Finally, we got to the fairgrounds around one in the afternoon. This time, we paid to get onto the midway. Donna went to Wade's food booth, and I went to the Zipper to see Sean.

He was busy running the ride and had his back to me. One of his co-workers, Richie, saw me, but before he could tell Sean that I was there, I had tapped him on the back. Sean turned around and smiled, very pleased and surprised to see me.

"Sara! I thought you couldn't come until Friday!" he exclaimed.

I explained the whole situation with Donna not being able to get a hold of Wade all of the day before, her urgent need to get up there, and her worrying and fussing during the drive. "I drove this time," I said, "so we could drive around if the mood strikes us."

At about that time, Donna joined us, sans Wade. I took one look at her and knew something just wasn't kosher.

"What's wrong, Donna?" I asked.

Donna was crying, telling us that Wade was up all night taking care of a problem in the food booth and hadn't had any sleep. He and Donna argued about why he didn't call her, about her being possessive and other trivial things.

"I knew there was a logical explanation, Donna," I told her. "He'd have called you when he got a chance, but this took priority. Right?"

Donna had to agree, but now, she said, Wade was pissed off at her, and told her to "go away". Of course, Donna took that to mean that he wanted her to leave the fairgrounds and go back to Massachusetts. I thought (correctly, as it turned out later) it just meant leave him alone until he cooled down, got some rest and could think clearly.

Sean offered to talk to Wade on his next break, but Donna said that wouldn't be necessary, that maybe I was right. She'd go talk to him in a couple of hours. In the meantime, she was going to walk around the midway for a bit.

I asked her if she was going to be okay, and she told me she thought so. She walked off after we agreed to meet in two hours at the bingo booth.

Sean just looked at me, then had me wait for a second while he took care of the latest load of passengers, then said, "I supposed Donna went on about this on the drive up, huh?"

"Yeah, and I think she got tired of hearing me say that there was a reason Wade didn't call her. She wanted to come up last night, but I convinced her to wait until morning."

"And she called you first thing, in a panic, right?"

"You got it, big boy! And so here I am."

"I'm glad you came early. I get paid this evening after the fair closes for the night."

We talked about what we were going to do for the day on Sean's breaks. He said that it had been slow so far, and that he might get hour breaks. We could go see some exhibits, get some eats, do some rides and other stuff as the mood dictated. But now, he had to get back to work, and to check with him in an hour to see when his breaks were. I said I would and went to look around the midway some.

Although I had some cash in my pocket, I didn't want to spend it playing carnival games. At one game booth, there was this one Dale Earnhardt t-shirt I just loved, but it was a prize and not for sale. I went into this one exhibit hall that had homemade crafts, and I always liked those when I went to fairs as a kid.

I considered checking up on Donna, but I decided that she needed time alone to think things through. I did see her at the bingo booth playing, so I let her be.

I wandered back over by the Zipper after about forty-five minutes. Sean saw me and called me over. He could take his break now for an hour.

He handed the controls over to Richie, a short Puerto Rican, and we went off on our way.

"There's someplace I want to take you, Sara," Sean said cryptically. "Somewhere on the grounds. It's kinda private."

"Hmm," I said. "Sounds intriguing."

He didn't tell me, however, that we had to walk all the way across the midway to get there, but once we were there, it was indeed private. It was a patch of grass near the fairground entrance. There was one small, scrawny tree, and that's where the two of us sat.

We talked most of the time, but there was some making out and fooling around. Sean said that he was hoping that I could stay until Saturday, and I told him that that was pretty much up to what happened with Donna and Wade. If it went badly, then we'd probably leave that evening. In that case, I said, I'd come up again on Friday. Sean said he'd pay for any gasoline, but I declined. "I have money, that's not a problem. I just need a job."

"What do you usually do for work?" Sean asked.

"Before Lucent laid me off, I was soldering and assembling circuit boards for communications equipment. Lucent sold our plant, and some thousand workers were let go."

"That sucks."

"That it does. I'm getting unemployment now, and that just takes care of the necessities. There's next to nothing left over for fun."

Sean asked if there were similar companies in my area that did the same thing, and I told him that there were, but they were laying off people, too. I was giving myself until the end of the year to find something, anything. If not, I was going to move to Oklahoma where my mother and other family lived.

"Maybe I could get you a job with one of the food or game joints. Most likely it would be under the table, so you could still get unemployment."

"Sean, that's very nice of you to offer, but I'm okay for now. I will keep it in mind though."

"The offer's open anytime you want it."

I just couldn't see myself working for a carnival. What could a gal with a degree in engineering do in a carnival?

Sean soon had to go back to work, so we walked back to the Zipper. He would get another break at four, probably for an hour. It was two now. I said I'd check back shortly before four. Sean kissed me and said he'd see me then.

As I was walking away, I heard Sean's co-worker, Richie, ask him, "You really like that girl, don't you?"

"Yep, she's beautiful, she's smart, she's sexy...and she knows how to solder."

"She knows how to solder?" Richie asked, amazed that any woman knew how to use a soldering iron.

I didn't hear Sean's response, and I made a mental note to ask him about it when I came back around four.

I met Donna at the bingo booth. She seemed to calm down some since I last saw her nearly three hours before. I asked if she had talked to Wade, and she said she had, and that things were going to be all right with them.

"So what did you and Sean do?" Donna asked.

"We talked mostly. He said he could get me a carnival job if I needed some extra cash."

"But you get unemployment, don't you, Sara?"

"Yeah, but Sean thought that some of the jobs were under the table. And I could use the extra money."

"So are you going to work here?"

"No, I turned down the offer for now, but Sean says that if I ever wanted to take advantage of it, to let him know. I guess I'd just go to the next place the carnival goes."

Donna reminded me that she was going to work in Wade's food booth in a town called Machias, which I understood from her was the next stop.

"Where's Machias? Is that in Maine?"

"It's on the coast, about two hours north east from here."

"When would you do that? Next week?"

Donna said yes, that she would drive up to Machias on Monday. If Sean was also going to be in Machias, I could catch a ride with her.

I changed the subject, asking her if we were staying overnight again. She said yes. I told her that Sean would get paid that day, and that we could get a motel room. Donna said, "maybe we could get rooms in the same motel." But, not in the place that Sean and I stayed before. Wade had heard that weird things went on there with the carnival folks. I told her that I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but then again, all Sean and I did there was sleep. I eventually told Donna about Sean and I having sex in the announcer's booth in the grandstands. All she said at that time was "Oh..."

It was about five to four when I got back to the Zipper. Sean was ready to go. He was hungry, so we went to a food booth that sold Italian sausages and ate. Sean knew the guy who was working there, and there was some good natured bullshit bandied about. I was introduced as a friend who came up from Mass., and the guy was nice enough, if a little crude.

We then went back to our little private spot near the entrance and got cozy. We made plans to get together with Donna and Wade sometime before closing. Since we would both have cash, he'd pay for the room for two days, and I'd buy breakfast for two days. We even shook on it!

After Sean went back to the Zipper, Donna and I had lots of time to kill. We decided to leave the fairgrounds and go out into town. We got our hands stamped at the ticket booth so we could come back in later.

All we managed to do out in town was get lost. We were looking for a mall, but couldn't find the one everyone recommended. We ended up back on I-95 north and had to get back to the Bangor exit, pronto.

We did find a little strip mall that had a McDonald's and a Dots clothing store and spent time there. We got back to the fairgrounds around nine that night, and since we had our hands stamped when we left, we had no trouble getting back in.

The midway was really lit up. I really didn't notice it when we were here on Sunday. There was a crowd near this one booth, where this girl was painting with spray paint. The things she did were nothing short of amazing. She did flags, planetscapes, and a really cool New York skyline with the World Trade Center towers that had "Never Forget. 9-11-01" (I thought about getting one for my daughter, Linda's, dorm room, then discarded the idea). There was also a gal playing music, I guessed, as inspiration for the artist. When the artist was done with a piece, everyone would applaud.

Donna and I stood there for about twenty minutes, then went to meet Wade and Sean.

The midway closed at ten, so by ten-thirty everyone was ready to go. We all climbed into my Camaro (which Sean made rather admirable comments about) and started to drive around.

While Donna and I were out earlier in the day, we found a motel, and proceeded to drive there. When we got there, it turned out that there was no vacancy. Both Donna and I could swear there were vacancies when we happened by it that afternoon, but I guess not. A lot could happen in the hours between when we saw it and the time we returned.

Wade knew of another motel that was just down the road. That one did have two rooms left, so Sean and Wade booked them.

The rooms were right next to each other in the back of the building on the second floor. We got our stuff out of the car and went to our rooms. We'd meet back at the car at eight-thirty the next morning, as the guys had a nine o'clock work call.

Once in our room, Sean wasted no time in getting down to business. He practically ripped my clothes off. To be fair, I did the same to him.

We made love for about two hours, and I had never felt so loved, so complete, so needed. Despite his youth, Sean seemed to be more experienced than I was in the sex department. I had married right out of high school, had three kids and put myself through college, so I didn't have a lot of opportunity to "play the field". Dating was much different when I divorced my husband in 1999. I got the feeling that you had to sleep with men on the first date. I didn't like to do that. I had had two semi-serious relationships before I met Sean, and I was more confused about the dating rules than ever before. So, when Sean told me he loved me, all I could say is, "you do?"

"Yes, Sara. With all my heart."

I wanted to cry. I told him that I loved him too, and it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction. I found that I really did care for him in a way that I had for only one other before him. He held me for a long time, and told me that if I'm with him, then no one would hurt me. Given his size and tough looks, no one would dare!

We eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. The wake up call came much earlier than either of us expected. Knowing that we would be together until Saturday morning, save for the times that Sean was working, made the times spent apart worthwhile.

At the appointed time, the four of us met back at my car, and we went to the fairgrounds. The security guards knew Donna and me now, so we got in with no trouble. Wade went off to his booth, and Sean, Donna and I went to the Zipper. Sean had to do a safety check of the ride, its electrical systems, and make sure the cars were secure.

Donna and I discussed what we would do for the day. We both knew that we should really head back to Mass., but neither of us wanted to. It's not like I had a job to go back to.

Sean came over to where we sat, and plopped down next to me. "What're you going to do for the day, babe?" he asked.

"I haven't the vaguest idea, Sean. Maybe hang out on the midway, get a taste of carnival life."

"We could go back into town, Sara," Donna suggested.

"We could..." I said. "We could go on a self-guided tour of Bangor, or go shopping, or whatever. We could always get hopelessly lost again."

I didn't want to go shopping, because the money I brought with me had to last until the next Tuesday, when my unemployment check was deposited into my bank account. But, Donna was a shopping fool! She had just lost a significant amount of weight, and she was always on the lookout for new things to add to her new wardrobe. She told me she kind of envied me my reasonably slim figure, but truth be told, I weighed about fifty pounds more than I should for someone my age and height. And this was after having three kids!

Of course, Donna wanted to go shopping. Or maybe, just looking, because unlike in the New Hampshire towns near where we lived in Massachusetts, Maine had a sales tax. I seriously doubted that would stop Donna and her ever-open checkbook.

Sean said that if we stayed on the midway, we could do things on his breaks, but if we wanted to go to town, to have a good time and buy him something! Then he said he was kidding, that we didn't have to buy him anything.

"Well, I guess we'll hang here for a bit," I said, "then go shopping and do lunch."

Donna though that was a great idea. So we left Sean to his work, went over to Wade's booth and told him of our plans. He was concerned that we would be bored if we stayed on the midway all day. I joked that Donna would just play bingo all afternoon and I'd hang out with Sean on his breaks.

It was a long day, though. By seven in the evening, we were supremely bored beyond belief. There was only so much carnival one can stand in one day. We had seen nearly every animal exhibit (though Donna didn't want to see the reptile exhibit because snakes gave her the creeps, so I went alone), saw the demolition derby and the tractor pull, and saw the musical acts on the stage near the entrance to the grounds. I thought the art exhibits were the best, maybe because my older son was quite talented in that area (and definitely some pieces he could have done much better than the artist being shown, but I'm biased).

At least tonight, the midway closed at ten or ten-thirty. Sean and Wade would be done before eleven (we hoped!). The next day, which was Friday, the midway would close at midnight. The same for Saturday. Sunday, which was the last day, everything would close at six p.m., so that everything could be torn down, stored away, and hauled to the next stop on the schedule.

We told the guys that we'd meet them at the car when they got done for the night. Even though it was late, it was still warm, and my temperamental air conditioning was refusing to cooperate, so we rolled the windows down. That didn't help much, unfortunately.

"Are you ever going to get that A/C fixed Sara?" Donna groused.

"Yeah, probably," I said. "It wasn't something that Chris could fix when he was here. He said it might be the compressor or something." Chris was my big brother, the car nut. He lived in Florida with his family, where he was stationed with the U.S. Navy. He was the reason I had the Camaro to begin with. It used to be his. I bought it from him five years before when he and his wife first became parents and found that it was impractical to have a car Chris didn't drive much. I made payments to him for six months, because what he was asking was a little much for me to pay all at once.

Besides, it was Donna's wild idea to come back up here and have me drive. She really didn't have any say on whether my A/C worked or not. I really didn't mind having the windows open.

Soon, Sean and Wade showed up and we discussed what our plans were for the rest of the night. Should we go out on the town, grab a bite to eat somewhere or...what?

Wade and Donna just wanted to go to the motel and get some sleep (yeah, right guys). Sean wanted to show me some things around town.

We dropped Donna and Wade at the motel, then we took off. Sean was giving me directions on how to get to various places around the area. One of those places was a bar he knew of. It was while he was in this bar one night that he learned of the job with the carnival. Since he had worked for carnivals before, it was something he was definitely interested in.

We parked and went inside. I don't drink, so I don't go into bars much (except for karaoke, of course). There were a lot of carnival folks there and they all greeted Sean by his nickname, Scooby. Sean introduced me around. His co-worker from the Zipper, Richie, was there, and he casually mentioned my soldering skills, which got a round of raised eyebrows from the assembly.

"Hey, babe," Sean said, nudging me in the side, "they seem to be impressed by that."

"It's not a big deal, Sean. It's not that hard. Anyone with two brain cells can learn how to solder."

"Aye," said this big man at the bar, "you musta worked for Lucent, eh?" He sounded like a Mainer. Sean didn't recognize him from the carnival.

"Yes," I said. "They laid me off on July second. I'd been with them nearly four years."

"I was with 'em for twenty-five. You work up this way?"

"Not in Maine, no. I was at the Merrimack Valley plant."

"Whatcha doin' in Maine, girlie?"

At that point, Sean handed me a Coke. "Drowning my sorrows in Coca-Cola."

"Aye, boy," the man said, speaking to Sean. "She's a quick one. You bettah hold on ta her!"

"I intend to!" Sean said as he put one arm around me, and took a pull from his beer with the other.

We stayed an hour maybe, then headed back to the motel. It was late, and Sean still had to be on site at nine the next morning.

In our room, we kissed and made love and held each other. I didn't want to be apart from him, and I was certain he felt the same. Tomorrow, Donna and I were going back to Massachusetts, and God only knew when I'd see Sean again.

"Sara, you know I love you, don't you?"

"I love you, too Sean."

"I wish there was some way we could still be together."

"You have my phone numbers, you can call whenever you have a need to."

"You'll come back and see me, maybe when we get to the next spot?"

"I'll definitely plan on it, Sean. If not the next stop, then one soon after."

"I'll see if I can get you a job in one of the food joints. It won't be so bad traveling with the carnival. You might even get to put your soldering skills to good use."

"Ha, ha," I said. "I wish everyone wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. Besides, the only things I've soldered lately are circuit boards."

"Who taught you to solder?"

"My father taught me when I was a kid. It's not that hard. I was a bit of a tomboy when I was eleven, twelve years old. I wanted to do everything my big brother did."

"Well, I think it's a big deal, Sara. I don't know too many women who even want to do hard work and possibly get dirty."

I said that it's a nice skill to have, and could we stop talking about soldering? Sean laughed and gave me a squeeze. We cuddled together under the covers and fell asleep.

I so didn't want to leave Sean behind. I wanted to spend more time with him.

Once again, morning came long before I wanted it to. Staying up late the night before was not a great idea, because I was still really sleepy, and I had to drive. Sean suggested that I let Donna drive part of the way, and I looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Nobody, and I mean no-bod-y, drove my Camaro.

"You'd let me drive it, wouldn't you?" Sean asked.

"Depends on what kind of driver you are."

"Babe, if there's one thing I can do, it's drive!"

I said I'd think about it, especially since I might be coming back to be with him. Sean said he thought that was fine. He understood why I felt that way about people driving my car. It was a nice car, even without air conditioning.

We met up with Donna and Wade in the parking lot. On the drive to the fairgrounds, Donna said she thought we might want to get an early start to beat the rush hour traffic we were bound to encounter once we got into Massachusetts.

"Donna, it only takes three hours to drive home. We'll miss the traffic by a long shot," I said.

"What about that construction we got tangled up in on the way up here?"

"That was in Maine, silly. That's the only problem we'll have, unless they've torn up I-95 from here to the Mass. border." I further argued that we could delay our trip a couple of hours at least. Donna reluctantly agreed. Why was she in such a big hurry to leave? Did she and Wade fight again?

Later, she told me that her ex called. He'd been trying to get a hold of her, and she wasn't answering. I knew Donna's cell had been off most of the time we'd been in Bangor. He must have left some really angry messages.

"Why are you in such a hurry to get home? I'd think he'd be the last person you'd want to see." Donna said she just didn't want to have any problems with him.

I gave up. We stayed until about two o'clock, then headed back down I-95. Sean held me and promised to call when he got a chance. I didn't want to leave, and if Donna hadn't been riding with me, I would have stayed.

As usual, it took a little over three hours to get home, and we didn't hit much bad traffic. I dropped Donna off at home, then headed to my apartment. I expected to come home to a royally pissed off cat, but he was glad to see me, and hopped up on my lap as soon as I sat down. I petted him and he purred. It's true what they say about cats: you don't own them, they own you. In that case, I was Columbus's forever.