Without waiting for a reply, she sidled up to us, planting her feet, quite confident she would be joining us in our Ferris wheel car.
"Um, hmm, well..." I muttered, glancing at my boyfriend.
"Is it ok for you to ride with us?" he asked her, glancing about for the girl's adult supervision.
"My grandpa says I have to ride with someone."
So it was settled. Our birds-eye view of the local youth fair would be shared with a six-year-old. My eyes crinkled with a smile as I considered the situation. The gruff ride operator herded us into our car.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"I'm Bethany. I like fairs. And rides."
"Have you been on other rides today?"
"Yes! The bear spinner ride."
"Did you go very fast?"
"Umm, I went, uh, this fast!" she chirped, spreading her arms behind her shoulders.
Conversation continued. "Have you ridden on a Ferris wheel before?"
"Well, umm, I think, uh, I don't know."
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"Um, no. I don't think so. But I don't like when it stops at the top..." Her voice trailed off as our car reached the apex of the wheel. As the ride continued and we were lowered toward the ground, her grip on the waxy metal handles at her sides relaxed slightly.
"Are you from near here? Did you have to drive?"
She blinked. "Ummmm, I think, uh, maybe. I don't know. I might be from here."
Nathan and I were equally stumped by her response. The conversation lapsed for a few moments.
"I like all the tractors," Bethany chimed in.
"Me too. How many do you think are here?"
She thought for a moment. "Oh, there are a lot. I think there are, um, this many," holding up all ten fingers.
Nathan and I agreed enthusiastically. That sure was a lot of tractors (it should also be noted that the tractor pull event was occurring simultaneously, so a great many multiples of 10 tractors were present at the fair).
"We just saw the rabbits. Have you seen them?" Nathan prompted.
"Oh, yes. I have a rabbit. It did, um..." she swiveled her head left and right, inspecting each arm. She pointed emphatically toward a scratch on her thrice-examined left arm. "It did this to me."
"Ouch. That looks like it hurt."
"Yeah. But only for a little while. And then I have this other scratch." She tugged on the front of her little tanktop, exposing clawmarks that stretched down her chest, pulling her shirt's neckline down to her umbilicus to afford an unobstructed view. "It hurt some, but it's better now."
Our car was slowing to a stop, the frowning operator unlocking and swinging open the gate. Bethany bounded off without a word into the crowd, searching for her grandfather. We strolled off toward the next attraction, grinning as we watched her melt into the crowd with her grandpa.
I'm quite certain I won't enjoy my next Ferris wheel ride nearly as much as I enjoyed this one.
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