Gemma's POV

THE DAY of the fair is the one day that I don't want to get out of bed, even if Jennifer Larner is standing naked by the door.

I'm cutting it close by finally getting out of bed at 7:48 am. I have to rush if I want to make it for an on-time tardy of 8:30.

It's not like I'm needed at the exact time. They're probably still setting up the booths.

I get in the shower, dress and make myself presentable enough to interact with god knows how many people today. When I finally make it to the park, the first thing I remember is my conversation with Jack a few days ago.

I shake the thought, and try to be as present in the moment as I can be. It's gonna be a long fucking day.

"Gemma, I thought you ditched!" Veronica leads me to the booth, and shows me all of the supplies that I will use. Thankfully, I do some of my best work when I'm depressed, so this might be a piece of cake.

"Sorry. Forgot to set an alarm," she doesn't seem to buy it, but brushes it off.

"That's fine. These things really start up hours after opening. You need coffee?" She asks.

I nod, "yes, please."

She smiles and jogs over to the booth next door. It seems to be the timeless ring toss game.

Looking around, most of the booths are still setting up. Typical. I place the back of my palm against my mouth and yawn. I could've used another hour or two in bed.

"Here," Veronica hands me a cup of coffee, and pats me on my shoulder, "you good?"

"Yeah. I'll be great by cup number three."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be right over here!" She walks back over to the other booth, and waves at me. I wave back, and we both smile.

With my coffee in one hand, I look through all the supplies, and notice that I have a limited range of colors to work with. It's a good thing that I learnt color mixing in preschool. And in middle school, high school and every youtube video I've ever watched...

"Hi!" A girl walks over, and looks around the small, cramped booth, "you're open, right?"

"Yes. What would you like? I can paint almost anything."

"Hm," she contemplates and takes a seat on the chair. I put down my coffee, and grab some brushes from the tray on the table.

"Do you like butterflies, skeletons, flowers—"

"Do you have a picture book for me to look at?" I sigh.

"Sorry, I don't. The best thing about my booth is that it'll be a surprise," I don't have a portfolio of face painting pictures for one simple reason—I don't do ordinary painting. I'm a special effects artist, for god's sake. I guess I could've printed some designs and compiled them. Darn it.

"Okay. How many tickets is it going to be?" My brows furrow. Fuck.

"Five tickets, Gemma!" Veronica yells from her booth. So, she's eavesdropping.

"Great. By the way, do you do henna?"

"I only do what the sign says—face painting," I look at the sign. It also has the price right there, and my dumbass only just noticed it.

"Cool. I'm thinking about a butterfly. One wing on each eye and pink flowers on my forehead."

"Okay, what would you like the butterfy's colors to be?"

"A rainbow," that's not a color. But fine.

"Sure thing."

I GET fifteen more customers after her, before I finally get a much needed break. Veronica's booth hasn't gotten much attention yet. It'll probably pick up later in the afternoon.

"Can you do me next?" I lift my head to see Penny walking towards me. I force a smile and nod. When she sits, my eyes move over to Veronica's booth, and I notice that she's looking at us.

"What do you have in mind?"

Penny waves at Veronica, and she walks over to us, "I'm thinking of a unicorn."

"Okay, close your eyes," I wonder what kind of unicorn she's really referring to.

As I begin to outline the shape on her face, her and Veronica begin a conversation, making it harder to paint on her.

"How did you get Gemma to do this? I didn't know the two of you are close," Penny says.

"We're not. But we're becoming friends, aren't we, Gem?"

Sure, leave out the fact that I lost a bet to you, that's why I'm doing this. I guess I would have done it anyway if she'd just asked.

"Yup. I am the best face painter in a hundred and fifty-mile radius of here."

"You're so full of yourself. You're free, that's why I hired you," Veronica teases.

"Free? This is my contribution to charity for the year. I could have been saving dolphins."

Penny then speaks, "well, you're contributing to seniors losing their virginity."

I laugh, "that's not what prom's all about. It's about getting shitfaced from all that spiked punch."

Veronica laughs too, "what prom did you have, Gemma?"

"Can't remember. I got shitfaced."

"Well, that still usually includes getting laid after," Penny laughs.

"Oh, I've got a customer. I'll see you two later," Veronica walks away in a rush, and I finish up on Penny's unicorn.

"All done," I hand her the mirror for her to see my creation, "what do you think?" I ask.

"Love it. But you'd be a better one," she winks and hands me the tickets, "nice seeing you, Gemma. Give me a call if you change your mind."

She walks away. I don't have your number, Penny. And I'm happy that I don't. What's wrong with that woman?

I sit down and wait for another customer. Checking my phone, I have a bunch of work emails that I need to respond to. But I'll do that tomorrow when I'm free.

The park's becoming more packed by the hour, as expected. I want to try the ring toss, just to win one of those damn pandas. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to it.

"Audrey!" I notice her standing in front of the booth with her two kids, "what would you like, missy?" Daphne sits in the chair and grins.

"A crown, please!"

"Anything for milady."

Claire stares at her phone, before showing me the screen, "can you do that for me?"

I scratch my jaw. It's a picture of very detailed 3D flowers running down a woman's cheek, and onto the side of her neck.

"Uh, I can, but—"

"Please. It'll be so awesome!" She squeals. Her mom grabs the phone from her.

I say, "Claire, that will take hours. I will do it for you, but I can't right now. I'm sorry."

Daphne's arms are crossed over her chest, waiting for me. And there's a line of people waiting as well. When did it get so busy?

"Okay. I'm free anytime you're ready," Claire says.

"You know that your dad doesn't want you wearing makeup yet," Audrey scolds her. I begin working on Daphne's face, as Claire and Audrey have an argument beside me.

Hopefully, they'll scare off some of my customers. I'm not being serious...

"I'm going to be the princess of the fair," Daphne grins and stretches out her arms. I'm not sure what everyone expects me to do in five minutes. But it definitely won't be magical.

It's a good thing that I've been in this business for so long. Those celebrities like to rush me too, and the producers seem to think that I'm a witch with a wand. Abracadabra!

"All done," I forgot her name for a second... uh, "Daphne.  You like it?" I hand her the mirror.

"Wow, I'm a princess!" She giggles excitedly, "mommy! Look!"

Audrey seems frustrated when she turns to look at Daphne, "it's great. Thanks, Gemma," she hands me the five tickets.

A teenage boy sits down on the chair, making Claire yell at him, "it's my turn, doofus."

"Sucks to be you then. I'm already here," he sticks his tongue out at her. Teenagers, "I want a spider web on my neck."

I sigh, "it's face painting, kid."

"Oh, come on. It's no big deal," it's been a long day, and it's not even the afternoon yet. When am I going to get a break?

"Fine. But don't bring your friends here to do the same, got it?" He nods and I place my hand on his forehead to lean his head backwards, allowing me access to his neck.

"Mom, Daphne and I are going on the ferris wheel. We'll meet you back here?"

"Yeah. Go," Audrey rubs her temples, "bring me back a corndog."

"Sure."

"Bye, mommy!"

The two girls head off, and Audrey stands under my tent, away from the sun.

"You okay?" I ask her.

The boy talks, "I'm fine. I might have eaten too much cotton candy, but—" I narrow my eyes at him, "oh, you were," he looks at Audrey, "right, sorry."

I soak my brush in some alcohol, and wipe off the paint. The most dreadful thing today is having to clean the brushes between customers, "Audrey?"

"I'm fine. How have you been?"

"I've lost count of how many butterflies I've painted, so that's self explanatory."

"Right. It's nice of you to help out," I look up, noticing that Veronica is walking over to us. They probably know each other.

"Auds, it's nice to see you. Where's the kids?"

"On the ferris wheel. Probably still in line though," they begin to chat beside me. As much as I like them both, it's hard to concentrate, and get this done with them distracting me.

"You're probably wondering how I got Gemma to do this," Veronica lets out a laugh, "you'll never guess how."

"I might know," I look at them and Audrey winks at me, "I've got a few ideas actually."

"Really?" I glare at her, before concentrating on the boy, "all done. Here."

I hand him the mirror to look at his neck, "thanks," he shoves the tickets in my hand and runs off. I drop them into the box beside me and yawn.

Before I can take another breath. Another kid's in the chair with his mom standing next to him, "the fwash, pwease!"

"On his forehead would be fine. As long as it has the lightning, he'll love it," the mom tells me.

"No problem. He's so adorable."

"Thank you. Yeah, he's a sweetheart. We recently moved to town actually, so he's adjusting."

As I paint his face, I can feel eyes on me. I take a glance at Audrey and Veronica and notice that it's their eyes.

"Shouldn't you be at your booth, Veronica?" I look back at the boy. He's fidgeting, but that's normal for kids his age, not that I appreciate it when I'm trying to not mess up the lightning on his forehead.

"I'm on break. Maggie finally came to help," I'm jealous. No one's here to fill in for me so that I can get popcorn, and fall asleep in my car for a few minutes, "hi, I'm Veronica. What's his name?" Veronica steps forward, and talks to the mom.

"Carter. He's four. I think I've seen you around the grocery store a few times."

"Oh, really. Well, I'm always in there. Sorry, what's your name?"

"Zoey. And what's your friend's name?" I'm not sure if she's referring to me or Audrey.

Veronica probably isn't sure either, "that's Audrey and this is Gemma."

"Gemma... I love that name," Zoey says. I finish up on Carter's face, and am relieved to stand straight again. All this bending is killing me. And sitting and leaning forward instead is even worse for my back.

I stretch my back backwards and sigh, "here, kid," I hand him the mirror.

"Wow!" He gleams at the mirror.

"Thanks, Gemma. You're really talented," psh, please. You should see what I can really do with a paintbrush.

"No problem. That'll be five tickets," she tears them off from the reel, and hands them to me.

"I'll see you around then."

She walks away with the little boy beside her, "I need a break," I groan. There's still a few people left in line.

You'd think I would be better at working from one client to the next. But I usually work in different conditions, which include being indoors and surrounded by AC vents.

Maybe my irritations are based on something else, who knows. I usually love doing stuff like this. But I'm also getting older everyday.

Veronica picks up something from under the table, and props it up behind the last customer, "you can take a break after these two," I realize that it's a floor sign. Written across it is out to lunch.

"Thanks," I wipe my forehead with the back of my palm, "I think getting something to eat will help me feel less blah."

"Are you okay?" She asks and I nod. Audrey is looking at us with a grin on her face.

The woman in the chair wants a sunflower on her left eye. It's quite simple.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's been a long week," I say.

"Lots of sleepless nights?" Audrey giggles. I don't even acknowledge her comment.

"I've been stressed. I think I miss home."

"Aw, come on. You've had women going crazy for you here. Don't go back yet," Audrey says.

I look up at her, "what are you talking about?" She gestures her eyes towards Veronica. I don't think she realizes that Veronica isn't interested in me.

"Come on. There has to be someone who's tried to ask you out."

I look at Veronica and sigh, "just drop it, Audrey. I'm just trying to get through the day."

"Fine. I'll shut up."

"How do you two know each other anyway?" I decide to ask. It seems as though everyone in my life is connected somehow. How convenient.

Audrey answers, "Veronica does a lot of stuff for the school. I think she's helped organize almost every event for the past five years."

"Yup. That's me," Veronica laughs, "I help as much as I can."

"Yeah. I've been on the volunteer committee with her for a while now. So that's how we got to know each other, Gemma," Audrey smirks at me.

"Cool. How come you're not helping with the fair then, Audrey?" I hand the woman the mirror, and she nods in approval, before handing me the tickets.

"My kid's only a Sophomore. And I donated instead. I don't volunteer for everything like Veronica here," Audrey nudges Veronica playfully.

"Right," I say, as another customer sits.

I'M FINALLY finished with the rest of the customers, and Veronica and I take a walk through the fair. Audrey went off with the kids somewhere, and I'm glad she's gone. She's really been irritating today.

"Are you feeling better?" She asks. I nod and bite into my candied apple.

"Yes, I'm sorry that I'm not in the best mood. It's been a rough—"

"I understand. And I'm sorry that I forced you to do this. It's a big ask."

"I want to do it. I don't understand why I have little to no energy. Do you, by chance, have a 4-hour energy drink?"

She laughs, "I do, actually. In my purse. I'll give it to you when we get back."

"Thanks. It'll help plenty," I'm starting to feel better. I better, since I'm on my sixth cup of coffee, and I'll have a seventh soon.

The fair is pretty jam packed. I look at the booths, and wish that I could be exploring like everyone else. But I have to get back to work.

I notice a familiar face in the distance. Either my eyes are deceiving me or it's who I think it is. Wow. What has it been? Ten, twelve, fourteen, nineteen years? Probably more.

It is her. That full head of red curls hasn't changed in all this time. Of course, she looks older. But still the same somehow...

I look away, and try to disappear into the crowd, "Gemma," Veronica follows me, "why are you walking so fast?" She chuckles as she tries to keep up with me.

We make it back to the booth and I sigh, "sorry, I saw someone I don't want to talk to."

"Okay. Must be some dick. I could barely keep up with you," she pants, "more coffee?" I nod and she smiles.

"I guess I'll get back to work," I remove the floor sign, and tuck it under the table, "do you have a mask or something that I can cover my face with?" She narrows her eyes at me.

"I, um, have a hat."

"It's fine. Thanks though," I'm a grown woman. I shouldn't be nervous. She probably won't even come around here. She won't see me.

"Okay. Is it someone I should call security for?" Veronica asks. She seems concerned.

"No, no, it's just an old friend," I bite down on my bottom lip, "it's okay, don't worry."

"Okay, if you need help. I'll throw you a life raft, okay?"

"Sure, thanks."

Veronica hands me another cup of coffee, and the 4-hour energy. She's a life saver.

An older woman comes to the booth and sits down, "I hope my wrinkles don't give you trouble," she chuckles, "how are you today?"

"I'm fine, thanks. It's a bit hot. So if you hear me panting, it's because of that," I joke.

She pulls off her glasses, "no worries, dear. I'm in the mood for a hibiscus flower. Right on my forehead."

"Great. Just give me a few minutes," I concentrate on painting, losing thought of my surroundings for a moment, "all done," I hand her the mirror, and she checks herself out.

"Very nice. Thank you, dear."

She hands me the tickets, and heads on her way. I look over at Veronica's booth, and watch Maggie hand a panda to a teenage boy. Lucky bastard.

"Gemma?" The voice sounds familiar, almost like someone I... Looking at her, she smiles at me, "it is you."

She walks over, and pulls me in for a hug. I catch the scent of her floral perfume. And I'm almost taken back to when I was eighteen years old.

"Hey. It's been a while," she takes a look at me from head to toe.

"You've gotten old. Never thought I'd see you in a modest shirt and jeans."

"Yeah," I rub the back of my neck with the palm of my hand. It's like she's staring into my soul, causing chills to run up my spine.

"So you're doing face painting?" She looks around the booth, "you've got paint all over your jeans," she chuckles, looking back at me.

"Yeah," I look down at my clothes and sigh, "cons of the job."

"Gosh, it's been so long. I've sent you a few messages over the years, you never responded."

"Yeah. I've been busy. And you know—"

"I understand, Gemma. It's fine," she shrugs. It doesn't seem fine.

"I've got to get back to work, but it was nice seeing you—"

"I'm a customer too," she sits on the chair, "what do you think I should get?"

"I don't know. You like butterflies?" I swallow as I think about moments with her—things that make me feel embarrassed.

"Just let your imagination run wild," she says.

"Okay, sure," I look over at the booth next door, and notice Veronica looking at us. This makes me even more uncomfortable.

I try to focus on painting her face, but she seems to want to talk, "I went to Vegas last year. Wanted to call you. But I didn't know if you'd want to meet up, since, you know."

"You could've called. My phone number is on all my social media accounts."

"Yeah. But I didn't know if you wanted to see me," I wouldn't have. And I still don't.

"I'm sure I would've made time," lies. I've tried to avoid her at all costs over the years. It's what helped me to move on. Yet, the hurt I feel makes it seem like it was yesterday. Fucking feelings.

"Right. I heard about your grandfather. I would have come to the funeral, but I only found out the day after it."

"Thanks. I bumped into your son. He's—"

"Gotten so big, right?" Pressing my palm against her cheek, as my brush moves against it, I'm taken aback—far back, to when I wanted her so badly. Now, I don't know what I want, or what I'm feeling. But it can't be love, right? I hope it isn't. Cause if I still have feelings for this woman, after all that she put me through, I'm definitely crazy.

"Yeah. I'm guessing he told you," I say.

"Told me what?"

"That we met at Audrey's," I look at her lips. They're just as perfect as they were when we first met...

Okay, I need to wrap this up. Snap out of it, Gemma!

"Oh, yeah. He did," did he also tell you about our conversation in the park? "He's out of town right now. Some business deal in Texas."

"Okay. I'm done," I hand her the mirror and turn away. My weariness is finally gone, but my anxiety is beginning to skyrocket.

"Wow. Thanks. I would've liked green instead of blue here. But it's fine," I want to roll my eyes. Don't tell me to do whatever I want, then critique it.

"I've got a few people in line," she gets up and walks beside me, "it's been nice seeing you, Sabrina."

"We should catch up. Do you still have my number? I haven't changed it."

"Yeah."

"Great. Give me a call later," she places her hand on my shoulder, and squeezes, before walking away.

I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. I just need to get through the next few hours, and then I can grab some tequila from the liquor store, watch some tv and pass out.

"HOW ARE you holding up?" Veronica asks. It's almost nine at night. The sky's lit up by the infinite stars, while the crowd down below gradually lessens. It's mostly the rebellious teenagers left now.

"Tired," I yawn against the back of my hand, and stretch my muscles, "I'm thinking of a burger for dinner."

"Okay. I'm going to take a shower and fall into bed. I don't think I have the energy to eat anything."

"Really?" I look at her, "it takes more energy to shower than to eat."

"I know," she laughs, "thanks for everything today. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"To show my appreciation—we can have that friendly dinner that you wanted."

"I guess I didn't lose the bet after all," I say.

She smiles at me, "no, you lost. I'm the spice queen of Connecticut."

I laugh, "that you are."

She walks over to her booth, and grabs something, before walking back over, "here," she hands me a panda, "I think you deserve this little guy."

"Oh, thanks," I hold the stuffed animal against my chest and sigh. Can she read my mind? How does she know I've been pining over one all day?

"I really appreciate all the help, Gemma. You're a good friend," she gives me the biggest smile that I've ever seen.

"No. I'm just good at sticking to promises. And thank you for the panda. I really wanted one."

"I kept it just for you," she smiles at me, "I'm gonna start cleaning up. You can leave when you're ready."

I nod, "thanks. I'm exhausted."

As stressful as the day has been, looking at this panda, I know it was all worth it—just to see that smile on Veronica's face.