Page 53 of The Wedding Favor

“Did you play a sport as a kid?”

“What?” I asked, my voice about three octaves higher than normal.

“I’m distracting you. Did you play a sport as a kid?”

“Ah, no.” The gondola jerked and rose again. I whimpered. “It would have been really hard for my mom. Sports cost money and time. She worked two jobs. There wasn’t much of either.”

“If you could have, what would you have played?”

“Basketball, probably.”

“Ah, the long legs.” Before I could react to that comment, he kept talking. “I played soccer. Or I did until high school. My grades were trash by then and that meant no sports until I got them up.”

Somehow, our gondola had made it to the very top of the wheel. It swung as the ride locked in place. “I’m going to die on this Ferris wheel and… and look at all the things I’ll never experience. Finding my person. Going to Europe. Having kids. Figuring what I’m going to do two months from now.”

“Are you shaking?” Abe put his arm around my shoulders. I’m a big enough woman to admit I pressed my face into his shoulder. “You aren’t going to die.”

“More talking please. You’re supposed to be distracting me.”

“What do you want to know?”

A loud buzzing noise ripped through the air. The wheel heaved once more and began to move. But this time, it didn’t stop. “The meaning of life?”

“At least you still have your sense of humor. I’ll put that in your eulogy.”

“I really do hate you.” Then I leaned into him more. He made soothing circles on my back. “Um, tell me about what happened when you left Two Harts.”

He sighed. “It’s not that exciting.”

“Great. I don’t want exciting. Bore me, please.”

He hesitated and I thought he might not answer. “I left after a big fight with my dad. Not because of that one fight. Dad and me… we’ve always butted heads. But that night…”

“Bad, huh?”

He shook his head. “If he said the sky was blue, I’d say it was yellow. Not because he was wrong. Just because I was a stupid kid. We’d end up arguing and Mom would force us to reconcile and it would start all over. It was exhausting, you know?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

”So I left. Not because of that night but because of everything. I didn’t really have a plan, but I had a little money saved up from working. I walked to the bus station and bought a ticket for as far west as I could go—California.”

A groaning came from the Ferris wheel, deep and mournful. I swallowed hard and fisted Abe’s t-shirt. “How long is this ride?”

He huffed a laugh. “Maybe five minutes. You gonna survive?”

“No, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” I poked him in the chest. “Keep talking, buddy. Where in California?”

“San Diego. I messed around a lot at first. Made some stupid, stupid decisions. Took a couple of years of me being an idiot before I got serious and got a job with one of those chain tire places. The manager was lousy but the guys I worked with were alright. At least they were nice enough to let me couch hop for a while until I had enough money to get a place.”

I lifted my head although it took real effort. “How did you go from California to Colorado?”

“One of the guys and I started a side business doing custom paint jobs. We were doing pretty well. He was from Colorado. When his dad got sick, he wanted to go back and I went with him. Took a couple more years to save up enough to start our own place.”

The wheel jerked to a halt. I shot up in my seat. “What’s happening? Why did we stop?”

“The ride’s over. Everyone has to get off.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I knew that.” It was then I noticed we’d stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel. I slammed my eyes shut and grabbed Abe’s hand. “We’re so high.”