I'm Coming! I'm Coming!

Quinn shook her head at me and flitted off to another store. I felt my thigh vibrate and grabbed my phone. Jacob had finally texted me back.

"Some dumb cat acrobat thing. Over now. Meet by the food in five?"

I sent him a thumb's up, then grabbed Quinn. We'd been handed a map when we came in, and I saw that there was a medieval-style food court a short walk from where we were. For some reason, my sister grabbed my hand again, and we made our way down the dirt paths.

We went around a corner and walked into a large, open area, mostly ground down to dirt by the many feet that pounded across it. Tufts of grass stuck out, defiantly, here and there, like tiny green traps. On one side, picnic tables were lined up like they were readying for a charge. On the other, no less anxious for battle, was a long row of stalls offering all kinds of Faire food.

The place was busy, filled with revelers, and I thought we'd have a tough time finding our friends. But I noticed her immediately.

Julia looked as beautiful as I remembered with full lips, a heart shaped face, and striking blue eyes. Her blonde hair had gotten longer since I'd seen her, and she'd done it up with two floral pigtails. She had on a simple, peasant dress with an off-white chemise and covered with an overdress of baby blue. Her massive chest looked particularly impressive in the outfit.

As soon as I saw Julia, sitting with the other guys at one of the picnic tables, I dropped Quinn's hand and rushed over.

"There he is!" Wes crowed as he saw me come over. As a Black man, Wes particularly stood out from the homogenous flock at the Ren Faire. He was dressed as a knight, his ample belly extending his leather armor out in a way that looked painful both for it and the man who was wearing it.

"Took you long enough," Jacob said, grumbling. The thin, pale boy looked no different than if we were back in high school, clad all in black with eyes set permanently sullen. I could tell he was about to launch into an epic monologue about how we'd betrayed the group by being late, when he saw my sister and froze.

Both Jacob and Wes knew Quinn. We'd all played D&D together back when she was a sophomore in high school. Both of them now stared at her as though they'd never seen her before. Like she was a vision of beauty from some strange, mystical beyond. Hell, even Julia seemed transfixed.

"Whoa," Jacob said.

"Quinn?" Wes said.

"Nice outfit, girl!" Julia said.

Quinn, suddenly shy, gave a slight wave and sat down at the table, resting her staff against the bench. "Hey guys," she said.

"Where's Cody?" I asked, trying to take some of the pressure off my sister.

"Huh?" Jacob startled like I'd woken him up from a dream. "Oh, he went to get us all beers."

As if we'd summoned him, my tall friend appeared, holding a tray of plastic cups filled with foaming, golden liquid. Cody, always a bit of a beanstalk, had turned into an oak tree since I'd last seen him. His shock of brown, curly hair only added to his height. He was easily 6'5", maybe more. But he wasn't just tall anymore. His body had filled out, making him truly imposing. He gave all of us his usual, goofy smile as he put the beers down on the table. Like our gawky friend was still hiding in there somewhere.

"I got one for Quinn," Cody said, "I hope that's OK."

Before I could respond, he handed my little sister one of the cups. I didn't think my 18-year-old sister should be drinking, but I didn't stop Cody. After feeling so left out by my friends so far, my pleasure at being included in the beer run overrode any other concerns I might have.

When everyone had their drink, Wes raised his glass to the center of the table.

"To the Guild of Heroes!" he said. We all touched our plastic cups. "May we always fight on together."

"Here, here," we said, and drank. The beer was cold, quite a luxury in this increasingly sultry day.

I glanced around the table. To my dismay, I saw that Cody had taken a seat concerningly close to Julia on the other side of the table. I chastised myself -- why hadn't I grabbed that spot myself? Instead, I was squished between Wes and my kid sister. Dammit.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"You're looking at it," Jacob said. He finished his beer with a flourish. "Next round is on Prince Prompt."

I shook my head. All the usual warm emotions of hanging out with my friends were there, but so were the familiar frustrations, too. Jacob's constant Eeyore act. Wes' exaggerated cheer. Cody being all Cody-ish next to Julia. Instead of enjoying everyone's company now that we were finally together, I found myself feeling annoyed.

I stood up to get more beers. "Anyone want to keep me company?" I asked, looking right at Julia's bright blue eyes and hoping she'd get the hint. But no one, not even my sister, offered to go. I sighed and set off.

When I got back, after braving the extremely long line, I found that not much had changed. But the little differences were greatly disturbing. Julia and Cody were so locked in conversation, they barely noticed me come back. The two of them were sitting even closer than before, with Julia practically on his lap. Her arm rested next to his.

At the same time, Jacob and Quinn were sitting almost as closely, equally caught up in conversation. Jacob clearly only had eyes for my sister's tits and was patiently explaining to them about how 'nobody gets my poetry because it's, like, too deep.' To which my sister, who should have known better, nodded along like Jacob was telling her the secrets of life.

Only Wes greeted me when I sat down, giving me a hearty pat on the back. I drowned my miseries in my beer. If only we'd gotten out on time, I told myself, none of this would have happened.

We stayed at that table for a while, taking turns being sent off to get alcohol and food. Finally, I'd had enough, and stood. My knees were surprisingly wobbly under me.

"Come on, we can sit and drink anywhere," I said, "Let's go enjoy the Faire."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jacob said, "Let's go, Rhymin' Simon."

We got up, all of us a bit stumbly, and started to wander around. We ended up pawing through the same stores that Quinn had dragged me through before. Finally, with everyone browsing, I was able to get Julia by herself as she sifted through a stack of leather purses.

"So, how have you been?" I asked.

"OK," she said, "You?"

"I broke up with Melissa," I said, "The girl I was seeing."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Julia said.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not really," Julia said.

"Listen, Julia I..."

"We're going to the mid-day joust," Jacob said, breaking between the two of us. Cody, Wes, and Quinn were all standing behind him. "Come on, let's go."

I looked past my friend to Julia. If we were all sitting together at a show, I couldn't talk to her. I needed her alone, dammit. I tried to catch her eye, again.

"I think I'd rather wander around a bit," I said, "We've been sitting for so long."

I waited for Julia to say something. To understand my meaning. We were destined, right? Meant to be? I was sure, given the chance, that she'd want to continue catching up. Julia didn't say a word. Instead, my signal must have been crossed because Wes spoke up, instead.

"I agree with Z. There's a lot of stuff I want to go check out."

"Suit yourselves," Jacob said.

"Don't split the party!" Cody said, and we all laughed at the familiar refrain.

"We'll meet up in an hour," I said, "By the Fairie Forest."

Everyone agreed. I was so busy looking longingly after Julia, I didn't notice that Quinn was doing the same to me.

*

As I walked around the Faire with Wes, I made my decision. I was done being subtle. As soon as we regrouped, I was going to grab Julia, pull her aside, and tell her how I felt. I'd already let too much time pass, I knew.

At about ten minutest to the hour, we went over to the Fairie Forest. It was a little copse of trees along the dirt trail. A slight uphill climb led to a kid's play area, peopled with actresses pretending to be fairies. Their makeup and costumes were the best I'd seen at the show -- intricate and beautiful. It made me think of Quinn's outfit. Her work was so good, it put some of the professional fairies to shame. For a moment, I felt bad about leaving my sister with the group. I hoped she was having fun, at least.

About a minute after the hour, the group came around the corner, like a band of triumphant warriors. Julia, Cody, and Jacob were all smiling and laughing. My heart lightened. In a mere moment, I'd get my chance to talk to Julia. I ran my speech through my mind to make sure I had it all down.

That's when I realized something was wrong. Quinn wasn't with them. My stomach went tight, a bad combination with all the beer.

"How was the show?" Wes asked.

"Great!" Cody said.

"The fights were so fake," Jacob said, "Totally dumb."

"Where's Q?" I asked.

"I don't know," Jacob said, "She wandered off at some point."

"Seriously?!"

"Dude, I'm not her babysitter," Jacob said. He gave my shoulder a playful shove and I fought the urge to slug him back.

"She said she wanted to look at some perfumes or something, I think?" Cody said.

"I'm sure she's fine, Z," Julia said, "She's a big girl. And she knows where to meet us."

"Right," I said, feeling my breath come back to me. "Of course."

But five minutes passed, and Quinn was nowhere to be seen. Ten minutes. Fifteen.

"The human chess game is starting," Jacob said.

I gave him the dirtiest look I could muster.

"You have a cell phone, right?" Julia said, "So Q can find us."

For a moment I thought about it. Julia was right. Quinn was my younger sister, but she wasn't a kid. She was perfectly capable of texting, calling, whatever. Hell, she could even just go find me by Pokey at the end of the day if it came to that. Quinn was a college freshman for God's sake. She certainly didn't need her older brother to stand and wait for her.

And yet.

"Come have fun with us," Julia said. She grabbed my arm and, I swear, it was like lightning shooting up to my shoulder, all the little light hairs on my arm stood at attention.

I should have been locked into that moment. The girl I'd lusted after for forever was pulling me forward like a message from my fantasy future. Instead, all I could think about was my adorable sister, showing up at this corner by herself and feeling abandoned.

"I need to wait for Q," I said. I felt sick about saying it, but I'd already vomited the words.

The group eyed me dubiously and I understood why. Quinn was always doing this to me. Showing up late. Ruining everything. This was ridiculous. But something kept my feet rooted to the spot.

"I'll catch up," I said.

Julia dropped my arm, giving me a wistful grin. "Laters," she said.

The group waved and walked off. I found a rock by the thicket of trees and waited for my sister. What had I done? As soon as my friends were gone, I knew I'd made a horrible mistake. Instead of practicing my declaration of love to Julia, I sat there and had imaginary arguments with my sister. I let my anger fully manifest, and I gnawed on it like a mangy dog, squeezing out every bit of vitriol I could find.

A group of fairies did a little circle dance past me. A family walked by, carrying a crying child. Thirty minutes passed. Forty. Then finally, I caught a glimpse of a lithe, leather-clad woman heading my way.

Quinn was bouncing on the balls of her feet, every bit the happy elf. She had a bright smile on her face and seemed to be amazed by everything going past her. This time, though, even Quinn's good mood couldn't keep me back.

I leapt to my feet, raced over, and grabbed my sister's elbow, roughly pulling her to the side of the pathway.

"What. The. Fuck," I said.

Quinn ripped her arm away and glared at me. "What?" she said. Her green eyes flashed frustration.

"We were supposed to meet up here at 2," I said.

"So?"

"So, it's 2:40," I said.

"Oh," Quinn said. It came up small. She looked down at her phone like I might have been making it up. I saw her face fall as the clock confirmed my claim.

Maybe my sister truly was another one of those fairies that had been floating around me all this time. So free and fanciful. Silly and strange. After all, what else could explain how she was so unaware of the world around her?

I didn't care anymore. It wasn't fair and I wasn't going to stand for it.

"Seriously, Quinn, what the fuck?" I said, "You had one simple thing to do, and you screwed it up."

"I'm sorry, Z," Quinn said, "I guess I just got caught up in stuff."

"Caught up?"

"Yes, like, we were watching the joust. But then I realized I'd left my Staff of Power back at the benches by the food."

"Staff of Power," I said.

"Yes, this thing?" Quinn said, waving her tall stick at me. "Anyway, so by the time I got it back, I figured the show was probably over and I went to go look at some other stuff while I waited. There were these dancers with poles, I think it's called Morris dancing? And I saw a woman blowing glass and it was so bright and warm sparkly. But watching her made me thirsty so I went back to get a drink. There was this super nice girl by the booth, and she loved my outfit and we started talking and she bought me a beer. Oh! And then I saw this huge, orange butterfly so I followed it for a bit. But then I looked up at the sun and realized I needed to get back to you. So here I am."

I was so dizzy from having to live in my sister's brain that I stumbled back. I found a big stone and sat down on it, holding my head.

"You OK?" Quinn asked, looking concerned. "Did you have too much to drink?"

"I'm fine," I said, inebriated from a very different source.

"I think I had too much to drink," Quinn said. She hiccupped and it was almost too perfect. A caricature that had become all too real. "I don't drink a lot. Or ever. Beer tastes funny but I think I like it."

"Good for you," I said.

Quinn didn't sense the anger in my words. Or maybe she didn't care. Instead, she sat down next to me and leaned against my shoulder. I saw a spot on her arm where her intricate designs had smudged a bit. For some reason it made me sad.

"Where is everyone?" Quinn asked.

"They got tired of waiting and left," I said.

"Oh," Quinn said. Again, that little gasp of realization. "Did you get to talk to Julia?"

"No!" I shouted, "I couldn't because I was waiting for you!"

Quinn cast her eyes down, but I couldn't tell if she was embarrassed for herself or for me.

"Julia asked me to leave with her, but I had to wait for my sister because she was late. You're always doing this to me! Do you know how much stuff I missed -- important stuff! -- because you couldn't be bothered to show up on time? I missed homeroom my entire Junior year in high school! Remember my eighth birthday where Mom got us a magician? Of course you don't because by the time we got there the guy was already gone! You're always getting dressed, or watching a show, or... Or chasing a Goddammed butterfly!"

"I can't help who I am," Quinn said, plaintively. "I want to be there for stuff. I try to time it out but..."

"But nothing," I said, breaking her off. I didn't care that my sister's face was red. That her eyes looked wet with tears. That about twenty other people had pulled away from the nearby minstrels to stare at my own personal performance there on the side of the road.

"The truth is you don't do it because you don't care," I continued, "You don't give a shit about me, or my feelings or any of it."

"That's not true," Quinn said. It sounded like a little sob.

"Then why are you always late?!"

"I don't know," Quinn said, "I feel awful that I've made you miss all that stuff. I guess I assumed that if you really needed to be somewhere you'd leave me behind."

"No, wouldn't," I said. Even I was surprised by the forcefulness of my words. "You're my sister. I'm not abandoning you. Ever."

A small smile snuck across Quinn's face. She sniffled. Her makeup, slightly smeared, somehow made her look even prettier. Damn it.

"I won't leave you behind," I said.

Quinn gave me a soft, doleful look and hugged me tight. "Even when I ruin your life?"

"You're not ruining my life," I said. The anger drained out of me. "I'm sorry I yelled. I got angry at you, but it wasn't right."

"It's OK," Quinn said, "You have every right to be mad."

"I still shouldn't have shouted at you," I said, "I know you're trying. I don't expect you to be perfect. But you need to do better, OK?"

"Yeah," Quinn said. She stared up at me like I was the most amazing person in the world. Though I can't imagine why. "Yes. You're right. I promise to be on time, every time from now on."

"No one is always on time," I said.

"No, I know," Quinn said, "But I'll work at it, OK? I promise. If I know you'll always be there waiting for me, I'll be sure to show up. I'm certain of it. OK?"

"OK," I said.

Quinn took a deep breath. She let go of me and straightened herself out. Even smudged and slightly out of sorts, she looked spectacular.

I stood up and looked my sister straight in the eyes. "I'll be better, too."

We stood in the middle of the road, just looking at each other, no doubt looking supremely stupid.

"I guess we should go find the group," I said.

Quinn took a deep breath. "I'm sure they're not far," she said, then squinted her eyes and pressed her palms together. "My elven senses say... thataway!"

I shook my head with disdain at her antics, but I followed where my sister led me.

We made our way over to the human chess board, but it was empty. The show had already ended. At some point, we switched from searching the Faire to wandering around and enjoying it.

The day was starting to cool down and a light breeze played through the rainbow of ribbons. The air smelled clean and good. Everywhere we went, a light tinkling tune seemed to follow us.

We found that weird animal show that Jacob had dismissed earlier. There was a cat and a rat who were trained to do tricks. It was actually pretty funny, the part we watched. The cat wouldn't do what the trainer said, and Quinn giggled, genuinely. The sun played on her face. There was something so enchanting about it. Like the whole world was happy just because she was.

I wasn't angry anymore. Or upset about anything, honestly. My friends, Julia, all of it faded until they were nothing but mist in my mind. It was just me and Quinn, having a fun time. It was wonderful. Magical in a sense beyond what they pretended at the Faire.

"What?" Quinn said, when she caught me staring. We were sitting on a bench, watching a silly Shakespeare play.

"The outfit was worth the wait," I said.

Quinn nodded, knowingly.

You were worth the wait. I didn't need to say the words for my sister to understand.

She pulled me forward. "Come on," Quinn said, "There's something I want you to see."

My elfin sister led me deep past the tents, her brown braids waving behind her as she went. We walked deeper into the park, to a place where the Faire grew far more forested. I could hear the rush of a river, the wind playing in the trees. It was peaceful.

In the distance was a small, wooden suspension bridge. Multicolored banners were hanging off either side. It looked beautiful and otherworldly. A sign by the side said, Kissing Bridge.

"Come on," Quinn said, dragging me along.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Trust me," Quinn said, starting to titter.

"I'm not going on the kissing bridge with my sister," I said.

"Why not?" Quinn asked, laughing playfully.

"Because you're my sister?"

"Stop being a big baby."

Both of us froze. We'd reached the front of the bridge. Standing in the middle, embraced, with their lips pressed tight against each other, were Cody and Julia. Watching the two of them -- Cody so tall and Julia so short -- it was like seeing a giant make out with a gnome. A gasp escaped my lips.