Forging New Paths

Luca seemed reassured that he wouldnt be disturbing Anthony's sleep with his choices, and settled back into eating readily enough. After breakfast, Evelyn was only just starting to clean up and hadn't quite shooed Luca away to go clean up and change when Garrett spoke up, and paused to see Luca's reaction.

Curious, the younger man looked at Garrett's phone, even going so far as to reach out and carefully touch the screen to move the picture around a little. "They look . . . fun." He said after a moment, though he frowned a little after. 'Cute' hadn't seemed like the right word, or 'cool', but he wasn't sure if fun was right either. The pattern looked familiar, like he'd seen something like it before. On tv, maybe.

Evelyn smiled a little and gathered their plates, wandering off to rinse them at the sink. "Should we print them out to give to him?" Anthony seemed set on playing pretend as much as possible, so if the picture was good enough to print she thought he might get a kick out of it.
 
Garrett was relieved the colors didn't seem to be too much. Unless Evelyn had showed him, Luca hadn't seen the rest of the carnival yet, so hopefully it wouldn't be overwhelming. He smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you think so. There's a lot of this sort of color at the carnival. Do you mind if I ruffle your hair?" he asked.

Then his gaze traveled to Evelyn, and his eyes lit up with delight. "Say, there's a good idea! I bet Anthony would love that. He's going to be absolutely beside himself with delight all day already, I can tell you that right now." He planned to print the tickets off while Luca and Evelyn got ready; there were only so many bathrooms, so it was something to do while he waited his turn.
 
Luca tilted his head a little, trying to figure out in context what Garrett meant. "Ruffle?" He asked, but gave his head a little shake 'no' and stayed still to let Garrett do what he wanted. He assumed the older man just wanted to touch his hair, and he didn't mind. He hadn't combed it yet so Evelyn wouldn't be upset about it being messed up.

"He deserves a good day." Evelyn said, cleaning up as she responded. "You can use my bathroom, if you want to clean up. I just need to get my shoes and bag and I'll be ready. Send me the picture and I'll print out tickets."
 
"Like this," Garrett explained, and he gently ruffled Luca's hair with a smile. "It's a way some people show they're very good friends with someone, or that they care about them a lot. But not everybody likes their hair ruffled."

Then he stood up and nodded to Evelyn, sending the photo to her. "Marvelous. I could use some time to get ready, at that. Thank you. I appreciate it." And he wandered off to the bathroom to freshen up.

A few minutes later, Garrett was ready to go and had Watson in the carrier, listening to the cat purr loudly. He hoped the carnival would be fun for everyone involved.
 
Ah. So that was what it meant. Luca closed his eyes to avoid getting poked by his own hair when it got pushed around, and looked a little amused when he could open them to see Garrett again. A sign that someone liked him a lot. He liked thinking about it that way.

Evelyn shooed them both off to get ready, with little reminders for Luca to brush his teeth and comb his hair, to remember to wash his face. She let him pick out his own clothes as usual, knowing he was plenty smart enough to dress himself, and went to her printer to print the tickets off her phone. By the time everyone was ready, she had them printed and cut out, and handed them off to Garrett.

"Hang on to these while I find shoes." She said, smiling a little at Watson in his carrier before she turned to walk back to her bedroom. "Luca should be out in a minute, then we can get going."
 
Watson gave Evelyn a few soft winks in reply and purred, swishing his tail.

Garrett whistled and held the tickets up. "Well! Look at these. They look professionally printed, Evelyn. Thanks." He smiled at her and slipped the tickets carefully into a pocket. "I've been looking forward to this ever since Anthony brought it up. I haven't been to a carnival in so long."

He sat down on a bench in the hallway to patiently wait for Luca. "Are you sure you don't want to try the roller coaster?" he asked Evelyn, his eyes twinkling. "It's flat the whole way. I could even go first if you want me to. I mean, I'll probably go first anyway to show Luca how it works, but you get what I mean."
 
"Respectfully, I will pass," Evelyn called from her closet with a faint smile on her face, picking out a pair of simple tennis shoes to put on, and an appropriately matched parasol to bring along the car in case they ended up walking anywhere. "I'll just be the photographer." It had less to do with safety, really, and more to do with her own personal dislike of making a fool of herself. She didn't think anything of Garrett or Luca being silly if they wanted, but she wasn't generally the type to do so herself.

Luca was ready about the same time she was, emerging from his room dressed simply in jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie, and immediately wandered over to crouch down next to Watson's carrier. "He's excited to go." Watson always looked happy when he was locked up that way, but Luca assumed it was because he trusted he would be let out again soon. He was just glad Watson wasn't scared like lots of other animals were.
 
Garrett wasn't usually one to pressure people, so he smiled and shrugged. "Suit yourself. But you're more than welcome to change your mind later if you want to." He glanced over to watch Luca peering into the carrier, and his smile got even warmer than usually. "He is. And even better, Watson is almost harness trained. Pretty soon he won't even need a carrier; he'll just be able to walk on a leash. He'll have a lot more space to move that way. You want to carry his carrier today?" he added.

Watson loved car trips and the carrier; they always meant exciting things were happening. He purred at Luca and playfully batted a few times at the mesh door.

"I can't wait to see what Watson thinks of the carnival. Especially all the streamers and stuffed animals," Garrett added happily.
 
"Harness trained," Luca parroted thoughtfully, trying to picture what that looked like, then gave Garrett a surprised expression. "Cats can walk on leashes?" Outside? Was that a thing? He'd never seen a cat on a leash before, but he wanted to see Watson walking around freely outside.

Evelyn emerged from her bedroom finally as Luca was very carefully picking up Watson's carrier and gave them a little smile. "All right, the carnival awaits. Let's get going before Anthony explodes from anticipation." He was an excitable young thing, but she was glad for it because it hopefully meant he wasn't feeling completely crushed by betrayal. She could at least be nice and act impressed for the day if it meant helping with that.
 
"That's right," Garrett agreed. "Harness trained. Not all cats like it, but some tolerate it enough that they can go with their owners on walks. I'm hoping Watson's one of those types of cats. He certainly seems patient enough to learn."

Then he chuckled a bit at Evelyn's announcement. "All right, all right. Everybody into the car, huh?" he decided, holding the door open for the pair.

Garrett himself found it hard to sit through the car ride, despite the fact it was a short drive. He led the way straight up to the office and knocked on the door. "Oh! Almost forgot." He pulled the tickets out and gave one to Evelyn and one to Luca. "Here's our tickets!"

Anthony pulled the door open moments later. He was dressed in a clown outfit, with rainbow curly hair, a red nose, and suspenders. "Welcome to the carnival!" he announced, cheerfully but not too loud so he wouldn't scare Luca. "Are you all ready for a day of excitement and wonder?"
 
Evelyn glanced at Garrett every once in a while as they drove, amused by his excitement, but didn't make any jabs at him for it. She was glad everyone was happy, at least, and more focused on making sure Luca was all right with it all. He seemed content enough, just playing with Watson through the carrier as they drove. He was a little less okay once they reached the house.

Evelyn had, to her own surprise, spluttered a little laugh behind her hand at the sight of Anthony in a clown costume, though she didn't mean it unkindly. "Where did you get all of these things?" She asked when she could do it with a mostly straight face as they closed the door behind them. "Are you here to take our tickets?"

Luca, slightly behind her, was only frowning, brow furrowed as his eyes flicked over the different pieces and colors of Anthony's outfit. "Why . . ." He couldn't even form the question. Why was Anthony dressed like that? Evelyn had laughed, but he wasn't sure why it was supposed to be funny. Anthony just looked . . . strange. Was that what a carnival was like and he just didn't know?
 
Garrett barely stifled his laugh, both from Anthony's appearance and from Luca's understandably confused reaction.

"I'm a clown!" Anthony explained, grinning from ear to ear. "Clowns dress up at carnivals and make the guests feel welcome and happy! Did I hear something about tickets?" he added, glancing briefly at Evelyn before quickly breaking eye contact. "Why yes, I got them! They were online last I checked." He held the door open wider and ushered a hand. "Come on in, everyone!"

"Anthony. We have some paper copies. We printed them," Garrett explained with a snicker.

Anthony's eyes glittered. "Oh! In that case, here. I can take them," he said, gently holding a hand out. Garrett set his ticket in Anthony's hand and strolled into the office. "Come on in, Luca and Evelyn. Time for some fun!"
 
"A clown. . ." Luca repeated, frowning still and not looking as if it didn't fully explain, but after watching the others hand off their tickets he had the presence of mind to hand over his own. Anthony looked happy, at least, though Luca didn't like how the rest of him looked.

Evelyn may or may not have been quick enough to snap a picture of Luca's ticket exchange with such a confused look on his face without either of them knowing, and only gave Garrett a little smirk when he was at the correct angle to catch her at it. She would share later.

"Come on, Luca," she urged, keeping her phone in hand for now. "Let Watson out and we'll explore."

He twitched like he'd been too distracted by the clown outfit to remember, and set Watson's carrier gently down to release him. "Sorry, Watson. . ."
 
But even after the explanation, Luca still didn't look very happy. Anthony cleared his throat. "Uh, one second. You all make yourselves at home." He took a few steps back, and then turned and went into the back room to change. Then he came back out in his usual hoodie and jeans, with all the clown outfit gone. "Better?" he asked Luca with a smile.

Garret smiled and nodded to himself. Anthony picked up on Luca's subtle expression changes even faster than he did.

Watson meowed and casually strolled out into the room, tail held high as he set about exploring and sniffing everything. He especially liked the sounds of the carnival on the tv and went over to listen to it for a bit.

"So, Anthony! What order should we experience the carnival in?" Garrett asked with a smile.

"You all get to pick! Just tell me what attraction you want to go to, and I can tell you all about it and how it works!" Anthony explained.
 
Evelyn watched Anthony wander off, watching Luca as he looked after Watson and glancing over when Anthony came back. She was sorry he'd stopped his fun rather than wait and see if Luca adjusted, but grateful to him for being so willing to inconvenience himself for the other boy.

Luca was only just getting to his feet as Anthony came back, and though he didn't smile he did give a shy little nod. He liked when Anthony looked like Anthony, not like whatever funny, colorful thing he'd been dressed up as. "Better. . ."

Evelyn took his hand to give it a little squeeze, and just tugged him further inside. "We had breakfast not long ago, so let's save concessions for later. Let's look around. Do you want to see the silly mirrors?"

Luca didn't really know what she meant by silly mirrors, but did at least nod and let her pull him along.
 
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"Oh! The silly mirrors. Perfect choice," Anthony said, following along after the pair. "They're sometimes called funhouse mirrors. They work by refracting light over various different surfaces, and they make out reflections look different! My favorite is this one. It makes my head look big," he added, showing the pair - well, mostly Luca - how the mirrors worked. He moved up and down to make his face change. Then he stepped back and grinned. "You try!"

Garrett ambled over as well, chuckling at the different reflections staring back at him. Then he had an idea. "Oh! Watson, come here," he called.

The cat ambled over. Garrett gently scooped him up and held him in front the mirrors, and the cat's eyes grew ginormous. Watson meowed in delight. And Garrett and Anthony laughed so hard they nearly fell over.

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Evelyn pulled Luca gently closer when they reached the mirrors, moving him ahead of her and letting go to just keep a hand on his arm to let him know she was still there. He watched Anthony and the reflections with interest, clearly enthralled with it as he tried to figure out how it worked. He moved in front of one when urged, and looked on in amusement as he stepped from one to the next to see how they distorted how he looked.

When Garrett held Watson up Luca smiled a little, and when the two young men dissolved into fits of laughter, the smile widened into something more like an actual grin as he watched them. Evelyn was glad, in that moment, that she had stepped back a little to give him room. It gave her time, despite laughing a little herself, to very quietly take a few pictures of the three of them, a candid shot in the middle of their joy. Since they'd met, she thought maybe she had seen Luca smile like that only once. She wondered, one day, if they could even get him to laugh.

"I think Watson likes it," she said with a little smile, doing her best to hide the way her heart swelled in her chest at the sight. "What a smart little kitty."
 
Garrett set Watson down so he wouldn't drop him, and then he sat on the floor so he himself wouldn't fall over, still laughing.

Watson loved the mirrors. He strolled up and set his paw on one, meowing as though trying to greet another cat. He went from one mirror to the next, looking at all the strange creatures and sometimes trying to play with them.

Anthony sighed deeply and wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm so glad you guys brought Watson. Holy crap that was funny." He smiled and straightened up again. "You good, Garrett?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," Garrett replied, panting as he stood up. "Dang. That's pretty funny." He glanced at Luca and grinned. "What do you think of the mirrors, Luca?"
 
Luca crouched down to be closer to where the others had collapsed, arms resting loosely over his knees and a pleased sort of smile on his face still. It lasted longer than Evelyn had ever seen it, as he watched Garret and Anthony laugh and Watson try to meow at the cats in the mirror.

"They make people silly," Luca answered, smiling a bit even still as he looked at the image of himself he could still see in it, and Watson's little face. The images were funny, but what was better was how it had made them laugh. He liked to see them happy.
 
Garrett sighed happily and nodded, ruffling Anthony's hair as the boy was the only one in reach. Then he grinned up at Luca and nodded. "They sure do, huh?"

Anthony smiled. Then he tossed his head. "Would you all like to try a game at the duck pond next, or see the animals in the tent?" he asked. He spoke to the group, but mainly listened for Luca's response, since he wanted to keep the carnival paced to his liking. So far Luca seemed happy and comfortable.
 
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