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The month of June was near and Cavendish decided to surprise his beloved Dakota. It wasn't common to break rules or use the time travel car, but for Dakota, it was worth it.
He had already researched the date and place, he needed to make the invitation:
"Hey, Dakota! There's a place I believe you'd love to visit!"
"Are you thinking of traveling this year?"
“You always go out of your way to do things for me, I want to reciprocate. Get dressed and come to the car."
"Get dressed? Does that mean wearing something other than my sweatshirt?"
"I chose your clothes, you will see them in the wardrobe. I'll put mine on and then we'll be off."
"Aren't we going to eat first?"
The Briton cracked a smile:
"Where we're going you'll have food, believe me."
This cheered him up even more, he had no idea where (or when) this place was, but he did as he said. He was surprised to find a red, yellow and orange plaid shirt, jeans with some patches and a straw hat. Were they going somewhere in the countryside? He shrugged, his lover wouldn't order him to wear this if he didn't have a good cause.
As soon as he finished getting ready, he met his Cavendish in the hallway. He was wearing a similar style, plaid clothes with some shades of green, a pink scarf around his neck, a straw hat and black ankle boots.
“It looks really good on you." the taller one commented "all that's missing is the make-up."
"Makeup?" Dakota frowned.
“Where we're going, it's part of the clothing."
The Brit grabbed his bag with some items, motioned for his friend to sit on the couch while he worked. He took a pencil, held it under Dakota's chin to keep his head up and with the black pencil, began to draw on his face. He drew a nice mustache, some freckles, and then a goatee.
"What do you think?" the eldest had a mirror in his hands
Dakota was surprised at first, but liked the look, sketching a beautiful smile:
"Is it some kind of costume party?" he joked "we look like farmers."
"It's a surprise." Cavendish kept his things "Now let's go to the car, you'll understand everything when we get there."
The smaller one became more and more curious, so the Brit scheduled his departure. Next stop: the Brazilian Northeast.
It is a Catholic tradition that was introduced to Brazil during the country’s colonisation by Portugal (from 1500 to 1822). Its events are based on the European Midsummer festivities, which celebrate the harvest and the saints, mainly Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Peter. Despite its religious origins, the emphasis of June Festival is on creating a large social gathering of dancing, drinking, and eating, especially in larger cities
It was night, but the starry sky was incredibly beautiful.
"Where are we?" Dakota looked out the window "Is it some kind of festival?"
"It's similar to Midsummer's day" explained Cavendish "It's the second biggest Brazilian party after Carnival. They call it 'Festa Junina', which means June Festival. Could be called Saint John's Day ou Feast of Saint John too"
The smaller one was amazed by the decoration full of colorful flags in various formats, balloons, all the people with that same outfit, the plaid blouse and hat, even the children had their faces painted to look like mustaches, the women wore dresses, braids in their hair and makeup that looked like freckles. It was a huge outdoor space with several stalls scattered throughout, and it smelled delicious.
"This is amazing!" Dakota said "What kind of foods are these?"
“Prepare your stomach. You can taste as many as you like,” Cavendish joked. "The dollar is worth a lot in this country, we will be able to know a lot without worrying about expenses."
The brunnete was happy, he didn't even know where to start, the Briton offered his arm for him to hold and the tour began. Even without speaking the native language, the people were very welcoming in trying to explain things, they were invited to dance around the Saint John bonfire, a symbol of family and friends gathering. In some places it wasn't real fire, but paper colored red and yellow to represent the fire, which made Dakota more relieved in terms of safety.
They visited several stalls, corn was a prominent ingredient, as several desserts were made with it,
bolo de fubá (corn cakes made from finely ground rice or corn flour), curau (corn mixed with condensed milk and peanuts, then topped with cinnamon), popcorn, canjica (hominy) and pamonha (sweet corn cake), in addition to the cooked corn itself. Other dishes that stood out were those made with peanuts, such as pé-de-moleque, (a type of sweet treat made with hard toffee and peanuts), and paçoca (candy made out of crushed peanuts) roasted peanuts, both sweet and salty. There were also many varieties of coconut candy like cocada de colher (shredded coconut mixed with condensed milk and butter).
They went to visit some attractions, there were several games like fishing, where toy fish or fish made with recycled material are placed in a container with sand, which is inside the stall. Whoever managed to catch them with the bamboo pole won prizes depending on which one he caught. Dakota had a lot of fun trying. Other games resembled an amusement park, such as target shooting, knocking over aluminum cans, and hitting rings.
Prizes ranged from toys to treats, Dakota loved the Maçã do Amor (candy apple, an apple dipped in sugar syrup, with a popsicle stick handle that couples often shared.)
They walked hand in hand through the camp:
“This party is amazing, Cavs!" Dakota was jumping for joy.
“There's one more thing I want to show you."
He guided him to a huge space where music played, the typical forró. People danced in pairs with great joy to the sound of accordions, bass drums, triangles and violas.
"Do you wanna Dance?" he invited
"Sounds like a lot of fun!"
They walked into the crowd, the position of closed embrace, with the partners facing each other, their steps were guided by the beat of the music, while Dakota held one of his hands, the other was on his waist, the music was excited and happy, they could stay there all night, in each other's arms.
It was time for the famous Quadrilha, which comes from the French quadrille, where an animator dictates the phrases of the respective steps and actions. It was almost like a freshly made "theater". It started with a "wedding", a social criticism about the bride being forced to marry after getting pregnant, the dance was like a story where the bride and groom ran away together. The master dictated what to do and the couples danced, Dakota and Cavendish tried to imitate the steps of the others.
The couples formed two lines, the ladies on one side and the gentlemen on the other, but in their case, Dakota followed the ladies. The master gave his first command, "O balancê" (the balance), where they had to sway their bodies to the rhythm of the music without moving. Whoever was in the gentlemen's line would go to their partner and bow, taking off their hat. Then it was the ladies' turn to greet their partners by slightly lifting the hem of their skirt. Dakota held on to his own shirt, not wanting to make it different from the others, which made Cavendish smile. Then both rows moved to the center, and with arms raised, turned to the right and switched positions. The next command is the "Grande Passeio" (Big Walk), the rows turn to the right, splicing into a big circle. Each gentleman gives his partner his right hand. The couples stroll in a large circle, swinging their loose arms down to the beat of the music. Then comes the "Troca de Dama" (Exchange of Lady), where each gentleman is next to the next lady, the command is repeated until each one has danced with all of them, and finally, he finds his partner again. "O Túnel" (The Tunnel) begins, where the couples, holding hands, walk in a row. The couple in front stops, raises their arms, facing inwards, forming an arc. The second couple walks under and raises their arms in an arc. The third couple walks past the two and does the same. The procedure is repeated until everyone has crossed the tunnel. Dakota couldn't stop laughing as he and Cavendish walked through that human tunnel, reaching the end, it was their turn to raise their arms to be part until everyone had passed. In "Caminho da Roça" (Road to the Countryside), the couples form a line, Dakota was ahead of Cavendish in line. The master shouted "Olha a Cobra" (Look at the snake), everyone starts walking to the opposite side to "avoid the snake", then right after the speaker says "É Mentira!" (It's a lie!) And they saw each other once more.
They start doing the "Caracol" (Snail), where everyone holds hands and the first in line begins to wind the line, until the master says "Desviar" (deviate) and then "Grande Roda" (big wheel) to start undoing the snail. They are nearing the end when they start to enter the circle, Dakota following the ladies to the center, and then it was Cavendish's turn as he followed the gentlemen. Then the wheel of people dissolves creating two different wheels, returning to the initial position where on one side there is a row of people and on the other the line of their respective pairs. With the order to "Coroar as Damas" (crown ladies) and then "Coroar os Cavalheiros" (crown gentlemen) both sides go to their partner and make a gesture over their head as if putting on a crown, then intertwine their fingers and grab the pair by the waist, move according to the commands they receive.
The moment of "Despedida" (farewell) has arrived, where the couples are leaving the hall at a gallop, waving to the people around them, as if they were fleeing together on horseback.
The music continues even with the quadrille over for those who still want to enjoy it.
Dakota and Cavendish were exhausted after all that performance they had with several other couples.
"I had so much fun!" his eyes gleamed "thank you so much for bringing me here!"
“I'm so glad you liked it." they were still walking arm in arm "I think we can sit down for a while to rest."
They went to a more empty place where they could enjoy the stars and the moonlight so beautiful while the party music continued to play.
Dakota sighed happily, laying his head on Cavendish's shoulder:
"That night was perfect... You know what I liked the most?"
“I could spend all night guessing which dish you liked best." chuckled the british
"The food is great, I agree, but that wasn't all" he pulled back a little to look into her eyes "What I enjoyed most… was doing all this with you."
Cavendish felt his cheeks heat up, so he turned away, pulling a paper out of his pocket and handing it over.
"What is it?" Dakota asked
"They call it 'Correio Elegante', which means 'Elegant Mail'. The tradition would be to give it to someone and that person would give it to you, but I didn't have the courage to do that. I preferred to deliver you in person, if you don't mind..."
The brunette felt his face burning, the surprises didn't end. The paper was delicate, cut in the shape of a heart. It had a little sentence written in his companion's beautiful handwriting: "If my life were a song, you'd be that refrain that never leaves my head."
It was short but sweet. He spent a long time just staring at the note, which made Cavendish anxious:
"I know it's corny, but..."
"I loved it. If I had known, I could have prepared something for you too, but..."
"It is not necessary." Cavendish placed his hands gently on his face. "You've always done so much for me and I wanted you to know how much I love you."
"Cavs..."
He came over and kissed him, it was soft and passionate, his lips the sweet taste of caramel apple, it had been the best day of his life.