Jesse crooked an eyebrow. “Where can you even swim here in the city?”
“Lizzie’s family takes me with them to Bar Harbor in the summer,” she said.
“I wishwecould vacation somewhere,” Emma complained.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Oh, like you would want to spend a few weeks with me and Charlotte somewhere on the coast. You’d complain of boredom the whole trip!”
“I would not!”
“You would,” Charlotte said.
“Maybe you could come with us sometime,” Lizzie suggested.
Claire’s eyes widened. “Oh! Yes! You could certainly have my spot. I’m sure the Palmers wouldn’t want to spend money on the both of us. I could stay in Chicago and... visit Charlotte.”
Claire and Charlotte locked eyes, and Charlotte’s face reddened a bit.
Arthur hummed loudly, pursing his lips as though he was really having to think it over, though Jesse knew it was merely a ruse.
“I’ll consider it,” he said. Emma and Lizzie looked at each other, both of them letting out little excited shrieks, and then Arthur threw Charlotte a wink that was not the least bit subtle. “As long as Charlotte wouldn’t mind entertaining Miss Hawthorne for the length of her stay.”
Charlotte’s cheeks turned even rosier. “No, I wouldn’t mind that.”
“Alright, well, I’ll speak with Lizzie’s parents, then.”
Fondness swirled in Jesse’s chest. He loved the way that Arthur never stopped taking care of the people he loved, even when behaving with the practiced savoir faire of his upbringing.
“Let’s head over to the Midway,” Arthur said. “We wouldn’t want to run out of time before we have a chance to see the bulk of it. I promised Lizzie’s parents that she’d be home for dinner.”
Arthur led them toward the Midway Plaisance. Overall, Jesse liked the little he had seen of it during his past visits to the fair, especially the ice railway. Some exhibits, though, that they’d briefly passed by, had made him uneasy, mostly because their intent seemed to be to reinforce current societal hierarchies. He could imagine how othered some folks might feel when seeing them. Still, though, Jesse was excited to explore the Midway Plaisance some more, especially since there was so much that he hadn’t seen yet.
Only a few short moments later, they arrived. Stepping onto the Midway felt a little like being transported from Arthur’s stuffy neighborhood on Prairie Ave to Jesse’s home in Bridgeport, only the change was instantaneous. Curiosity and excitement bubbled in Jesse’s chest as they began to explore, the contrast between the pristine white buildings of the fair behind them, especially those in the Court of Honor, and the mismatched buildings and booths lining the Midway fascinating and exhilarating.
While walking past the imposing World’s Congress of Beauty—some sort of huge costume exhibit—Jesse’s eyes scanned the horizon and settled on the half-finished wheel in the distance. Even without being complete, it was enormous—the highest part of the steel cage rising high above every other part of the fair.
Slowly, Jesse began to wander toward it, letting the fantasy of braving the unknown take over his thoughts. After a while, Giuseppe came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder, pulling him back to the present.
“I’d sooner die than ride that thing,” Giuseppe said. “Thank the Lord it’s not finished. Anyway, Patrick and I want to see the Irish castle.”
Patrick’s voice cut in. “Excuse you. It’s Blarney Castle.”
“Yes, right,BlarneyCastle,” Giuseppe said, a teasing lilt in his voice. “So, we’ll find you and Arthur later?”
Jesse looked to his left, only then noticing the stone entrance to the Irish Village. He’d been too transfixed on the half-finished wheel to see it before. Still a little lost in thought, he nodded half-heartedly in response, and then Giuseppe clapped him on the back once more before rushing off with Patrick. Next to Jesse, Arthur chuckled. He must not have been trailing far behind.
“Are those two becoming friends?” he asked.
“Shockingly enough, I think they might be,” Jesse said, finally coming back to himself.
Arthur and Jesse exchanged tender smiles.
“Well, the ladies went to the costume building,” Arthur said, thumbing over his shoulder. “So, it seems like the two of us have the chance to spend some time together. Have you spotted anything that’s of interest to you?”
“Besides the wheel?”
“Oh, the wheel!” Arthur let out a big sigh. “Heavens, I wish it was finished.”
“I think I’m a little terrified to ride it, to be honest, but I still want to try.”
