The Dance

Chapter 38 Fair

The cabin was a buzz with conversation as Lila and Bam arrived for breakfast. "What's all the excitement about?" Lila asked Bear as she took a seat next to him at the table.

"We're going to Hoonah today for the Spring festival. It's going to be awesome." Bear's excitement was palpable. He relished the chance to go to town especially if it would give him an opportunity to meet girls. Rain and Bird were giddy as well and had already set off upstairs to prepare themselves. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to a change of scenery. Billy gave everyone an hour to get ready and meet on the beach to catch the tide for the trip to Hoonah.

Once on board the Integrity, Billy gave some final instructions to everyone which were to stay safe and to not get in any trouble. Bam, of course, reminded everyone to respect the danger and to travel in pairs once they disembarked. Safety was always his top priority. Rain and Bird paired up with Noah giving Billy and Ami some time alone. Bear and Gabe were going hunting for girls which left Matt, Bam and Lila as a threesome. They hoped to run into Kay and Kenny once they arrived at the fair.

Hoonah was busier than usual bringing out locals and visitors alike. The smell of fair foods wafted through the air as music blared loudly through town. Everyone went in their separate directions. Rain and Bird dragged Noah to the ferris wheel they spotted on the ride in. Bear and Gabe wasted no time in scouting out the place where girls were congregating. Ami and Billy headed to the craft area while Lila, Bam and Matt found a phone to call Kenny and left him know they were in town. Lila liked the idea of seeing Kay again. She had been so welcoming of her when she first came to Hoonah and Lila suspected she had given Bam some advice regarding his love life.

Bam clutched Lila's hand tightly as the threesome navigated through the crowds of fairgoers. It made Bam a little nervous to be in such a large mass of people because he couldn"t control the surroundings. Keeping an eye out for bears was far less stressful than keeping an eye out for trouble in town. The threesome found a table under one of the food tents and waited for Kay and Kenny to arrive. Lila and Bam enjoyed people watching laughing at the little ones so full of wonderment at the sights, sounds and smells of the fair.

Matt kept a watchful eye on the crowds for Kenny and Kay. Before long, they heard heard Matt call out, "Keeeennnnaaayyy!" Kenny and Kay approached the table. Matt was the first to jump up and give them bear hugs. Lila gave Kay a kiss on her cheek and hugged Kenny. "Good to see you both! I'm so glad Matt called you."

Kenny bellowed with his usual enthusiasm, "We wouldn't have missed the chance to see all of you." Kenny and Matt were like long lost brothers already swapping stories about their recent junk finds. Kay and Lila walked arm and arm as the group began making their rounds at the fair. Bam walked quietly behind the group surveying everything around him.

A carnival hawker at one of the shooting galleries grabbed the couples and Matt goading the men into taking a couple of shots to win their women teddy bears. Matt and Bam winked at each other and put up their money for 5 shots each. Bam leaned into the gun and immediately spotted the bent site meaning most players would miss the target and leave empty handed. Matt spotted the problem also and smiled at Bam. Each shooter adjusted accordingly and landed all 5 shots in the target. The hawker stood in disbelief as Matt and Bam pointed to the bears they wanted and quickly moved the pair away from his booth. Matt gave his red bear to Kay and Bam handed his winning purple bear to Lila who hugged it proudly. "Our favorite color." Lila squealed with excitement. "No one's ever won a bear for me." Bam loved that quality about her. Simple things pleased her. She gave him a kiss with the bear and giggled.

In usual fashion, Matt announced he was hungry. The smell of Alaskan Elephant Ears had rolled down the fairway attracting his attention. "Elephant Ears, I smell elephant ears."

Lila was intrigued. "What are Elephant ears?"

Matt licked his lips. "Only the best dessert on the runway. It's fried dough topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon, honey and fruit."

"Sounds yummy!" Lila turned to tell Bam she was going with Matt to get some dessert. He elected to wait with Kenny and Kay. Lila let go of Bam's hand and turned to follow Matt but he had already disappeared in the crowd. As she stepped off the curb, she lost her balance and began to fall. Bam wasn't fast enough to catch her and she hit the ground hard. Her head hit the ground first taking the majority of the fall and knocked her out cold. Bam flew from the spot where he stood and was immediately at Lila's side followed by Kay. When Bam reached for her face, he saw a trickle of blood coming from her her hairline. He felt the panic rise up in him as he yelled to Kenny to get the fireman who served as first responders at the fair. Kay prevented Bam from picking her up. "Don't move her Bam. Let's wait for help."

The firemen arrived with Kenny just as Matt was approaching the place where he left everyone. He dropped his dessert when he saw Lila on the ground and ran to Bam. ""What happened?"

Bam's voice cracked as he kept saying over and over, "I let go for a minute."
The firemen collared Lila's neck and moved her to a stretcher. They informed Bam they were taking her to the clinic to get her checked out as she was still unconscious. Kay volunteered to go with Bam and Matt. Kenny stayed behind to find the family and take them to the clinic once he located all of them.