Crystal reached out and touched the thick black pad surrounding the safety bar. "I don't know about this."
Laura scooted closer, their hips almost touching. "Trust me, this will be fun."
"I'm not a wimp," she said, fastening the button on her shirt pocket to keep her cigarettes in place. "When I was little I went on the scrambler and the kiddy roller coasters. They were fun."
"Well now just think how much fun it will be on the bigger rides," the writer countered. A resounding series of clicks were heard as the safety bars were lowered into place. "Ah, here we go. It's almost time."
"Hey, I can still move around behind this bar," Crystal said. "It doesn't hold me tight."
"It's not supposed to." Laura reached over and patted the hand gripped tightly around the padded bar. "Please Crystal. Trust me on this, okay?" "I do trust you. I just don't trust this ride."
But it was too late for protests as the ship started moving. "Here we go," Laura said, casually resting her wrists on the safety bar. The longboat was suspended by support beams on each end connected to an axis thirty feet in air above the center of the ride. An engine hidden beneath the ride powered a rotating tire that moved along the bottom of the ship to give the ride its momentum.
"Oh God," Crystal said as the ride gained speed, moving back and forth raising up in a gradually increasing arc. The wind blew her hair back and forth, momentarily blocking Laura's view of her friend's face.
"Hang on, it's going to go higher," she said with a smile. On the next swing, the longboat shaped ride went even higher, causing their stomachs to flip-flop. Crystal giggled at the unusual feeling, a smile coming to her face.
"That feels funny."
"Yeah," Laura agreed. "Let's raise our arms next time as it's going down."
"Not on your life," the younger woman said firmly, strengthening her grip on the safety bar.
"Wuss." The writer raised her arms as did many others on the ride. "Whee," she yelled as they descended, lowering them only on the upswing. "Come on, it's fun."
"Uh huh," Crystal said dubiously, refusing to release her grip. Still the smile remained on her face as they swung back and forth. The ride swung to an almost vertical position before coming back down.
"Whee," they said in unison. One of the teenagers who fought so hard to get to the back seats apparently failed to follow the attendants instructions to keep everything secured. His blue baseball cap sailed off, fluttering to the ground below. Crystal laughed at both his frantic attempt to catch it and the thrill of the speeding ride. Far too soon for Laura, the ride slowed, the arc lessened, and soon they found themselves sitting still waiting for the safety bar to be raised. The roommates became separated as they exited the ride, meeting up moments later on the ground. The first words out of Crystal's mouth was "That was fun. Can we do it again?"
Laura couldn't help but laugh. "I told you you'd enjoy it once you got on it."
"Oh man, I can't believe how fast that thing goes," Crystal said, using her fingers to hook her hair behind her ear. "It's a good thing we haven't eaten yet."
"The pirate ship is murder on the stomach," Laura agreed, similarly moving her shorter hair back into place. "But it is so much fun." "Oh yeah. Let's do it again."
The initial hesitation in the twenty-five year old was gone, replaced by an enthusiasm associated more with people half her age. They went on the ride again, this time Laura convincing her to sit a couple of seats back from the center. Crystal still kept her hands on the safety bar but it did nothing to dampen her enjoyment of the ride. After that they decided to spend some time on the ground, walking along the Midway checking out the various games of skill and chance.
"That looks pretty easy," Crystal said. "All you have to do is knock the bottles off with a baseball."
"The trick is you have to knock them completely off the stand in order to win." Still, it does look pretty easy, Laura thought to herself. One dollar per throw. Well, I suppose it won't hurt to try. "You want to take a shot at it?"
"Me? Hell no," the younger woman scoffed. "I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from ten feet away. You're the outfielder."
Laura was already unzipping her fanny pack in search of some singles. She stepped up and handed a bill to the attendant. One bottle was stacked on top of two others and a ball was handed to her. She nodded at the instructions and hefted the ball in her left hand. Her first throw was high, knocking off the top bottle but leaving the bottom two standing. Immediately she pulled out another bill. I can do this. The bottles were reset.
"Come on, Laura. You can do it," Crystal encouraged. The next shot knocked the bottles down but only two rolled off the stand. The next two shots proved equally fruitless but on the fifth try she jumped with delight when all three bottles hit the ground.
"Choice, bottom shelf," the attendant said.
"You pick it," Laura said to her roommate.
"Naw, you're the one who won it."
"No really. You pick it."
"Okay" Crystal looked at the various stuffed bears. "The red one." It was almost a foot in height, far too big to be squeezed into Laura's fanny pack. "I'll hold it for you," she offered.
"Hold it for me? No Crystal. You keep it. You picked it out."
"You sure?"
"Sure." She reached out and took the bear, checking the seams to make sure they weren't split as so many of the stuffed toys won at fairs and carnivals were. Satisfied that it wasn't defective, she handed it back to Crystal. "You'll just have to win something for me later." "How about I buy you another beer instead? I told you, I have lousy aim."
"Tell you what. I'll buy this round and you pick out the next ride." One more beer won't hurt me. We're going to be here for a few more hours yet. They walked over to the beer cart. "What kind?"
"Miller if they have it."
"Is that what we had last time?"
"Yeah."
"That was fine." Laura turned to the man. "Two Millers."
They continued on, passing cotton candy and popcorn booths. The sun was starting to set and the Midway twinkled with the glow of multi-colored blinking lights. "Oh, look at that!" Crystal said excitedly, pointing at an open tent housing gaming tables. "I bet they have blackjack in there."
"They have gambling at the fair?"
"Yeah, look. There's a dice game. Let's go look."
Laura had no choice but to follow as Crystal quickly crossed the distance and entered the tent. Indeed the area was a mini casino, with blackjack, poker, craps, and various other games of chance. Crystal set her beer on the felt covered table and pulled up a chair. "I'm good at blackjack," she said. Laura watched as she pulled two dollars out of her pocket and set them on the table. "I'm in," she said to the dealer. He was dressed in a typical fashion, white shirt with black vest, a green plastic visor on his head. He nodded and looked at Laura questioningly.
Realizing she would have to play in order to remain sitting next to Crystal, Laura pulled out two dollars as well and set them on the table. She leaned over and quietly said to her roommate "You're going to have to help me out here."
"No prob," Crystal said, picking up her beer. "Patty and I used to play this together all the time." The dealer quickly dealt the cards, giving Crystal two jacks and Laura a seven and a four. The dealer showed a seven, the other one was face down on the table. "Ooh," the blonde said excitedly. "Double down."
"What?"
"Put two more bucks up. Chances are you'll get a face card and beat him."
"And if I don't, I'm out four bucks."
"You'll beat him, trust me." Crystal looked at the dealer. "I'll stay."
Laura did as instructed, receiving another card from the dealer. "I got a nine."
"That's fine. You have twenty, just like me. If he has a face card, he can't draw. He has to stop at seventeen and over, pull on sixteen and under." The cards were dealt to the other players before the dealer flipped his face card over, revealing a ten.