OUTSIDE, A LARGE crowd had gathered at the foot of the Pay Streak on the esplanade near the Lake Union steamboat landing. Maisie pointed out a tall ship in the distance, a replica of the Mayflower that sat at anchor. But fairgoers were more enamored with the passenger in a long canoe that was being paddled ashore. The crowd buzzed with excitement as a handsome young woman was introduced as Miss Columbia, to cheers, wolf whistles, and a chorus of racy catcalls.
Ernest had heard about the lovely Labradorean Inuit who had panicked the house and beaten out a darling Seattle socialite for the title of Queen of the Carnival. He stood on his tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of the dark-haired beauty who wore a sealskin parka and mukluk boots.
The crowd gushed their excitement, but Ernest could hardly see her.
“I’m tired of the exhibits. My brain, it overfloweth,” Maisie moaned. “Let’s go, I want to explore the House Upside Down and ride the Tickler.”
“I’ll catch up with you two later,” Fahn said. “I heard the Eskimo girl is hosting a reception. I have to see this for myself. She got fifty thousand votes. She even won a villa with a nice piece of property—can you imagine?”
Ernest wanted to see this one-woman spectacle as well, but he followed Maisie back to the wilder part of the Pay Streak and then to the carnival rides.
“How were the exhibits?” he asked.
Maisie pretended to yawn. “You know, once you’ve seen an elephant made of apples, one million dollars in gold dust, the world’s largest display of clams, and a tribe of topless natives at the Smithsonian exhibit, you’ve pretty much seen it all. Plus so much bunting everywhere—a sea of red, white, and blue. Madam Flora means well, but I was bored to tears.”
They skipped the carousel and went straight to the roller coaster, where Maisie hung her hat, clutched the hem of her dress, and boarded the first car. Until today, Ernest had never been on anything faster than a merry-go-round. He sat next to her, their legs touching.
“You know, I’m glad it’s just us,” Maisie said, “because three’s a crowd.”
Ernest smiled at the echoed sentiment.
Maisie looked at him as she twirled her hair with her fingers, and he felt his stomach lurch, rise and fall, his heart racing again as he tried to catch his breath.
Then the roller coaster began to move.
STARS, FALLING
(1909)
After waiting in line for what seemed like hours to ride the Ferris Wheel, the Haunted Swing, and the Scenic Railway, Ernest and Maisie split an egg-cream soda at Ezra Meeker’s restaurant. Then they found a meadow alongside Rainier Vista, not far from the bubbling fountain and the gentle waterfalls. They lay down on a cool, soft bed of freshly mowed grass and removed their shoes and socks, wiggling their toes in the warm breeze of an Indian summer. Maisie perched her open parasol on the ground, creating a shady spot to rest their heads as they stretched out, their heads nearly touching as they watched puffy clouds slowly migrating across the blue northwestern sky. They could hear a band playing, and watched as kids joined hands and danced in wide circles within circles, groups spinning in opposite directions. It matched the way Ernest felt inside.
“Fahn is sweet on you, you know,” Maisie said. The words felt almost like an accusation. “At first I thought her obsession was because you’re both—you know, sort of from the same part of the world, but I think she really does find you…interesting. She told me she stole your first kiss—that’s her thing. Just don’t be in a hurry to throw your heart away for the first girl who might want to punch your ticket; true love is wasted at a place like the Tenderloin.”
Ernest didn’t know how to respond. He found himself smitten with both girls, though he wondered if he was anything more than a convenient companion, like a younger brother who happened to share the same roof. He also wondered if either one would care if they weren’t competing with each other.
“I think Fahn likes everyone,” he said. “Most of all, Fahn likes Fahn.”
They both laughed. Then sighed, tired, but comfortable to be together. They enjoyed the moment, the music in the distance, the chirping of nearby birds, and the squawking of Canada geese flying south in a lopsided V-formation.
“Do you remember the look on your face when you first saw me?” Ernest asked. “It was right about here. I’ll never forget the expression you made.”
“I couldn’t help myself. We got all dressed up and came to the fair and didn’t get to go on any of the rides! That was so unfair—unjust. All I knew was that we were here to collect some stupid boy. I remember thinking to myself, What in the world do we need a boy for? We live in a house where rich old codgers come and go and that’s more men than I need in my life as is. But…”
“That’s okay,” Ernest said. “I had no idea in the world what I was in for either. Let’s call it even.” He offered his hand.
“Handshakes are so grown-up.” She shook his hand and then let go. Then she stretched out on the grass again and closed her eyes.
Ernest smelled something sweet and sat up slowly, glanced around, and quietly put on his shoes. He looked down at Maisie, who looked like Sleeping Beauty, her long dress splayed upon the clover.
She spoke without opening her eyes. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“Stay here,” Ernest said. “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned he lay down next to Maisie and asked her to open her eyes as he presented her with the most perfect candied apple that he could find.
She smiled and cocked her head.
Ernest held the apple as she took the first sticky bite.
—
AS THE SUN sank into the waters of Puget Sound and the orange-hued clouds grew dim, everyone from the Tenderloin gathered around the Geyser Basin. Electricity flickered on, lighting building after building. Ernest watched, spellbound, as countless glowing bulbs turned the reflecting pool and the cascading waterfalls into a paradise of glimmering, glittering, yellow and white stars. He held up a hand, momentarily blocking the light, his eyes adjusting. The brightly lit Court of Honor made the fair look like a department store Christmas and Independence Day fireworks rolled into one.
Amid the enthralled crowd, the happy, weary residents of the Garment District exchanged stories about what they’d seen and tasted, waiting in anticipation for the closing of the fair. Ernest’s senses were overwhelmed, his heart full, but like everyone else, he didn’t want to go home.
As he sat on the lip of the fountain, between Maisie and Fahn, arm in arm with both, Ernest had what he believed to be the best idea of the day. He pointed to a captive hot-air balloon that hovered above the fair, a quarter mile up in the sky.
“We should watch the closing ceremony from up there,” he mused.
There was a quiet, appraising moment as the three of them craned their necks and gazed skyward, following the guylines, ropes that trailed up into the night.
“Not on your life,” Fahn said.
“I’ll do it,” Maisie said. “Since when are you scared of anything?”
“The fire escape at the Tenderloin is as high as I’ll go. That contraption must be a thousand feet in the air, in the dark, in the wind. If it came loose, who knows where you’d get carried off to?” Fahn shook her head. “I’m fine right here.”
Ernest and Maisie exchanged glances, then he looked at Fahn. Her expression seemed to say, Be my guest if you’re that crazy.
As they got up to leave, Fahn gave Ernest a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “That’s in case I never see you again, which I’m guessing is about a fifty-fifty chance. If you die, I want your room.” She smiled grimly at both of them.
Ernest and Maisie walked to Pacific Avenue in the direction of the balloon, where they found the ticket booth for the ride. The flight was expensive—fifty cents, twice the price of admission to the fair itself—but they paid nonetheless, while waiting for the balloon to come down as four men in shirtsleeves tugged on ropes, guiding the descent. The wicker gondola was larger and taller than it looked from below. Ernest watched as the basket settled to the ground and a man opened a small set of wooden double doors and let a couple disembark. They looked exhilarated, joyful as they giggled and clung to each other, grateful to be back on solid footing.