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"Come on, Clint. We have to hurry before it gets too crowded." Phil's voice was excited.
Clint groaned. "What are you, like twelve all of a sudden? What happened to sleeping in on our vacation?"
"We'll sleep in tomorrow. This is the slowest day of the week for the carousel. So it's perfect. Come on."
Clint snorted, "Aren't we a little old to ride on the carousel?"
"The Flying Horses Carousel is the oldest working carousel in the United States. We came to Martha's Vineyard to see the sites. Five minutes, Clint or I'm going by myself."
"Okay, I'm coming." Clint hurried out of the bathroom and grabbed his wallet, phone and sunglasses. He hurried down the skinny staircase to catch up to Phil. They stepped outside and Clint stopped short. It had been dark when they arrived by plane the night before. Now looking at the tiny colorful houses around them seemed magical in the early morning light. Phil's family owned the one they were staying in. The wood decorations around the eaves were painted a bright red, white and blue. The house next door had pink and green. The house on the other side had blue, peach and white. Each house had different wood decorations known as gingerbread. The houses surrounded a large circular meeting hall in the middle.
"Wow, look at these little houses. How did this happen?" asked Clint.
"This is an old Methodist campground. People would come over here for Camp Meeting every year and gradually they stayed for the summer. This was back in the 1800's. It was the wives and children staying throughout the week and husbands joining them for the weekends. Every family liked showing off their wood carving skills and it got a little competitive and fancy with the bright colors. Now everyone is listed on the historical registry and they have concerts in the meeting hall."
"Can we go see more of these little houses?" Clint asked.
"Yes, but in the afternoon when everyone is up. Then you can talk to people and learn their history. It's all been carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation. If you walk around now and look, people will think you're a stalker."
"So where are we going now?" Clint asked.
"You'll see. And yes, there is coffee involved." said Phil with a laugh.
"I'm in." Clint replied.
Phil led Clint out of the campground area over to the Oak Bluffs town section. At the third shop on the block, Phil stepped up to the glass door that said Patisserie in fancy gold lettering and tugged it open. A waft of something delicious came out and pulled them inside. Leading Clint into the line already forming, Phil breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, we got here just in time." A crowd of people filed in after them.
"See where we'd be if we got here five minutes later?" Phil and Clint watched as the busy baker pulled trays of croissants from the oven. There was another person brushing white glaze on a tray of croissants that had already been cooling for just a bit.
"Rennie, are they ready yet?" a man at the head of the line asked.
"Patience, Fred. You know that perfection takes time," replied the baker.
"And you say that every morning," Fred laughed.
"You know I'm right. How many?" Fred held up two fingers, paid the cashier and accepted the bag with dignity, trying to squash the big grin on his face but it kept popping out. The store hummed with anticipation as everyone politely waited their turn. Happy smiles showed on everyone's face. After their turn, Clint held the two cups of coffee and Phil held the bag and grabbed some napkins as they made their way out of the store. They walked two short blocks to the large park overlooking the ocean and sat on one of the benches near the bandstand. Phil dug into the bag and pulled out a croissant for each of them.
"Close your eyes and bite into this and just let it melt on your tongue."
Clint followed Phil's instructions noting that Phil was doing the same thing. The first bite was amazing: hot, buttery, flaky, sweet with almond goodness. Clint's eyes shot open and he looked at Phil and they both moaned together. And took another bite.
"So was this worth getting up for?" asked Phil.
"Phil, it will be my genuine pleasure to get up for these every morning. Why does it have to be so early?"
"In an hour, when they have cooled down, they taste different. Still good but different from fresh out of the oven. In two hours, there won't be any left."
"Wait, gone in two hours?"
"Yes, these are the almond croissants. Almond glaze and an almond paste running through the middle. They make regular croissants all morning long because they need them for sandwiches they make for breakfast and lunch customers. They close at 2:00. But they only make the almond croissants in the early morning. You can see what a ritual it has become for some people."
"Jasper Sitwell would die if he ever had one of these," Clint laughed.
"I know, right? I've never had a croissant that was as good as this any other place. They don't travel well. The taste changes. You have to eat them right out of the oven in the early morning."
"And look at the scenery we have to go along with it. Beautiful." Clint looked out at the ocean where there were a flock of seagulls swirling around a fishing boat. Phil nodded agreeing with Clint.
"The ocean is so blue this morning. It's going to be a perfect day." Phil got up and dropped their trash into a garbage can on the way past.
"Come on, the carousel is this way." Phil led them across a parking lot toward a large white building. There were no doors or windows on this side. They walked around to the other side which was open down the whole length.
"And here are The Flying Horses. All the horses are hand painted and the manes and tails are real horse hair." The music was loud and the lights shone brightly inside the dim building. Phil quickly got tickets and they waited in the short line.
"I have so many memories from being here as a kid," said Phil, "but I never caught the brass ring. Maybe today will be my lucky day."
"Brass ring? What are you talking about?" Clint asked puzzled.
"You've heard of the phrase, Catch the brass ring? Well this is where it came from. See that arm over there? It gets loaded with iron rings that slide down the arm and everyone grabs one or more as they go around. When it's time to stop the ride, the brass ring gets loaded at the top of the arm and gradually works its way down to the opening. When someone grabs it, it’s the end of the ride but they get a free ticket for another ride. See the peg on top of the horse head? That's where you put the iron rings during the ride so you can grab more of them. At the end of the ride, you throw them into the big wooden box on the other side."
"You are full of history today, Phil"
"Yeah, most carousels don't have the brass ring stuff anymore."
There was a shout of delight and the carousel began to slow down. The attendant hurried to the boy who was waving the brass ring and gave him a ticket for a free ride in exchange for the ring. When the other riders had exited, the rope was moved and there was a rush toward the ride.
"Follow me and get an outside horse, Clint. An outside horse."
Clint laughed at Phil's excitement. He knew it was more than fifteen years since Phil had been here. He'd never seen Phil this happy at SHIELD. He knew that Phil kept a lot of emotion locked down. It was fun seeing it in action. Phil claimed a horse and jumped on. Clint claimed the horse behind him but was leery about jumping on.
A woman with a little girl took the horse behind Clint. He noticed that the thin little girl had a heavy brace on each lower leg. He looked at the mother and she bit her lip.
"Can she reach the rings?" he asked gently.
"I don't know," the mother replied.
"My name is Clint. Maybe I can help a bit. This is my first visit here." Then he looked at the little girl, "You look like a princess on this horse."
"Mommy, I'm a princess," she squealed.
"Yes, you are, sweetie," replied the mother.
A loud bell rang and the ride started to move. Jerky at first but it smoothed out as it gained a bit of speed. Phil turned around to look at him and laughed. Clint waved back. The first time they passed the ring arm, Phil grabbed a ring. Clint just watched then turned around to see the little girl just miss catching a ring. The next time around, Clint caught a ring. He put it on the little girl's peg on her horse.
"Mommy, look, I have a ring." she shouted. Clint looked at the mother who smiled and mouthed -thank you- at him. He smiled back. It suddenly didn't feel like just a kiddie ride any more. The next round he was able to snag 3 rings because, Hawkeye. He popped them onto the little girl's ring peg and watched happily as her eyes got big.
"What is her name?" he asked the mother.
"Her name is Melody, mine is Georgia." Clint nodded then hurried to reach out and grab two more rings. Melody reached out but just barely missed. She still smiled when Clint added more rings to her stash. Every time they went around Clint added more rings. Hearing her laugh felt like magic. Then he heard Phil yelling to him,
"Clint, get the brass ring. The brass ring." Clint turned around and saw that the brass ring was the next one in the arm and it was coming his way fast. Clint was faster. He reached for little Melody and pulled her over, holding her tight and helping her little fingers to snag the brass ring. Success! He pushed her back upright on the horse and looked at Georgia,
"Sorry, I just wanted her to get the brass ring." Melody let out a happy screech and waved the brass ring. The attendant appeared and presented her with a ticket and took the ring. The ride slowed as Georgia's eyes were welling up. Clint caught her shoulder.
"It's ok. Look how happy she is."
"I know. I just wish it could be the surgery she needs."
"Maybe it will be," said Clint. He dug out his wallet and pulled out a business card for the Maria Stark Foundation. He wrote his name and phone number on the back and handed it to Georgia.
"This foundation specializes in cases like yours. You call them up and tell them Clint Barton sent you." He showed her his name and number on the back. "And please tell me how Melody is doing. I want to keep track of you."
"Who are you?" Georgia murmured.
"Nobody important. What is important is that today, both you and Melody caught the brass ring."
"Thank you. I will let you know what happens." Georgia had more tears in her eyes. A loud bell rang.
"I have to go. Enjoy your free ride." Clint jumped off the carousel as it began to move. Georgia and Melody both waved to him.
Phil came up behind him. Pissed off big time. He shoulder checked Clint as he stormed out of the building and Clint followed behind. Phil went back toward the bench in the park where they had enjoyed almond croissants just a little while ago. Clint tried to get ahead of this,
"Phil, don't say it, you're gonna hate yourself. Please let me explain."
Phil puffed up like he was going to explode.
"I will not hate myself. What is the deal here? I wanted to catch the brass ring my whole entire life. Then there it was. Plain as day. I could have reached right out and grabbed it. It was mine. But I let it go because I wanted you to have it. And you gave it away. You gave it away. WHY?"
"First off, thank you for your sacrifice. I appreciate it. You have no idea how much. Did you see the little girl behind me?" Clint asked. Phil nodded.
"Her name is Melody and her mother's name is Georgia."
"You were collecting strays on the carousel?" Phil said in a nasty voice.
"Did you see Melody?" Clint asked in a growly voice.
"Sure," said Phil pouting and petulant.
"Did you really see her?" Clint asked louder.
"What are you talking about?" said Phil, confused.
"Did you notice the braces she had on her legs?" thundered Clint.
"Oh fuck." Phil whispered, "I'm going to hate myself." Clint pulled Phil down to sit on the bench and wrapped his hand around Phil's and explained.
"She was getting such a kick out of the rings I was getting for her. She has a magical laugh. She tried over and over to reach the rings for herself but couldn't. I helped her reach the brass ring. Then when her mother wished it could have been the surgery she needed but couldn't afford, I gave her a Maria Stark Foundation card. Georgia promised to stay in touch and let me know how Melody is doing."
Phil deflated. "Yup, it's official. You warned me. I hate myself. I am so selfish. I really didn't see what you were doing. I only wanted my own agenda to work out. I'm sorry. I…I just wanted you to get the brass ring." Phil sniffed and sighed.
Clint lifted their joined hands, laid a kiss on the ring on Phil's left hand, and squeezed it against his heart,
"But Baby, I already did."