Page 32 of Sweet Summertide

He understood her just fine. At least he knew the sentiment she was attempting to express. The difference between their individual desires to win was the line he was unwilling to cross. Her line was decidedly located elsewhere, though he wasn’t certain of the precise location. As he made his way back across the street to his shop, he wondered whether her ability to push the limits would be enough to propel her to success.

Time would tell if his efforts would lead to success. For now, he had a few final touches to add to his event set-up. A white van pulled up next to his shop and the side door slid open. Gold and white balloons poured out and floated skyward as far as their tethers would permit. The delivery driver placed the weighted bag on the ground and closed the slider.

Behind the van, a small semi-truck stopped and obscured the creamery from his view. Ignoring whatever she had going on, Theodor thanked the driver and began securing the balloons to the supports of the shade tents. Playing off Holly’s choice of spray paint, the gold balloons shimmered in the sun and would help draw attention to his location. Assisting with the flow of traffic, he positioned the groups of balloons to help guide people from one activity to the next.

With the final bunch attached, he stood back and clapped his hands, pleased with the way his event appeared. “Today is going to be a good day.”

As the truck separating him from Holly pulled away, he realized he may have spoken too soon. A gigantic green and pinkballoon arch spanned the street. Behind the arch and half-way down the block, workers lowered the side panels of a shipping container, revealing a folded carnival ride, like they were opening a pop-up book. Buckets hung from a steel structure that went up in minutes. Two guys climbed a central ladder and bolted two ends of an octagon together at the top.

“A Ferris wheel?” Theodor let his bun down for the sole purpose of ripping his hair out. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I wonder how much that cost!” He threw his hands in the air and kicked an empty bucket through his store’s open front door.

There was nothing he could do to compete with her resources, which begged the question: if she had all this money, plenty enough to rent a Ferris wheel, then why did she need the grant money at all? There was one way he would find out. And he intended to.

Slapping a set of balloons from his way that were blowing in the breeze, he stepped towards the street, stopping short of the curb. Across the road, a band was setting up equipment and doing a sound check in the spot where the workers had been laying cables. She had it all, and he needed something big if he was going to compete. He needed something fast.

Theodor snapped his fingers as his mind searched for an answer. For a man who always had a strategy, he wondered why everything he was doing was falling short? He snapped his fingers at his realization. He was failing at the game, because he was playing by someone else’s rules. It was high time he got off his heels and got onto offense.

He took his phone out and rang Alfonso. “Hey bro. I need a favor. Do you think you can bring the guests to my shop for let’s say, a field trip? In one hour.”

CHAPTER 17

From all appearances,Teddy’s chocolate tasting had been a success. Holly had watched the crowds of people gathering to try his products and showing interest in his culinary demonstration. If she hadn’t been so busy managing her own event, she might have given into her curiosity and attended his instead.

With most of the ice cream samples gone or melted, and her crew tearing down the tents, a very serious looking Teddy was marching straight toward her. “Come with me,” he demanded and took her hand before she could respond. She felt like a petulant child about to be punished, but they were heading for the Ferris wheel which didn’t frighten her so much.

She tugged on Teddy’s grip, but he only held her tighter. “What are you doing?”

“Hush,” he said without making eye contact and approached the ride’s operator. Handing him an undisclosed amount of folded bills, Teddy gestured for her to get into the seat. He followed next and sat beside her on the narrow bucket. There was no extra room. Her hip pressed against his and their knees touched. The operator secured the metal bar across their laps and activated the mechanics, sending them rocking skyward.

It wasn’t long before they neared the apex of the wheel, and the ride stopped. Their bucket swung forward and backward at the jerk. Below, Millie and Alfonso got into another bucket and the ride started again. The view was amazing from up so high. Holly was glad to not be afraid of heights, though her fingers clasped the cross-bar with all her might for fear of what was on the tip of Teddy’s tongue.

Teddy placed his hand on her knee, likely sensing her tension. But she wasn’t tense because of the ride, she was tense because of his presence and proximity. Her body steeled in an effort to deny anyone entry into her inner self. The ride stopped again, and they dangled high above the lights strung across Main.

“I apologize for the theatrics, but I knew you wouldn’t come with me willingly.”

She was about to protest but knew he was correct. “Alright. You got me all to yourself, what now?” Her heart pounded behind the lace bodice of her sundress. If this encounter was like their others, it would be passion fueled chaos; a messed-up emotion she was becoming accustomed to craving.

“It’s about time we got some things straightened out.”

She could tell by his flat tone that he was serious. She twisted in her seat so that she was open to him. Notwithstanding her struggle to keep him out, she hoped he would be the person to triumphantly tear down her walls for good, but the knot in her gut told her to run. He was smart because she had nowhere to flee to. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“Holly,” he brushed her curtain bangs behind her ear with his warm fingers and she caught a whiff of cocoa on the breeze. “Why are you so determined to win, when you obviously have everything that you need. I mean, who rents a Ferris wheel?” he chuckled though the sound was tight in his throat. “Who does that?”

She didn’t want him to know the truth. Her mother had cut her off unless she agreed to ‘leave this whole creamery business behind her’. “I don’t know why it was so much easier to talk to you before,” she said remembering their time on the train. “Before you were my competition, that is. I can’t see past it.”

“Don’t you see that we’re not adversaries? We could have put on an event today together and found much more success that way. I’m not talking about sharing resources or workers or anything else, but I am talking about not trying to sabotage the other. I spent all afternoon plotting a way to get back at you, and do you know what I came up with?”

She shook her head, afraid to know what his next move was going to be. She swallowed the lump of guilt down her throat.

“Nothing. I came up empty,” he said, and she swore there was a glimmer of a tear behind his dark eyes. “And do you know why?”

“Because you’re a good person and I’m a spoiled brat who gets whatever she wants.” Her frank answer surprised her.

“Yes.” Teddy shook his head ever so slightly like her response surprised him too. “Only, I think you’re not getting what you really want.”

“And what do you think I want?”Please say you.

“You want the same thing I do,” Teddy said.

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