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I couldn’t believe half of my vacation was over already. It felt like just a couple days ago Hunter and I landed at Heathrow airport. In another two weeks, we’d be back there again, ready to go home. I was looking forward to being at home for Christmas, but leaving Isabelle behind was already starting to depress me in ways I was ashamed to admit. Isabelle had everything the girls I’d met in L.A. were missing. She was smart without being arrogant about it. And talented? Hell, that girl’s photos were exceptional. She was beautiful, shy, caring and funny without even trying. Being away from her was going to suck.
Hunter had told me, very firmly, that we were going to Mischa’s party, and I was cool with it because Isabelle already asked me to be her date. Elliott wasn’t going to make it because he’d already planned to celebrate his friend’s 21st birthday. That’s what he said, anyway. I got the impression he just wasn’t crazy about Mischa. So that was even more reason for us to be there. To make sure – if Leon showed up –he wouldn’t get near either of the girls and ruin their night.
Before that, we had an epic day trip planned. Isabelle and Georgia had excitedly approached Hunter and me during the week and asked us to go someplace called Winter Wonderland. In the lead up to Christmas, Hyde Park turned into some kind of winter theme park, with rides, market stalls and different kinds of food and drink from around the world. It sounded like a blast, especially the rides.
On Saturday morning, Janet drove us to Hyde Park, and at eleven a.m, the place was already buzzing. An attack of colour hit our eyes as we approached. From the sign announcing we were about to enter Winter Wonderland, to the rows of rides and stalls. It was a little overwhelming. The delight on Isabelle and Georgia’s faces made Hunter and me laugh. I was pretty sure it was the same way we’d looked when we were in Hamley’s.
“Okay,” Georgia said. “Because it’s freezing, I vote we get hot chocolate to warm us up!”
She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, and Isabelle said, “We have to wait for Willow first.”
“Oops,” Georgia giggled.
Hunter and I exchanged an amused glance at the girls’ excitement. It wasn’t long before Willow arrived, dressed in her usual bright clothes. Her coat was red, her gloves yellow, her boots purple, and her jeans were an unusually boring blue. My concern was, she might get mistaken for part of the scenery.
I took Isabelle’s hand as the five of us entered the park, and she gave me a warm smile.
“So, are you going to be trying out all the scary rides today?” she asked.
“Depends. Will you be joining me?”
“Maybe. If I don’t, Willow will definitely be up for it. She loves them.”
“Really?” I laughed. “She looks like the kind of person who likes to keep her feet on the ground.”
Isabelle shook her head. “She’s a daredevil.”
She wasn’t kidding. We made the decision to try out the more daring rides before lunch, hoping to avoid any embarrassing throw up issues. I always thought I was pretty brave, but Winter Wonderland had some rides I couldn’t even look at without feeling nauseous. The biggest looked like a gigantic robotic arm, with four long rows of seats on the end of it in a cross shape. It seemed pretty harmless when it first started up, with the arm just swinging back and forth, but then it swung upside down, and each of the rows of seats also rotated, making the insane people who paid to go on it scream. Willow had grabbed Hunter and dragged him on with her. After what seemed like an hour of them spinning around, they returned to the ground, a little green, but laughing as they struggled to regain their balance.
“Oh my God!” Georgia said, linking her arm through Willow’s to keep her upright. “I can’t believe you just went on that thing!”
“It was awesome!” Hunter said. “I want to do it again, but I’m not sure my stomach can take it just yet!”
“I don’t know how your stomach could take it at all,” Isabelle laughed. “I really think I’d have died from fear!”
“It was a bit scary,” Willow admitted. “It feels like you’re going to fall out, but before you have a chance to take it in, it swings around again.”
“So, you ready for lunch, then?” I teased.
Willow and Hunter looked at each other and let out a groan. “Give us at least half an hour,” Willow said. “Maybe then my breakfast will have stopped swishing around in my stomach!”
We all laughed as we walked away, and Isabelle and I walked ahead, while Georgia tried to keep Hunter and Willow on their feet.
“This place is amazing,” I said. “I can’t believe that for the rest of the year, this is just a normal park.”
It was hard to imagine the amount of work it must have taken to get it all set up. It probably wasn’t so hard to get the market stalls and food vendors in, but there were much bigger things like the rides, and a huge German tavern where you could go inside and have German food and drink. Hunter and I wanted to sample some of the beers from around the world, but we both agreed that we needed to be at least half sober to keep an eye on the girls at the party later.
Isabelle was looking at some knitted hats in the shape of different animals, and while she was engrossed, I took a reindeer hat and put it on.
“What do you think?” I asked, tapping her on the shoulder.
When she turned to look at me, she burst out laughing. “You look cute. So cute, in fact, I think you should buy it and wear it for the rest of the day.”
“You want me to ruin my image by walking around with Rudolph on my head?” I asked, feigning coolness. “Woman, please.”
She laughed harder, and put her arms around me. “Don’t ever say that again.”
Her lips met mine, and suddenly, being cool didn’t matter. “I’ll wear one if you do.”
