Surely there must be something you enjoy, something you loved doing as a child?”
Ben cocked his head. “The Haunted House. I loved riding the train through the dark, seeing what was coming out to scare us. I knew they weren’t real, but every time they jumped out, I screamed. Good times.”
Dae wasn’t sure what was so fun about being scared to death, but he’d be prepared to suffer it if it made Ben happy. And maybe, just maybe, he could conjure up an extra-special something in there for Ben, to make his evening. He hugged that thought to himself and smiled.
“Then it’s a date. Cotton Candy Tooth Destroyer, here we come.”
Chapter 12
Ben was right. The local funfair was nothing like those held at home, but Dae thought it was passable. The park grounds were filled with stalls and attractions spiked with flickering fairy lights and rambunctious flashing ones. On the Big Wheel to his right, people viewed the countryside from up high, and the strange bullet-shaped contraption currently spinning crazily to the accompaniment of people screaming and begging to get off accompanied the hustle and bustle of the customers packing the grounds.
Even the weather was cooperating.
Dae plunged his hand into his buttered popcorn and stuffed another load into his mouth. Beside him, Ben stood close, grinning at the delight Dae was taking in his salty treat.
“That’s your second box,” he murmured. “Where the hell are you putting it all?”
Dae chewed happily and sauntered over to another stall selling round, sticky red things on sticks. “These look tasty,” he remarked. “What are they?”
“Sticky toffee apples.” Ben gestured to the woman behind the stall to hand him one, then drew a few coins out of his pocket to pay her. “Here, try one.”
Dae eyed the treat greedily. “Here, hold this,” he commanded and gave his popcorn box to Ben. He sniffed the toffee apple, then took a huge bite out of it. His mouth was flooded with hardened sugar, spiced with the taste and texture of apples. He wasn’t a fan. The apple was okay but the toffee wasn’t his favourite. He grimaced and handed the confection back to Ben, taking his treasured popcorn back. “Here, you can have that. It’s a bit too sweet for me.”
He stared around the funfair. “So, where’s this Haunted House thing you like? Maybe we can take a ride on it.” In front of them, a child screamed in happiness as she was handed a rotund hippo in reward for apparently knocking a bunch of balls off a rack.
Ben took Dae’s hand and tugged him forward. “Come on, I’ll show you. It’s usually on the far side of the field, where the lights are lower. Sets the atmosphere, you know?”
Dae was pulled along