July Anything #8

TITLE:  Butterfly Girl

GENRE:  Upper MG First Page

                      

Madison pulled a marigold out of the vase on the kitchen table and snapped the stem short. 

 “You look handsome, Grandpa,” she said, and stuck the golden-orange blossom in his button hole.

“Thank you, darlin’. He grinned and bent at the waist in a courtly bow. 

Madison smiled.  “Got to make a good impression on the judges.”

             

Grandpa had waxed and polished the old white truck. On the side was a picture of a giant blue ribbon next to The Real McCoy Organic Acres, painted in bright green letters over a dark green shamrock. The truck bumped down the gravel road, tires churning up a cloud of dust, then turned onto the blacktop that led to the highway.

Madison stared out the window and absent mindedly sectioned off a half-inch strand of hair and wove it into a long, honey-brown braid. The dewy fields and orchards blurred by, row after row, mile after mile. An hour later Madison spotted the giant Ferris wheel and then the zipper ride, carousel and mid-way games spreading out around the fairgrounds, with exhibition halls and horse corrals on the perimeter. A red white and blue banner fluttered in the breeze: Oregon State Fair.

Grandpa made his way towards a table near the end of the last row. “Here’s our spot. Number ninety-seven.”

Madison unloaded her box. “I’m going up front to look for Jade.” Jade had been her best friend ever since the day they met at the sandbox in the park, back when Madison lived in town with her mom and dad.

Grandpa shook his head. “Slow down, now. Don’t go running off.”

 “But Grandpa, you promised when I turned twelve I could walk around on my own!”

He pressed his hand to his heart. “What? You don’t want to hang out with your old grandpa?”

 “That’s not what I meant Grandpa, it’s just…”

He winked at her. “You can go around by yourself, just as soon as your friend shows up.”