“Which we did last night. Twice. And again just an hour ago.”
“Well, yeah. But I think it deserves at least one more encore.”
“No.” She buries her face in the pillow. “Besides, I want to do something other than just thrash around in bed all day, as fun as that sounds.”
“Like what?”
“I want to go to an amusement park.”
“You… What?”
“An amusement park. You know, a place with a haunted house and roller coasters and stuff.”
“I know what it is. Why?” Amusement parks are my idea of a nightmare. Strapped to a machine that doesn’t give a shit about gravity that you can’t control and hope for the best. No thanks. My aversion grew stronger after the firm took on a massive liability suit against one because five people died from willful negligence.
“Because I’ve always wanted to go and ride a roller coaster when I was finally completely free from Doris. Please?”
When she flutters her eyes like that, I can’t say no. “Okay.”
“Awesome. You’re the best.” All of a sudden full of energy, she throws the sheets back and hops out of bed. Perhaps she feels like a brand-new person after her shitty aunt and her family went to jail. Along with that fraudster Parker Jacoby. I make a mental note to see if I can acquireThe Girl on the Beachsomehow. Which then leads me to remember…
“Hold on a sec. Aren’t we forgetting something?”
She stops at the door to the bathroom. “What?”
“You have to rub me like a genie to get your wish.”
She laughs. “Afterward! I promise!”
The infectious sound makes me laugh too. We get ready, and I drive us to Magic Mountain, since she specifically mentioned roller coasters.
The noise, crowd and the long wait times make me realize why in the movies rich guys rent out the park for the whole day. I’m already not a fan, and having so many people around with the cacophony everywhere gives me a headache. The only reason I don’t turn around and leave is the joy on my wife’s face.
She stares up at the crazy roller coasters and tugs at my sleeve. “Come on! Let’s ride that one!”
“Um.” I press my lips as shrieks pierce the air with the massive dip of the machine. “You sure?”
“Of course! We didn’t come here just towatch. Let’s go!”
I look at the machine dubiously. Intellectually I understand it’s probably safe enough. The liability case was an exception, not the norm. But I hate the lack of control. The inability to jump and save myself and my wife if something goes wrong because we’re so high in the air.
Come on. You can do this for her.
The safety mechanism pins us to our seats. I hold Lareina’s hand. It’s surprisingly dry and warm, while mine is embarrassingly clammy. She smiles at me. “You can squeeze your eyes shut and scream. I won’t tell anybody,” she whispers.
“No. I’d never,” I scoff.
She just nods with a big grin.
The roller coaster begins to move. Slowly at first, to lure the passengers into complacency. Then with more speed, along with maddening twists and turns that make me think my brain’s about to fly from my skull. I hate the way it climbs high, then drops like the track just ended—even though in my head, I know it didn’t. My heart pumps like I’ve run three marathons.
I peek at Lareina. She has her eyes squeezed shut, but she’s grinning. Then, during the final dip, she covers her face. I pull her close. She must be scared. Even though my stomach is dropping just like the ride, I try to lend her my strength.
Something damp soaks my shirt. I pull away and see tears streaking her face. I hold her tight, feeling like a failed husband for exposing her to something scary like this. Even though she said she wanted to do it, I should’ve said no for her sake.
When the ride stops, I manage to climb out fast despite the shakiness of my limbs, then help Lareina out. She collapses into my arms, then buries her face in my chest.
“Hey, it’s fine,” I murmur, stroking her hair soothingly. “I got you.”
