Just Think: All The Cotton Candy And Tilt-A-Whirl Rides You Can Stomach!
I worked the night shift at a motel for a few months in college. The state fair came to town, and a couple of the guests would stop by in the evenings to chat with me. They told me they were carnies and were with the company doing the midway rides. They would use the washer/dryer and ask for mail. One of the guys was waiting for a prescription to come in the mail for a terminal illness. After seeing them six nights a week for better than two weeks, we got to be on pretty good terms.
The man who needed his prescription noticed that I wore a ring on my left ring finger and asked me if I was married. I told him no, but that it was a promise ring from my boyfriend. He would chat, make friendly conversation, and pay me an occasional compliment — but he was always respectful. He told me that if I made it to the fair to make sure I stopped to say hello and that he’d like to meet my boyfriend, too.
When we finally got our chance to go, we did just that. It was next to the last night of the fair, we had some passes from my boyfriend’s work, and the friends I’d made at the motel made sure we didn’t have to pay for any of the rides that night.
The next night, my carnie friends let me know that they’d be checking out in the morning. The guy who had asked about my ring hung back for a moment.
Carnie: “So that was your boyfriend, huh?”
To my complete surprise, after I had confirmed, he said:
Carnie: “I think you could do better… like right here! I’ll marry you and let you run away with me!”
Me: *Politely* “Um… Thank you, but no.”
Carnie: “I had to try!”
Then, he thanked me for being kind to him during his stay, and he left.