Chapter Thirty-Five - King's Island and the Sound of Screaming on the Coaster

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

King's Island and the Sound of Screaming on the Coaster

WE ALMOST DIDN’T go.

Too hot.
Too many people.
Too much to do.

But she looked at me over pancakes one morning and said, “Let’s be spontaneous.”

And when she says that?

You go.

The car ride was pure chaos.

We forgot sunscreen.
The toddler spilled applesauce everywhere before we even hit the highway.
The Bluetooth wouldn’t connect, so we listened to the same three songs on loop like we were in some kind of nostalgic psychological experiment.

But once we pulled in, that big blue coaster rising up like the gates of Valhalla, we were in it.

We took turns.

She took the kid to the carousel while I hit a coaster with her brother.
I held the diaper bag while she braved the log flume.
We laughed. We sweated. We overpaid for slushies that stained our tongues neon blue.

And then it happened.

The moment of truth.

We stood in line for the coaster.
The Big One.
The “Are you sure your heart is healthy enough for this?” coaster.

She looked nervous.

“You don’t have to,” I said.
“I want to,” she replied.

And that’s how I knew she was gonna scream.

We strapped in.
Click-click-click up the hill.
She reached for my hand.

Didn’t look at me.
Just grabbed tight.

The view at the top was insane. Endless trees, sky, the park below like a toy set.

Then the drop.

And holy God.

She let out a sound I have never heard from another human.
Half scream, half laugh, half spiritual exorcism.

We hit turns.
We flew through mist.
And every time I looked at her?

She was alive.

Eyes wild.
Hair everywhere.
Laughing like she was five years old again.

When we got off, she looked at me and said, “I think I peed a little.”

And I said, “I think I fell in love with you again.”

We high-fived the kid.
Took a blurry family photo.
Got Dippin’ Dots and let them melt too fast.

And as we walked back to the car, sunburnt and delirious, she whispered, “Let’s never stop doing dumb shit like this.”

I kissed her shoulder.

“Deal.”