Page 92 of Road Trip to Forever
“I’ll help you out,” he says after a stretch of silence, and the heat extinguishes between us.
I fumble with my purse and slip my AirPods into my ears. I still have the Bowie playlist queued from the other day and I hum along. My door opens and I’m guided to solid ground. We walk a short distance, then we’re sitting on something warm. Metal, I think. A train or trolley? We lurch forward and the vehicle moves onward.
There are a few steps, then more walking. Patrick keeps his hand in mine, a strong and sturdy grip he doesn’t ease up on.
It’s like how we woke up this morning, our legs intertwined and our palms pressed together. The cuddling was on purpose, an alarm not pulling us apart. I opened my eyes and saw him smiling at me. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as he kissed my cheek, and I can’t wait for us to be in a place where I can show off our relationship. Shout to the world,Hey! Look at us! We’re together and happy as shit. Aren’t you jealous?
The right AirPod gets plucked out of my ear, the chorus from “All The Young Dudes” replaced with Patrick murmuring, “Hey.” He’s close, his chest against my back.
“Hi,” I say.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. I see why you didn’t like having your eyes closed when we were in D.C. It’s disorienting.”
“You’ve done so well,” he says, his knuckles running down my jaw.
“And do I get something for doing so well?” I ask.
“I already told you, Lola. You can have whatever you want.” He takes the AirPod out of my left ear. I can hear people passing and whimsical music, loud laughter and shrieks of young children. He works on the scarf knotted at the back of my head, the silk falling away. “Anything,” he reiterates, a whisper in my ear that sends a shiver down my spine, so many implications behind the word.
I feel dizzy.
“Noted,” I whisper back. “Can I open my eyes?”
Patrick loops his arm around my front, across my clavicle. His chin rests on the top of my head and he nods. “Yeah, sweetheart. Go ahead.”
I slide my sunglasses over my eyes to help with the glare and squint into the sunshine, finally able to read what’s in front of me.
“Magic Kingdom?” I ask. I whip around and stare at him. “We’re going to Disney World?”
“Yeah.” He grins. “All day. I’ve planned out everything minute by minute.”
“No.” I shake my head and take a step back. “No. Patrick—this must have cost a lot of money. We’ll be outside, and I know you hate the heat. I can’t… I can’t ask you to do any of this for me.”
Patrick reaches out and offers me his hand. I bite my lip and take it, letting him tug me back toward him. “I’m not asking. I’m doing. Because I want to, remember? And I’m going to tell you a secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yeah. I didn’t pay for anything. Henry and Emma did.”
“What? How? Why?”
“Your charity choice had the most donations at their wedding. Over fifty thousand dollars, they said. The organization has never received a monetary payment that large before, and they were beyond appreciative. When Henry and Emma found out I had a plan to bring you here, they gave us their Club 33 access. I guess it means exclusive benefits and not having to wait in line? I’m not totally familiar with it, but Henry made a call and told us we were all set. Free tickets. A special restaurant just for club members. Front of the line access at all the attractions. You talked about me deserving nice things, but you deserve them too. So, you’re going to let me spoil the shit out of you while we’re here, and you can be mad at me when we get back to the car.” His lips tug into a smile. “Deal?”
A laugh comes out of my mouth the same time I start to cry. A whirlwind of emotion that I don’t know how to prioritize. Soon I’m cackling hysterically as tears stream down my face and I hug Patrick in a tight embrace. “I could never be mad at you.”
“Never?”
“Never,” I repeat.
“Good.” He uses his thumb to wipe away the smudged mascara under my eyes. “Because we have ten minutes until we need to be walking into the park, and we still have to ride the monorail.”
“I know how much you love strict schedules and a plan. Lead the way, Patrick.”
We go through the long security line, waiting among big families with exhausted parents and eager kids, over-packed strollers, and umbrellas for sun protection. Ralph, the nice man who asks us how our vacation is going, checks our bags and sends us on our way.
There’s a quick ride on the monorail to the park entrance, and soon we’re walking down Main Street hand in hand. I glance up at Patrick and that damn backwards hat. He’s scrolling through his phone with his free hand, reciting the timeframes he picked for each of the attractions. I notice he’s timed the indoor rides to line up with mid-afternoon, when the sun is highest in the sky and the heat is sweltering.
