Page 16 of Gone With the Wine

“You sound like an old lady,” Millie teases. “You’re only twenty-six.”

I’m thirty-six. That’s a fuck of a lot older than her. What the hell was I doing, fantasizing about her in skimpy purple silk? Jesus.

She rolls her eyes. “The last time I came to the fair I was eighteen.”

So shehasbeen away for a while.

“Let’s all go on the Ferris wheel,” Millie says. “We can discuss the Shock Wave after.”

“Uh, no thanks.” I wave a hand. “You all go on, though. Rides aren’t my thing.”

Disappointment shows on their faces.

“You’re going to make me go on the ride alone?” Bianca says.

Well, shit. The seats only hold two people, so of course she’ll be alone.

“Are you afraid?” she asks, lifting a perfect eyebrow.

“I’m not afraid of it,” I say patiently. “It’s just not my idea of fun.”

“Maybe the Teacups are more your speed? We can probably find a toddler to go on with you.”

“Ha ha. I’m good, thanks.”

“Standing on the ground watching everyone else is your idea of fun, then?”

I stare at her. “Basically, yeah. I’m the one who’s old.”

“Phhhht. Fine. I’ll go alone.” She turns her back on me and starts toward it. Ana and Millie give me a brief look of sadness, but follow Bianca.

Before I can even think about it, I start after the group. “Fine, I’ll go on with you,” I say as I join them in line. “So you won’t be alone.”

“Don’t feel obligated on my behalf.” Bianca waves a hand.

I cock my head, studying her face. She’s all cool and condescending but a faint tightness at the corners of those pretty lips hints at nerves.

“Of course not.” I shrug.

She sucks on her bottom lip, then shrugs, too. “Whatever.”

She’s nervous about the Ferris wheel. But she was going to ride alone.

The sounds of the carnival surround us—music and chatter and screams from folks on the Shockwave and the Zipper. When it’s our turn to get on the big wheel, I let her go first and then the attendant closes the bar in front of us, locking it into place. Bianca curls her fingers over it but tosses her hair back and smiles as we glide away and up.

The sun is low in the sky now, the neon lights on all the rides coming on. We stop a few times as more people get off and on the ride, and end up stopped at the very top. We have a view of the entire fair and the town of Napa around us and I survey my new home. “This is cool.”

“Yeah.” She, too, looks around but her knuckles are white on the bar in front of us.

“Tell me some of the things you see,” I say. “I’m new here.”

“Right. Um, well, that’s the river over there. The Napa River.”

“Uh huh.”

“That’s a cemetery.”

I nod.

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