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Outside the tent, we stopped at a stand selling hot apple cider and fresh donuts rolled in cinnamon sugar. Duncan bought three donuts and cider for himself and me, while Sienna opted for hot chocolate piled with enough whipped cream to make the lid almost unnecessary.

We found an empty bench near a display of decorated hay bales.

The first bite of my donut was warm, tender, and covered in so much cinnamon sugar that I had to lean forward to keep it off my sweater.

“Oh, that’s good.”

Duncan looked at me over his cup. “You sound surprised.”

“I’ve been smelling these since Thursday and haven’t had time to try one. My expectations were getting unreasonable.”

“And?”

“Exceeded.”

Sienna held out her napkin to show us the impressive amount of whipped cream she’d managed to get onto it while drinking.

“I think they put too much on.”

Duncan glanced at her upper lip, where a white streak remained. “I think you missed some.”

She wiped her mouth, inspected the napkin, and laughed.

We stayed there while she finished her chocolate and told me about the costume-tent activities she’d enjoyed yesterday. She still liked her purple hair clip, although apparently Annabelle had suggested she try blue next time. She’d also seen someone demonstrate how makeup could make a person’s face look older.

“Not just wrinkles,” she explained. “They made shadows here and here, so the person’s cheeks looked different.”

She touched her own cheeks to demonstrate.

“That’s clever,” I said. “Good makeup artists know how to change what the light shows.”

“Dad knows about that too. He showed me how the head at the Factory turns into the light.”

Duncan lowered his cider. “The lighting was Goldie’s idea. I just made the head do what she wanted.”

“You made considerably more than that,” I reminded him.

He gave me a look that suggested we could debate the allocation of professional credit later.

Sienna seemed pleased with both of us.

After our snack, we wandered through the artisan booths. She admired hand-painted wooden ornaments, examined a collection of tiny felt animals, and spent several minutes watching a woman demonstrate how to make miniature flowers from strips of colored paper.

The woman offered her a piece of practice paper, and Sienna returned a few minutes later with a slightly crooked orange flower that she presented to Duncan.

“For your workshop. It needs something pretty.”

He accepted it with extraordinary seriousness.

“I’ll find a place for it.”

“You have to put it somewhere the paint won’t get on it.”

“Then I’ll keep it away from the finishing bench.”

She seemed satisfied.

A little farther along, we passed the enormous FALL IN LOVE sign arranged beside a photography area. People were taking turns posing beneath the illuminated letters, including a young couple wearing matching flannel shirts and an elderly pair who insisted on holding up their cider cups for the picture.