Chapter 19
NINETEEN
“Sometimes I used my mind to get ahead, and
sometimes I used my looks. I didn’t have the luxury of being picky in those days.”
—excerpt from the unpublished memoir,
Darling, I Must Say by Gloria Hayes
The Two Harts Fourth of July Celebration was always held the first Saturday in July. I was prepared for a long day of serving up burgers, hot dogs, and pie at the Sit-n-Eat to scores of strangers.
For the special occasion, the Sit-n-Eat opened a little later and closed at five.
Ellie kindly released me from clean-up duty.
and she didn’t have to say it twice. I decided to wander around before eventually tracking down Mae and Lulu and Mom.
The Fourth celebrations had been the brainchild of Ali when she became mayor and, every year since, it had gotten bigger and more extravagant.
This year, in addition to the parade earlier in the day, Main Street was sectioned off and filled with vendors of anything under the sun.
Further down, there were a handful of carnival rides and games.
My stomach growled as I passed by the food stands. I broke down and got in line for a nutritious dinner of a giant pretzel and a deep-fried Oreo. Tables with umbrellas to block out the July sun had been set up, so I found one a little out of the way and sat.
I pulled out my phone and opened to see a text from Aidan.
Aidan: The tracking number says your package is there. Did you get it?
Oh, I’d gotten it the day before and was still not quite sure what to say about it.
ME: I did get it. Sorry for not texting sooner.
“It” was a gold-plated pocket watch with my initials engraved on the front. On the back, there was a date. Not my birth date, which I had foolishly thought this package was for. Nope, it was Aidan and Missy’s wedding date and under that, their first names.
Aidan: All the groomsmen got one. I couldn’t leave you out.
ME: Thanks for including me. It’s very nice.
Aidan: I could never forget my best girl.
I’d stared at that watch for twenty-five minutes yesterday, wondering what I was supposed to do with it.
Was I required to have it on my person on the day of the wedding?
And why oh why did I need a pocket watch with their names and wedding date on it?
A little something to remember watching the maybe, possibly love of my life marry someone else?
“This seat taken?”
I looked up to see Abe, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with an American flag on it. “Nice shirt.”
He ran a hand over his chest. “Hallie and I have matching ones. It’s tradition.”
“Where is Hallie?” I asked, scanning the area.
“She’s with Ali. Thought I’d walk around.” His eyes crinkled in the corners as he sat across from me. “What are you doing here all alone?”
“I just finished several hours of being asked, ‘Are the pies gluten-free?’ and ‘Do you have any vegan hot dogs?’ I’ll find the family later.” I pushed my half-eaten pretzel towards him, and he pulled off a piece. “Actually, I’m kind of glad I saw you. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What’s up?”
“I may have led my sister to believe our pretend wedding date is not so pretend. Sorry about that.” I snapped the deep-fried Oreo in half and handed him one as a peace offering.
“Why?” He sounded curious.
“Honestly? She was all upset about the possibility we could be dating that I wanted her to suffer for a little bit.” I took a bite of my Oreo and moaned as all that sugary-sweet goodness hit my tongue. “I’m very petty. I feel like I should tell you that.”
Abe cleared his throat and looked away. “So, I’m a revenge date in more than one way? I feel so cheap.”
“And I thank you for your service. But, um, this is awkward,” I said. “We both agree this is just a fake date thing, right? Like real feelings are not exchanged. Except friendship feelings, of course.”
He frowned. “Did you think it was something else?”
“What? No, of course not. It’s a favor. You go to the wedding, I watch Hallie. We’re… favoring each other. That’s a thing, right?”
“Right.” He nodded slowly. “Favoring each other.”
“Yeah.” Now I was the one who looked away.
An awkward silence filled the space between us until finally Abe stood. “As a friend, do you want to walk around? Maybe I’ll try and win you one of those giant stuffed bananas.”
“You’d do that for me?” I stood up. “Such a gentleman. Lead the way.”
“Nope.” I shook my head and took a step back, clutching the hot dog plushie that was half my size. Sadly, they’d been out of bananas. “Absolutely not.”
Abe smirked. “No way are you afraid of a Ferris wheel.”
“I’m not afraid of the Ferris wheel,” I snapped. “I’m afraid of falling out of the Ferris wheel and ending up as a human-sized pancake.”
He scoffed. “Don’t you think that sounds a tiny bit irrational?”
“It is not irrational. Fears are very healthy. They keep us safe. Duh.” I turned and started to hightail it as far away from the wheel of death.
A few seconds later, Abe wrapped a hand around my arm. “Wait. Wait. Okay, I won’t force you. Facing fear is for suckers anyway, right?”
I wheeled around and glared at him. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Who, me?” Which would have been a more effective response if he hadn’t been, well, laughing. “I thought you were tough, but I guess it’s all talk.”
My hands curled into fists. I knew he was goading me. The problem was that it was working. I stomped over to him and smacked him in the chest with the hot dog. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, we were buckled into one of the gondolas and I was white-knuckling the safety bar. Off to the side, my giant plushie grinned up at us manically. “I will make you get me another hot dog if that one gets stolen.”
He patted my hand. “It’ll be fine.”
The wheel jerked up as the next gondola locked into place to be loaded.
I shrieked. “I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die.”
“You aren’t a puker, are you?” Abe asked.
“I don’t know, but I kind of hope I am,” I muttered. A bead of sweat trailed down my cheek. That was either from the heat or my life flashing before my eyes.
He laughed. Again.
“I don’t think I like you.” I gasped as the wheel moved another twenty feet up. “Don’t look down. Do not look down.”
“You dated that other guy for how long and never went on a Ferris wheel together?”
“Aidan gets motion sickness, so no.” Which was fine by me.
“Huh.” He shifted in his seat and the gondola rocked.
“Don’t move. Please. Don’t move.”
“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.”
“Don’t look down. Look at the horizon. The sun’s setting. It’s beautiful. I always thought a Texas sunset looked like a watercolor painting. Come on, open your eyes.”
With a shaky breath, I slowly peeled my eyes open.
The town of Two Harts spread out in front of us but beyond that, fields replaced the houses and shops.
Brilliant orange shot with streaks of yellow filled the entire sky.
From up here, the sky looked both impossibly big and yet close enough to touch.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
Abe smiled and squeezed my hand in response.
The Ferris wheel lurched to life. “At least this will be the last thing I see before I die.”
“You aren’t going to die,” he said, and then so quietly I wasn’t sure I’d heard him, “I’ll keep you safe.”