When he looked around, he noticed they’d pulled into the Wiesses’ neighborhood. Not far ahead, several squad cars occupied the street in front of the house across from Mallory’s, along with a white vehicle that bore an uncanny likeness to a hearse.
“That’s the Andersons’ place,” Tim said. “They’re on my weekend paper route.”
His mother pulled into Mallory’s driveway and shut off the engine. They sat in the car a moment longer, watching the police, wondering what could’ve happened to merit the response of multiple officers.
“Well, we can’t sit here and speculate about it all night,” his mom said. “How do I look, okay or too dressy?”
“You look awesome,” Tim replied. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen his mother so concerned with her appearance. She had on a delicate white sundress decorated with colorful wildflower designs, and she’d spent nearly an hour making sure her hair and makeup were flawless before leaving the house. Sam Hale, their neighbor across the road, ran his lawnmower right off the grass and into the street when he saw her come out to the car.
“Thanks, Tim, so do you,” she replied.
He grinned. “Yeah, right.” He wore a plain green tee shirt and a pair of denim shorts, having selected them specifically for their mediocrity. When it came time to tour the water rides at the fair, he wouldn’t worry about getting them wet.
They got out of the car.
Paul answered the door on the first ring of the bell and invited them into the foyer, where he was giving Lori Hanlon a crash-course on how to work the alarm panel.
“Hey, Tim,” Lori said. “Hi, Ms. Fleming.” The girl rocked on the balls of her feet, her fiery-red ponytail bouncing with each move. “Thanks again for the babysitting reference. Every bit helps for next year’s college fund.”
“Ready to go?”
Tim looked up and saw Mallory coming down the stairs. She wore white shorts and a yellow camo tee shirt that hugged every curve of her torso.
“Ready as ever,” he replied, thinking that if the house caved in around him he wouldn’t even notice.
Five minutes later they hit the road, all riding in the Wiesses’ Expedition. Despite the enormity of the backseat, Mallory slid up beside him, and their bare legs brushed together as they planned what rides to target first.
“Anything that goes insanely fast,” Mallory said.
“And upside-down,” Tim added.
“Or in lots of circles.”
“Of course!”
When they arrived in front of the fair gates at a quarter to eight, they scrambled out of their seats like a pair of sugar-fueled preschoolers.
“Have fun,” Mr. Wiess called out the window. “I’ve got my cell phone if you need to reach us; otherwise, we’ll meet you back here at around eleven-thirty, okay?”
“Got it,” Mallory confirmed.
“Will do,” Tim added.
Seconds later, they handed over their tickets to the admission attendants and headed inside, moving past the forward wishing fountain and main clock tower that marked the amusement park’s entrance.
On the other side of the clock tower, the thoroughfare stretched out to their right and left, its course lined with rides and shops and dotted by various concessions offering foods and drinks. Throngs of people moved from one attraction to another. Tim inhaled the unique blend of smells that lingered on the breeze: the faint mechanical scent of oil, grease, and diesel from the rides, mixed with the more noticeable aroma of popcorn, cotton candy, and deep-fried pastries.
They took the first left and hurried toward the Enterprise, a spinning contraption that looked like a huge, futuristic bicycle wheel lying on its side. Two-passenger gondolas hung along its outer edge. The ride began to spin at ground level, then a hydraulic arm gradually raised the whole machine to a vertical position, so the riders were going in high-speed loops.
On their first go, Tim sat in the back of the gondola with Mallory up front. Since there was no divider between seating areas, Mallory had to sit between Tim’s legs. Once the ride built up speed, she leaned backward against him, her fragrant hair blowing in his face.
At his request, they rode Enterprise three times in a row.
After the sun went down, the fairgrounds came aglow with a galaxy of colors. The ride lights flickered on, and the stars overhead faded behind a million twinkling, spinning, pulsing orbs of electricity and neon.
Mallory walked alongside Tim as they made their way down the exit ramp of The Corkscrew, having ridden the roller coaster for the fifth time since arriving.
“I swear it’s true,” Tim said. “It happened right here.”
“No way.”
“Yes way. The guy puked at the top of the first big loop and the barf landed on his head when the coaster came down the other side.”
Mallory chuckled. “You are so full of it.”
“I am not,” he laughed. “It was in the paper.”
She nudged against him and said, “Blaugh!” into his ear.
Tim wiped his cheek. “Oh, raunchy! You goobered on me.”
Mallory gasped, stopping in her tracks. She covered her mouth with both hands. “Seriously?”
Tim beamed. “Only joking.”
“You little shit,” she laughed. “Now I’m going to do it for real!”
“That’s not ladylike!”
Mallory sucked in a long breath, and Tim broke into a run. She chased him down the ramp, both of them snaking their way past the other people who had come off the coaster. At the bottom, Tim skidded to a halt beside the exit gate and held up a hand.
Mallory stopped.
Like the other rides they’d been on, he held the gate open for her, this time adding a theatrical sweeping gesture with his free hand, showing her the way out.
“After you, Madam.”
She straightened her posture and walked gracefully past him.
“Ah, such a gentleman,” she replied in an English accent.
An older couple passing by watched them with bemused expressions, and Mallory curtsied in return. Tim pointed at her and told them, “She’s raunchy.”
“That does it!”
They took off again, running along the concourse until the crowds got too thick to maneuver through. A gathering had formed beside the main road, making room for the marching band that preformed regular rounds of the park. The music boomed, drums crackling like action-movie gunfire and horns blaring louder than a fire engine siren. Behind them, the towering Ferris wheel gleamed with a luminous exoskeleton of multicolored tube-bulbs.
Mallory huddled close to Tim.
“Where to next?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to see.”
Tim stepped onto a bench set against a retaining wall topped with clusters of marigolds, and Mallory climbed up beside him. From their new vantage point she had a clear view over the heads of all the people.
Tim pointed. “Look, The Monster line has thinned out.”
On the far side of the assembly The Monster made its revolutions, rising and dipping as it moved. The ride looked like a giant black octopus with four rotating gondolas at the end of each outstretched arm, all outlined by rows of glowing yellow lights.
Mallory looked left and right. “We’ll have to wait for the band to pass before we cross.”
“Not if we go now,” Tim said.
He grabbed her hand and jumped off the bench, towing her with him, weaving a path around the spectators. The band roared directly ahead.
“Tim, we’ll never make it!”