His Naughty Lessons

** Harper **

Assuming that Eli's eagerness suggested hunger, Harper added an order of loaded Belgian waffles to share. He didn't turn it down. They took their time with the sumptuous treat, and when they finally left the shop with a sugar overload, dusk had fully settled in, casting a veil of blue light over the park.

"Wow." Harper halted in her tracks as she took in the new view greeting them. "Does this park somehow transform into a different place at night?"

Lights had come on all around them, the warm glow dazzling against the evening backdrop. Shop signs flashed pink and soft yellow, rows of string lights along the roofs dancing in a merry rhythm. Fairy-shaped lamps lit up the sidewalks. Across the plaza, the glittering crest of a carousel spun in a kaleidoscope of colors, and the chimes of its music drifted on the wind, crisp against the quiet splashes of ocean waves just beyond the promenade.

They both stood silently for a moment. "This is ... magical," Harper said at last. Not the thrilling and heart-racing type of magical like the rides, but dreamy and enchanting. Beautiful.

"The classic postcard view," Eli agreed. His eyes swept over the panorama, then landed on the gleaming carousel in the distance. "I remember that one ... There weren't this many lights on it last time, but you were transfixed enough without them. We couldn't peel you off of it — I think you spent half of the trip on that ride alone, and the other half looking longingly at it from a distance."

Harper let out a slightly embarrassed giggle. "Did I? I actually don't remember that part ... But it totally sounds right. It's every girl's dream to go round and round and round forever on a carousel, after all. There's something about the little Victorian carriages and the painted roof that's just so lovely, like a fairytale."

Idly, she wondered who the lucky girl living her fairytales on the carousel tonight was. Scanning the colorful ponies, she spotted her — a small figure in a ponytail all but bouncing in her saddle, waving her arms excitedly as her mother tried yet failed to hold her still. The dad was sitting in the carriage across from them, and their laughter blended in with the music, vivid and sweet.

"Do you want to do it again?" Eli noticed her somewhat wistful look. "Relive your favorite dreams?"

"Nah." Harper smiled and nodded toward the happy family. "They are having such a good time. Let the little one enjoy it. Besides ... The ponies look a bit small now, don't they?" She turned her attention to the horses and carriages. "Last time we were here, they looked so impressive, and I thought I was riding so high up the ground that I was almost afraid of falling. But I suppose it'll feel completely different for a grown-up ... I'd rather keep my memories and not ruin that feeling of awe."

Yep, those silly sentimentalities were definitely creeping back again, under the wispy enchantment of the evening.

Thankfully, Eli didn't judge, and he seemed to be considering those sentimentalities thoughtfully. "Maybe we should do the ferris wheel instead then," he suggested. "Last time, you thought it was too high and got scared when we reached the top. Maybe you'll like it better now that everything looks smaller and less imposing."