Double-up of fiction!

Taking a dare can have all sorts of consequences . . .

GO ON. I dare you!” a boy’s voice called.

Isabelle turned to see who was daring whom to do what. The boys were much younger than her, about 12 or 14, she guessed, and were enjoying the freedom of a long summer evening at the start of the school holidays. The dare was simply to go on the ghost train. The boy, who was being urged by the group to take a last ride before the fair closed for the night, didn’t look scared.

“I will if you will,” he threw back at the other boys.

“Come on then. We’ll protect you from the scary stuff,” the biggest one said. He hunched his back, lifted his arms with fingers spread wide and pushed his jaw to one side in an unconvincing monster impression.

Isabelle smiled as she watched them nudge and jostle one another, wondering if the ghost train would make them jump in mild alarm and be glad to have their friends with them, or if they’d giggle through the whole thing.

Some dares were like that; friends egging one another on to try something new. Isabelle and her friends had probably issued and accepted dozens like that. Occasionally, the dares were less frivolous and had consequences that could last a lifetime.

As Isabelle remembered the dare she’d been challenged with, she watched the boys pay their money and scramble into the carriages. They were still laughing; the girls who’d surrounded Isabelle hadn’t laughed. Had they guessed then, even as they said the words, the great impact the challenge would have?

Isabelle walked away from the ghost train towards the dodgems on the far side of the fairground. The family groups, the couples, the gangs of friends streamed past her as they reluctantly made their way to the exits.

The giggles and chatter seemed louder now as the machinery and music were switched off. She shivered; seeking thrills no longer held the attraction it had when she’d first walked onto the fairground.

AFEW in the passing crowd were clutching huge prizes they’d won and looked as if they already wished they’d made choices that would be easier to live with. She could understand that, but hoped some of the outsized toys would be kept as mementoes of a happy evening. The smell of hotdogs, frying onions and freshly cooked doughnuts wafted on the warm air. Every corner held a stall offering burgers or chips, ice cream and candyfloss to sustain the crowds on their journey to the car park.

Soon the only people left were the staff. Most were securing their rides and stalls, covering them with tarpaulins against the weather or pushing home bolts and turning keys as protection from thieves and vandals.

There were now more lights on in the caravans and trailers that housed the staff than on the fairground rides. The workers’ day was ending and they were preparing for bed.

Isabelle walked quietly past, not wanting to wake those already asleep. As she approached the dodgems her heart raced as fast as it had the first time she’d bumped into the attractive young man in overalls. Isabelle’s heart had missed a beat. “You’d be a natural for the dodgems,” he’d laughed. “That’s where I work.”

Of course, Isabelle had persuaded her friends to take a ride on the small electric cars. The man’s hand had touched hers each time he’d taken her money, sending a charge through her just as the car’s masts sent power to their wheels.

He’d flirted with Isabelle and bought her candyfloss in his break. He’d walked with her, holding her hand and telling her about his life. He’d pointed out the caravan he called home. He’d said he’d like to see her again.

“Go back and see him,” her friends had said as they shot airgun pellets at metal ducks. “Go on. We dare you. Wait till the fair is closing up and go and kiss him.”

The suggestion had seemed innocent enough when it had been said in the bright lights and cheerful atmosphere of the noisy fair. Later, in the dark and the quiet, it seemed a lot more daring. She took the last few steps. “Isabelle, is that you?” She looked at the man in his oily overalls and said, “Of course it’s me and I’ve come to kiss you.”

He stepped down from the closed ride and held his arms out in welcome.

Isabelle kissed him, just as she’d first done as a dare 63 years ago, and for every night of their 60-year marriage. S