What Comes After

June 27

We went to the fair today. Mom and Dad gave us about seventy dollars in cash and a pouch of coins along with some small candies and cough drops in case they wanted goods in exchange.

"That's a lot of money," I said to Mom as she handed us the money. "Are you sure that you don't want to spend it on gas or something?"

"Everything's been so stressful lately," she said. "And I just want you guys to have a normal day, for once."

The place was bustling with more people than Mira than I had ever seen all summer. I guess everyone in town wanted to come. There was a large poster fluttering in the wind, painted in bright shades of turquoise and blue. Someone must have put a lot of time into making it.

A series of bells tolled, clanging loudly nine times, probably to signal the time. There were lots of small shacks set up in the plaza. Some people were selling canned food or jars of pickled vegetables. Others were selling medicines or essential supplies like batteries and mechanical parts. Armed guards patrolled the area to prevent people from stealing stuff.

But there were many other stalls selling non-survival gear: floral dresses, straw hats, shoes, jewelry, paints, antiquities, and many more things. Mira came with May and I as we walked through the crowds of people.

"Now's your chance," I said.

"What?" Mira said.

"To bond with May."

"Well, how am I supposed to do that?"

"Just impress her or do something cool. I don't know. Here's some good one-on-one time with her."

We reached a small stall and Mira picked up a couple of items.

"How do I look?" Mira said, turning around.

She had a floppy hat on her head with ridiculous pink framed sunglasses. "Awful," I said. "You look like Mom on the beach."

"You're a guy," she said. "Your opinion doesn't matter. This is a girl problem."

"May?" she asked, facing May.

"For the first time in my life, I think I actually agree with Neal. You look terrible," she said.

May picked up a pair of gold rimmed sunglasses. "You'll look much better in these."

Mira put them on, faux posing in front of a small mirror in front of the stall. I think she looked less bad, but she seriously needed to drop the hat.

"These are such cute sunglasses," she said and turned towards the lady manning the stall. "How much for these?"

"Twenty bucks," the woman said. "Unless you've got something better to offer."

Mira mouthed back to us, "Twenty bucks? So expensive" much to the annoyance of that woman.

It actually isn't. Sunglasses probably cost around a hundred to two hundred bucks, but since we don't have much cash, I guess it is expensive. Mira turned back to the stall and put on her I'm-getting-serious-with-you face. I can tell when she does that. She has that twinkle in her eye that shows that she's up to something. "Listen, Ms.... What's your name?"

"Scott. Linda Scott."

"Okay, listen Ms. Scott. Twenty bucks seems a tad too expensive for these sunglasses. I'll give you ten bucks for these."

"Fifteen bucks."

"Twelve."

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen and a couple of candies," Mira said. "For that shirt and the glasses."

Ms. Scott sighed. "Fine. You got yourself a deal."

Mira gave her the money and candies and opened up her canvas bag to put her stuff in. Both of them were actually talking to each other. I smiled. They were finally getting along with each other, maybe a little too much. I think they forgot that I was there.

"Hey, Mira," I said, and she turned around. "I'm going to go off and explore on my own."

"Okay. Remember to meet us at the entrance poster when the bells ring twice."

"Okay."

They went off on their own into the more clothing oriented section. I wandered off to the other side. People were selling lots of fruits and vegetables. Small orange apricots, fuzzy peaches, glossy watermelons, speckled cantaloupes. There was so much food around.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Charles. "I thought you weren't going to come."

"I was bored," he said.

"Are your parents here?"

"Nah, they decided to stay home and do stuff," he said. "What about your parents?"

"They're walking around here somewhere in the crowd."

"We should do something interesting."

"Let's first just walk around here to see what's going on."

"Fine," he said as we walked down the cobbled plaza. There were little kids splashing around in some small inflatable pools. It was a hot day and I guess someone wasted a bit of electricity to pump up those pools. Some people were hitting volleyballs while other people were dribbling and shooting basketballs in the small court next to the plaza. I guess everyone is trying to pretend that everything's normal.

We circled around again, passing by the fresh fruit section. My mouth salivated. I missed fresh food. Everything we're eating is canned and gross.

"Do you want one?" I asked.

"Sure," Charles replied.

"How much for two nectarines," I asked the fruit stand owner.

"Two for two dollars," he said.

That was pretty expensive. But I guess food is scarcer since all the supermarkets closed down. Most people only get food from the weekly food giveaways at city hall. I still paid for it, and we went somewhere shaded away from the crowds.

I took a large bite of the fruit, but Charles only nibbled at the skin of the fruit. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," he said and took another tentative bite. "It's just that I haven't eaten fresh fruit in a while."

"I don't think anyone has. My family's stuck eating canned food every day until the highways and delivery systems get fixed."

"I miss pizza," he said. "Right now, I'm craving it so bad."

"Me too," I replied. "And ice-cream and cookies and French fries and fried noodles."

"Stop it!" he said. "My stomach is literally rumbling."

"And hamburgers and teriyaki chicken and cake and chips and donuts. I even miss bread."

"Yeah, I miss food," he said.

Charles and I talked a bit after that, but he had to leave early. There wasn't much to do afterwards. People began setting up dark plastic sheeting and multicolored blankets to cover themselves and their stalls from the sun. Most people were just lying in the shade under the trees. It was less crowded, so I decided to check the fair out one last time before heading back to the entrance.

I bought two books, one survivalist fiction and the other a mystery thriller. Some person was selling potted herbs, so I bought a pot of mint. I still had a good fifteen dollars left and nothing to spend it on, so I decided to buy some Christmas gifts for my family. If the world never gets back to normal, I might as well spend the cash, and it'd be nice to get some surprise presents.

For Dad, I got one of those "10 Ways to Become Successful" books. I'm not sure why he's into those types of things, but I'm pretty sure that he would enjoy it. I got some small packets of instant coffee for Mom just in case we run out. I know she and Dad hate the taste of the cheap coffee, but this'll be good for emergencies. I bought a small tea packet set for Grandpa and a Chinese-English dictionary for Grandma if she wants to keep learning English.

Getting a gift for May was so hard. I wasn't really sure what type of fashion she's into, so I just bought her two scrunchies, one dark black and the other one a beige color (which I'm sure she's going to hate since it's her least favorite color). For Mira, I was even less sure about what to get her. She's been away at college for over a year, so I wasn't sure if she changed herself. I knew Mira was always into traveling. She wanted to see the world, so I bought her a photobook with pictures of exotic places. If we won't be able to travel the world, at least she could experience these wonders at home.

I was about to head out when I realized that I didn't get a gift for Charles. We don't really have a gift giving friendship at all, but in these circumstances, I guess it'd be nice to get him one. I only had a couple of bucks and a few goods to trade. I went around searching for something cool to give him. There were plenty of socks and sweaters and other pretty generic stuff, but I don't think he'd want it.

Then I spotted an interesting rock collection stand. The man was selling small collections of cheap gemstones like amethyst and garnets. But I think the most interesting one was a small bee frozen in amber. I spent the rest of my money on that. It almost mirrors our situation. The bee was wiped out just like we might be.

When the bells rang twice, I arrived at the poster. "What'd you buy?" Mira asked.

"Some books?" I lied. I wanted to keep this a secret from them. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"I checked in with them ten minutes ago. They were shopping for some practical stuff, you know, jars and other crap."

"What did you guys get?"

"We got tons of cute shirts," May said.

"I also bought a couple of gifts," Mira said. "For Mom and Dad and you."

"Can I see them?" I asked.

"Of course not," Mira said. "They're going to be a surprise."

"May," I said. "What did Mira buy?"

"I'm not telling you anything," she said. "But I think it's pretty obvious what the gift for you is."

"A book?" I guess.

"I'm neither going to confirm nor deny that," Mira said and waved in the distance. "What took you guys so long?"

Mom lifted her new pair of sunglasses. "We got caught up in some of the stalls. I trust that you spent your money well."

"Totally," I said.

"Good," she said. "We better get home before it gets dark."

Mira and May ran home to hide their gifts, so that Mom, Dad, and I won't be able to find them. I could've beaten them home, but I decided not to. Mira and May are getting along together, and I'm happy about that— even if that peace only lasts one day.