by Clay Cormany
Jace got behind the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. He decided not to talk about Sylvia anymore, since it was clear Stephanie didn't share his high opinion of her.
Jace had to park about a half mile away from the carnival, but even from that distance, he and Stephanie could see the Ferris wheel as well as a roller coaster and some kind of rocket ship ride. The two of them walked hand-in-hand, the carnival’s lights growing brighter with each step they took. Close to the entrance, a row of red-and-white tents came into view, their pointed tops poking into the evening sky. The scent of popcorn and greasy food filled the air, and people of every size, shape, and color passed them on either side. They took their place in the ticket line behind a man with a spider web tattoo on the back of his head.
"What do you want to do?" Jace asked after he paid for their tickets.
"Everything we can before eleven."
"Is that when you need to be home?"
She nodded as Jace checked his watch.
"It’s only a quarter to eight," he said. "We may be finished with everything here before eleven."
Stephanie nudged him with her elbow. "Then we’ll just have to do some things twice, won’t we?"
They started off with the roller coaster, the rocket ship ride, the whirling shells, and the scrambler. After corn dogs and cokes, they rode the merry-go-round. Seated on red-and-gold horses side-by-side, they held hands and laughed as their stallions went up and down while music blared from a calliope. Next came cherry snow cones, followed by a trip into the "house of horrors." Within its blackened halls, Stephanie held Jace tight when an ax-wielding zombie lurched out at them. They cringed in mock horror at the sight of a vampire feasting on a victim and laughed as a severed head floated above them, growling and threatening to eat their brains.
After snacking on some giant pretzels, Stephanie persuaded Jace to get in line for the Ferris wheel. Jace was not fond of this ride. As a five-year-old, he rode on a Ferris wheel that broke down, leaving him and his grandfather dangling near the top. Anxious and sweaty, they hung there for the better part of an hour, while workmen below made repairs.
But Stephanie persisted. "Come on, it'll be fun! And we’ll be able to see almost everything up there."
Jace gave in, and moments later, he and Stephanie were sailing through the air, spinning in big, lazy circles amid the carnival’s lights and noise. For a while, Jace kept one hand on the safety bar but let it go once he became used to the motion. Even then, he felt a little uneasy and had to wipe away drops of sweat from time to time.
Stephanie was right about seeing almost everything. Even with the daylight fading, they could observe the taller structures in Ridgeview whenever the wheel took them to its top. The water tower, the steeple of St. Bartholomew, even their high school stadium seemed close enough to touch, like miniaturized landmarks on a museum diorama.
Stephanie and Jace were at the top of the Ferris wheel when it stopped to unload the first car. She scooted closer to him and tilted her head inquisitively. "Jace, why did you decide to help coach your mother’s softball team?"
The question caught him off guard. "Oh, uh ….I thought she could use the help and I… ah… thought maybe I could give my sister some help, too, since this was her first year playing in a league."
"But didn't you know Sylvia would be your mom's assistant coach?"
"Yeah, I did, but…" Their car lurched downward, and Jace grabbed the safety bar with both hands. He guessed that he already looked stupid, clutching the metal rod in front of him like a panicked kindergartner, so no further harm could be done by telling the truth. "But when I first read the team roster, it just listed ‘S. J. Thornapple’ as the assistant coach, and I thought that was you."
Stephanie's eyes widened. "You thought I was the assistant coach?"
"I didn’t know you had a sister who coached softball, and I didn’t see how I could ever get to know you at school with Carson around all the time. I figured if we coached together on my mom’s team…then…you know…maybe…" Jace let his voice trail off.
The Ferris wheel car jerked downward once more, and his stomach did a somersault, sending a wave of nausea through his body. For a second, Jace thought everything he’d eaten would come flying out of his mouth. He closed his eyes and gripped the safety bar as hard as he could. The nausea faded away. Then he felt Stephanie put her hand on top of his. Jace opened his eyes when she spoke.
"I need to find some way to break up with Carson."
"Just tell him you don’t want to go out with him anymore."
"I’m not sure I can do that right now."
"Why not? Are you afraid of him?"
"It’s not that. Carson would never hurt me."
"Then what’s stopping you?"
Stephanie frowned and took her hand off of his. "He’s got a lot going on in his life right now, and I don’t want to hurt him any sooner than I have to."
Jace looked away, trying to hide his bewilderment. He found it hard to imagine that Carson could have his feelings hurt.
"But I’m glad you came along," Stephanie continued. "Because now I’ve got someone to go out with besides Carson. Someone who’s not afraid of him."
The Ferris wheel went down again, and the wave of nausea returned, but Jace was hardly aware of it as he tried to make sense of what Stephanie just said. He didn’t know where she got the idea he wasn’t afraid of Carson, and until now, he didn’t know why she ever decided to go out with him. Now he wondered if he was a kind of escape route, a way for her to ditch her oafish boyfriend and still have some fun.
Maybe Stephanie saw the doubt in Jace’s eyes, because she reached out and took his hand again. "Don’t get me wrong," she said. "It’s not just about Carson anymore. After our first date, I realized I liked being with you. That’s why I’m with you now."
When their car reached the bottom of the Ferris wheel, they scooted off their seats and went down a short flight of stairs. Before they were back on the midway, Stephanie pointed to another ride about fifty yards away that was partially obscured by trees. It appeared to be a boat ride.
"Let’s go see what it is," she said.
When they arrived at the ride’s entrance, Jace read the sign in front of it.
"WELCOME TO THE TUNNEL OF LOVE. TAKE A ROMANTIC BOAT RIDE WITH YOUR SWEETIE AND SHOW HER HOW YOU FEEL! THREE DOLLARS PER COUPLE."
Jace looked at Stephanie. He could tell from her face that she wanted to go on this ride. His feelings of uncertainty remained, but he sensed this was a decisive moment in their relationship. If he ever wanted something more to happen between them, something more than the occasional date, he had to act now.
Jace went up to the ticket booth and pushed a five-dollar bill toward the woman inside. A ticket and two one-dollar bills came back to him, and a minute later, he and Stephanie sat side-by-side in a small boat floating on a stream toward a heart-shaped tunnel.
It was past ten o’clock now, and as the boat took them away from the lights on the midway, darkness enveloped them. Surrounding trees, rocks, and shrubs became murky spectators to their journey, while the rush of the stream provided a kind of musical background. When the bow of the boat reached the tunnel’s entrance, Jace slipped his arm around Stephanie’s shoulders. For a few seconds, he gazed into her face and noticed, as he had during the ballet, how her exquisite features shone through the darkness as if lit from within. Tightening his grip around her, he moved his head toward hers until their lips touched and then merged in a kiss. Jace brought his free hand up and cradled Stephanie’s head, scrunching her hair and stroking the back of her neck. Suddenly the boat bumped against the side of the tunnel, pushing their heads closer together and causing their teeth to collide with a frightful crack. They both pulled back and checked their teeth for chips.
"Are you okay?" asked Jace.
"Yeah, no harm done."
"None here either."
Jace held Stephanie’s hand for the rest of the ride. As they drifted
along, he realized with some surprise that he wasn’t that upset over the interruption to their kiss. He also realized that making out with Stephanie was not going to wipe away his uncertainty about her.
Formed into a circle, the stream eventually brought them to a small dock that was right behind the place where their ride started. A burly teenage boy reached out and grabbed the bow of the boat, drawing it close enough to the dock for them to get off. As they stepped onto the wooden surface, the boy’s voice rang out.
"Stephanie, is that you?"
Both Stephanie and Jace swung around in unison and stared at the boy. In the night, they had not recognized him at first, but they did now. It was Ned Skorzny — shot putter on the Ridgeview track team, defensive end on the high school’s football team, and close friend of Carson Ealy.
Ned stared at them. A sinister grin, visible even in the limited lighting, flashed across his face.
"Well, kids," he said, "how did you like your ride?"
Chapter Twenty-nine
No words passed between Jace and Stephanie as they walked away from the tunnel of love. Near the carnival’s exit, the scent of greasy food brought another rush of nausea through Jace’s stomach, and he hunched over in pain.
"What’s wrong?" said Stephanie, pausing next to him.
"It’s my stomach. I feel like I’m going to puke. Let's get away from the junk-food smells around here."
They left the carnival, went through the parking lot, and got into Jace’s car. In less than a minute, they were on their way back to the Thornapples’ home.
"Are you feeling better now?" Stephanie asked after the carnival lights were behind them.
"Yes." Jace could still feel his stomach churning, but he didn’t want to think about that now.
"Well, I’m not." Stephanie peered over her shoulder as if she expected to see Ned sitting in the back seat. "He’ll tell Carson. I know he will."
"Yes, but that might just work out for us."
Stephanie stared at him. "How?"
"You wanted to get rid of Carson, didn’t you? Now good old Ned will make that easy for you."
"It won’t be easy to break up with Carson, no matter what Ned does."
Jace paused, uncertain whether to ask the next question that popped into his head. He decided to go for it.
"What do you think Carson will do?"
"Huh?"
"When you break up with him, I mean. What do you think he’ll do?"
Stephanie paused before answering. "He might just cry and walk away," she said.
"You’re not serious, are you?" Jace said, slowing down the car. "Carson wouldn’t shed a tear if his life depended on it."
"Not in front of other people and especially not in front of other boys. But with someone who cared about him…"
Jace slowed the car down to school zone speed and stared at Stephanie. "You’ve seen Carson cry?"
She gave a quick nod. "He’s had a lot of pain in his life. Stuff that most people don’t know about."
Jace hesitated to ask the next question that came to his lips. But he had to know the answer. "And you care about him?"
"As a friend, I do." She put her hand on his forearm. "And that’s why it will be hard to break up with him."
A few minutes later, they were back at Stephanie’s house. Jace pulled his car into the driveway and got out. Before he could take three steps, another wave of nausea hit him like a kick in the belly. Knowing he couldn’t hold the puke in much longer, Jace made a mad dash to the Thornapples’ front porch and pounded on the door.
Stephanie got out of the car, too, and followed him. "What’s wrong?" she shouted. "I thought you were feeling better."
Jace pounded on the door again, but before anyone could open it, he puked. Corn dogs, pretzels, snow cones, and everything else he’d eaten over the last few hours spilled out onto the welcome mat by his feet.
Stephanie came onto the porch, but recoiled at the sight of the vomit. "Oh yuck!" she cried. "My dad’s going to have a cow."
The door opened just as Jace puked again, this time splattering the person who stood on the threshold. It was Sylvia.
"Oh Jace, you poor thing. Here, come inside and lie down." Ignoring the food chunks on her t-shirt and shorts, she led him into the house and to a sofa in the living room. On the way, they passed Mr. Thornapple clad in robe and slippers. He walked to the front door and spoke to Stephanie before coming back into the living room.
"I guess something you ate didn't agree with you," said Mr. Thornapple.
Jace sat up on the sofa and wrapped his hands around his stomach. "I'm sorry about the mess." He searched for Stephanie but didn't see her.
Mr. Thornapple shrugged and glanced at his watch. "Well, at least you’re not late."
Chapter Thirty
The Valkyries’ first-round opponent in the tournament was the Robins. Just before the game started, Jace heard someone call his name. At first, he didn't recognize the woman who spoke to him. She wore a pink sun dress with a white scarf around her neck. Her hair was cut short in the back, and she held a gray umbrella in one hand. Jace smiled when he realized who she was.
"Aunt Jill! I'm so glad you came." He paused and thought a moment. "How did you know my team would be playing today? The schedule I gave you doesn't have the tournament games on it."
"I know, but it does have a number for the league office," his aunt explained. "I called it and the woman who answered told me your team would be playing here today at five."
"That's great," Jace said. Then he noticed someone standing behind Aunt Jill. "And this must be …." A middle-aged man with a blanket under his arm stepped forward and put out his hand.
"Fred, this is my nephew Jace Waldron. Jace, this is my … my boyfriend Fred Smithers."
Jace shook the man's hand and chuckled to himself. With his bow tie and suspenders, Fred could have been a character in a Norman Rockwell painting.
"Nice to meet you, Fred. I've heard lots of good things about you."
"Likewise," said Fred. He winked at Aunt Jill, who giggled and blushed.
When she regained her composure, she put an arm on Jace's shoulder. "Where should we sit?"
Jace pointed to the people seated behind the fence on the third-base side. "You might want to sit over there with the friends and parents of my players."
"Okay." She moved in closer to him and almost whispered. "Do you think you'll win?"
"We'll find out soon enough."
At first, the Robins seemed no more dangerous than their name. With their team ahead seven-one after three innings, some of the Valkyries began talking about their next game.
"Who do we play after these guys?" asked Heather, as she sat on the bench and smacked her fist into the palm of her glove.
A few of her teammates shrugged.
"Hope it’s not the Firebirds," Lauren moaned. "I hate them."
"You won’t play anyone unless you win this game first," warned Sylvia.
In the bottom of the fourth, a light rain began to fall, and that’s when the Robin offense took wing. A lead-off single, followed by a walk, put runners at first and second. The next batter also reached first when Sarah slipped while trying to pick up a bouncer to second. A run scored, and the Robins’ side of the field, which had been quiet for most of the game, began to cheer in hopes of a comeback.
"Don’t let them get back in the game!" Jace yelled to his players. "You’ve got to get this next batter."
The girl at the plate seemed to cooperate with that wish when she stroked an easy grounder to Corey at short, setting the stage for a rally-crushing double play. Corey gloved the grounder and stepped on second base to force the oncoming runner. Then she flung the ball toward Angela at first base. But the throw was too high. The ball clipped the top of Angela’s mitt and made the first-base coach do a dance step to avoid being hit. By the time Angela retrieved the ball and got it back to the infield, the Robins plated their third run and had another runner at second.
Jace called time out and went to the pitcher’s mound, motioning for the infielders to join him.
"You’re losing your focus," he said to the huddle of girls surrounding him. "Corey, you didn’t have to hurry that throw to first base. You already had the one out at second. Getting the double play would’ve just been icing on the cake."
"I’m sorry," Corey said. "The ball’s wet, and it slipped out of my hand."
"All right, don’t worry about it now." Jace paused and scanned the faces that surrounded him. Despite pony tails and bubblegum, they seemed more mature than they had at the beginning of the season, even though that was less than two months ago.
"This game is ours," he continued. "It’s theirs only if we hand it to them. We still have a four-run lead, so we’ve got some insurance even if that runner on second somehow makes it home. Right now, defense is what we need, so focus on the batter and get her out any way you can."
Jace ran back to the bench, and his players scattered to their various positions. They did seem more focused as they hunched down, patted their gloves, and riveted their eyes on the next batter. Tina launched a pitch right over the plate and followed with another that caught the corner, running the count to O-two. There was no defense against the bizarre mishap that came next.
The batter sent a not-too-hard grounder toward first base, where Angela waited with an open glove. But before the ball reached her, a tan-and-white dog with a black collar bolted from behind the Robins’ bench, grabbed the ball in its mouth, and dashed toward the outfield. In the seconds that followed, so many things happened that Jace found it hard to keep track of them all. There was the umpire, casting off his mask, and bellowing, "Where did that blasted dog come from?" There were the gasps, groans, yells, and even laughs from spectators. And there were the Robin base runners who, spurred on by their coach, kept running until they both crossed home plate. In the midst of it all, Angela, joined by several of her teammates, tried to chase down the dog.
"Don’t worry about the ball," the umpire hollered. "We’ve got more of them. Just get that crazy thing off the field."