Chapter 2
C harlotte took one more deep breath and consulted the calendar on her phone; what she’d told Chad about having an interview coming up was true. She made her way down a plain concrete hallway toward the ride’s exit—exit areas sometimes got the same attention to theming as the rest of the ride, but not here—and back into the frankly too brilliant for January sun. While digging her oversized sunglasses out of her equally oversized bag, she headed toward the Cosmic Wonders building for her interview with the coaster’s art director. Afterward, she found a seat inside the blissfully air-conditioned space and pulled out her laptop while her thoughts about Cosmic Catastrophe were still fresh. The embargo for reporting on the coaster’s opening was up in two days and Ride Report , the outlet paying her to write this story, needed her finished article as soon as she could so they could edit and schedule it.
“Charlotte!”
She turned her head and grinned at her best friend. “Hey, Melanie!”
“Leave it to you to be working in a theme park on a beautiful day,” Melanie replied. “You know, life is happening here—rides, churros, me. You don’t need to work all the time.”
Melanie’s tone was light, but it wasn’t the first time Charlotte had heard that advice from her.
“I know, but I want to be prepared to turn this article in as quickly as I can,” Charlotte answered while she saved the document and closed her laptop. She stood up to hug Melanie. Charlotte hadn’t seen her fellow theme park reporter and friend in person in far too long. They’d first met when Charlotte was still working at DreamUs and had hit it off from the beginning. Jeni was concerned about Charlotte getting close with a theme park reporter, but it wasn’t like Melanie was the type to dig for “scoops” or be sneaky for the sake of getting an article up on the internet first. Their friendship really developed once Charlotte was laid off in July and had an abundance of free time. She started to realize her work-martyr ways and, once she began to work on herself, she became a better and more available friend. Despite the hurdle of long distance, she and Melanie had become close. “I know intense roller coasters like this one aren’t your favorite.” She squeezed Melanie’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”
“I rode it once and I consider that a win. I kept my eyes open, even during the loops!” Melanie pulled away and struck a defiant pose, her long platinum-blond hair, streaked with purple and green, in a braid that whipped over her slightly sunburned shoulder. Her friend looked as stylish as ever in a cute sundress with lacy shorts underneath. While Charlotte went for comfort first with rompers, hoodies, her favorite sneakers, and ponytails for days, Melanie blended fashion and comfort in a way that made her stand out in any crowd.
Melanie claimed she’d try any ride once, but that rule didn’t usually apply to anything that went upside down or more than twenty miles per hour. Charlotte had once witnessed Melanie have a total meltdown about an unexpected but totally planned and safe drop in a ride. So, this marked huge progress. Melanie usually focused her theme park coverage on food and drinks. She’d built an impressive following on social media and her own blog with her photos and exceedingly honest opinions about everything from flavored popcorn to the more upscale restaurants in the theme park scene. Her training as a chef and history working in fine dining kitchens gave her a unique perspective among theme park food bloggers. Mel lived near the parks in Orlando, so she dropped by at least three times a week. And now she was expanding her portfolio beyond food to write more about rides.
Charlotte would not comment on how out of sorts Melanie looked despite her cute outfit. She thought Melanie was brave to face her fears, but she certainly wouldn’t have thought any less of Melanie if she’d opted out. Thrill rides weren’t for everyone.
“That’s amazing! Look how far you’ve come. Ready to go on Interstellar Screamer with me next?” Charlotte joked.
Melanie’s eyes expanded to at least twice their usual size. “Nope, nope, nope. Forever going to be a nope.”
Charlotte laughed. “Well, the invitation stands if you ever change your mind. Have you started your interviews yet?”
Early press events like this usually included a handful of interviews with the people who’d worked on developing the ride from its inception, or maybe the sound designer for the entire attraction, or sometimes the food and beverage geniuses who concocted treats and drinks themed to the ride that would be sold in the ride’s area of the park.
“I haven’t, but I wanted to find you for a different reason.”
Charlotte could tell from Melanie’s cautious expression that her friend was holding back. “Because you haven’t seen me for a month and missed me terribly?”
“Yes, of course. But also Chad’s here.” A sharp edge punctuated Melanie’s last two words.
“Ugh,” Charlotte spat out. “Yeah, I know. I just ran into him slash got cornered by him. He couldn’t wait to tell me about his new promotion.”
“Right? I think I talked to him for less than two minutes before he found a way to bring it up!” Melanie rolled her eyes.
Charlotte grimaced. “He told me he was here to support the Wonder World team, but it felt like he wanted to specifically find me so he could gloat about his promotion and sneer at my current career. Or, probably in his opinion, lack of a career.”
“Would that surprise you?”
Charlotte sighed. “No, not even a little.”
“Did Chad mention anything else?” Melanie had a questioning, almost cringing look on her face.
Uh-oh.
“Anything else like what?” Charlotte went on guard. “He said he’d be out of the country for a while to work in Paris, but that was about it.”
“Ah. I’m sorry to be the person to have to tell you this—”
Charlotte interrupted. “Melanie, what is it?”
“It’s about Chad and Jeni—”
“No. No. I refuse to hear any more.” Charlotte covered her ears with her hands to show she was serious.
Melanie looked apologetic as she gently pulled Charlotte’s hands away and held them. “Ignoring something doesn’t make it not happen, you know. Being informed is good, especially when the information is coming from a kind person with your best interests at heart—that’s me.”
“You’re right,” Charlotte grumbled. “Tell me.”
“They’re moving to Paris together .”
Charlotte looked down at the swirling stars on the carpet and took a moment to process. “I thought you were going to say they’d gotten engaged , so all things considered, them moving in together, even if it is to Paris, the most romantic city in the world, isn’t so bad.”
“ Wellllll ,” Melanie said in a high-pitched voice. Charlotte felt her gut drop as she leveled an inquisitive look at her friend.
“Yeah, you can guess,” Melanie said.
“I’m shocked he didn’t shoehorn that bit of news into our conversation, too. But hey, you know, good for them. I suppose? They’d better not invite me to the wedding is all I’m saying.” Charlotte tried so hard to play it cool, to let this news bounce in and out of her mind without snagging on her anxieties. She would not dwell, damn it. It’s not that she was lost without Chad. She’d cared for him, even loved him in a way, but their relationship had been about two people on a similar path with aligned goals who enjoyed each other’s company and bodies. They moved in together out of convenience more than a burning desire to spend more time together.
But he’d found sparks with Jeni—sparks he didn’t have with Charlotte and that made her feel less than in a way she didn’t want to feel right after being laid off. The betrayal a mere month after that huge life change upended Charlotte’s entire world. Jeni and Chad insisted their relationship had nothing to do with Charlotte losing her job, and she knew that was true. Still. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering, then and now, six months later. At least she’d learned a valuable lesson about not dating coworkers and drawing a stronger line between work and life.
“Oh, they’re eloping in Paris so no worries there.”
Charlotte contorted her face to keep the tears at bay. She knew a wedding would happen, maybe not at this lightning-fast speed. She fucking knew it. Melanie put her hand on Charlotte’s arm and gave a gentle pat. “I’m sorry I plopped that news into your lap out of nowhere, but I had to make sure you didn’t hear it from someone else. How about we take a walk and get some drinks? I know exactly what you need.”
Charlotte scrunched her nose and took a deep breath. “Only if we walk through the gift shop to maximize our time in air-conditioning.”
She put all the Chad revelations from this trip to the back of her mind. For now, or maybe for forever. Who could say? Right now, she needed to focus on relief in the form of cold air on her skin, her friend, and a frozen apple slushie topped with a lemony foam.