“If you work up your grades this year, you'll have a trip to the fair.”
Those were the words that kept him awake every night, practicing math problems. He even walked up to Rhina, the smartest girl in his grade to give him a brief science lesson. There was no way he was going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Source
Willie had never been anywhere with his dad.
“He used to take you to the radio when you were a baby. Now, he seems to have forgotten he birthed kids” Willie didn't understand what that meant. How could his father not take cognizance of the fact that he had a brown-haired 9-year-old and a curly, blonde-haired 4-year-old living in the same house with him?
“Your father is a busy man” his mother always replied when Willie asked why he never played or spoke with them. The day he turned 7, his father promised him a birthday cake but didn't return home that day.
It was at the end of the last year when he came home with his grade sheet that his father had spoken to him for the first time in almost a year.
“Your grades are bad.” he tapped the sheet and looked up at his wife. “Really Ash? Your kids don't even do well in school.” Willie had never heard his mom talk back. She would only bow her head like she did that day, wiping tears off her face. It was then his father turned back to him and made that promise.
He wouldn't have taken it seriously if his mother hadn't walked into the room, he shared with his sister that night to tuck him in. He was too big for that, but he loved it and secretly wished she did it every night.
“Hey, you can do better at school. Right?”
“I'll try” he looked into her puffy eyes then traced his eyes down her pale face. His uncle Joe had once said that his mother was a baby who had two babies on her hands. She was just sixteen when she had him.
“I used to be the second best in fifth grade. No matter how hard I tried, I ended up as second best so I know how you feel and how hard it can be to try being better. But if you put your whole heart to it, you'll get it done.”
“I want to be better, Mom. But how do I know dad’s gonna take me?”
“Even if he doesn't, I will”. She didn't need to say another word.
Now as he ran home with his grade sheet in his hands and tears streaming down his face, he had come out with 4 As, math inclusive, two Cs, and a D in science. It was way better than the F he was used to getting.
“Mom! Mom! I did it!” Ashley scooped him up in her hands, twirled him around, and covered his face in kisses.
“I'm so proud of you, my Chocolate. Wait till your father sees this”.
His father only picked his teeth uninterestedly.
“If you do better in science next year…”
“Stop!” it was the first time his mother raised her voice at his dad. She turned to him, “The fair is in two days and we're going. You can stay at home if you won't come with us.”
Willie brushed his brown hair back and straightened his checked shirt.
“You're going to have the fun of your life” his mother had said the night before, and he believed her.
Their father had let them take the car grudgingly but that did not move his mother one bit. The minute he held out the keys, she grabbed them and led the kids to the car. She seemed to be very excited herself like the adventure was for her, and not the kids.
“The last time I was at the fair, I was 12,” she told Willie as she drove. “Then, I got five deep-fried candy bars and got constipated when I returned home.”
The fair was everything he had imagined.
There were carnival rides, food vendors selling everything from corn dogs to funnel cakes, games, livestock shows, arts and crafts displays, and live music.
The smell of fried food caused his stomach to rumble, his mother had promised to let him try whatever he wanted so he began with that.
“Fried Macaroni and cheese please,” he said to the concessionaire who had a huge smile for himself and his sister.
When he had eaten to his heart's content, he insisted on being on the Ferris wheel.
“I want some fried candle bars!” his sister cried when they passed another food booth.
And Ashley indulged them, letting them have the fun of their lives, just as she had promised.