by Diana Ryan
I hung up the phone and went right to a web browser. I put in my student ID into the UW–Stevens Point online grade book and hovered my finger over the log-in button. Nerves stirred in my stomach. I took a deep breath to calm them.
“Ava!” my mother called from inside the house. “Your dinner’s ready!”
“Coming, Mom!” I yelled back. I closed the browser. My grades could wait until later.
* * * *
A few days after Nolan rescued me from my embarrassing stunt on the hill, I was more than thrilled when I caught sight of him in a booth called Lower One. He was training with expert ticket agent, Suzanne, and a guy I knew from high school, Brian.
Lower One was one of the largest ticket booths, complete with two ticket windows, green Astroturf carpeting, and oversized pictures of the Dells covering the walls. It was situated at the entrance to the grounds of the Lower Dells docks and was the best booth in town because it was constantly populated with people.
Jack and I stood at the dispatch booth, chatting with Rob. I could see Nolan across the way, laughing with Suzanne and Brian. My heart jumped into overdrive and my head spun. How could his heavenly smile get such a reaction out of me?
“Let’s go hang out in the ticket booth, Jack.” I had wanted to thank Nolan ever since he left me stunned a few days before.
“I’m game. I’m sure Suzanne is good for a laugh.”
My nerves rumbled around as we snuck in the door and sat on the two captain’s chairs in the back of the tiny booth, watching Suzanne, Brian, and Nolan sell tickets out of their windows.
Although Nolan was still in training, he seemed to be a natural at selling boat tickets. His charm and poise enabled him to sweet-talk anyone into buying tickets for both the Upper and Lower Dells tours. This was known as the complete tour, or “combo” to ticket agents, and it provided the biggest commission. Somehow, Nolan knew exactly what to say to each kind of tourist that arrived at his ticket window. I suspected that if he really wanted to, he could use his suavely crafted words and those beautiful baby blues to get some unsuspecting tourists to hand over their first born.
DBT owned several booths all over town with the intention of coaxing tourists on every corner of the city into taking a boat tour. Sixty years ago, ticket agents would jump into the streets of the Dells and even hang onto passing cars trying to solicit tourists to buy tickets. Now, of course, the agents had to wait for the tourists to approach the booths, and in order to be a good agent, you had to know how to talk the talk.
Most ticket agents were college kids who came home for the summer to make a few bucks and have a great time partying at the company’s summer housing. The ticket booth at Lower One, however, was consistently inhabited by Suzanne, a veteran agent well out of college who sported a cropped hairstyle and a taste for noticeably inappropriate jokes.
In the off-season, she spent her winters subbing at the high school in town, although I couldn’t imagine her leading a class full of teenagers anywhere besides down the wrong road. She was joined daily with another agent in the booth at Lower One, and together they would stay busy shelling out combos the entire day.
Jack and I often spent our breaks hanging out in the booth listening to Suzanne and Brian goof around, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for us to show up on the chairs in the back. I was trying to figure out how I could have a private conversation with Nolan in the booth while everyone else was there. I was sure I didn’t want the others to know about my ridiculous brush with death, but I needed to thank Nolan.
Susan engaged in conversation with us the moment we entered, but Brian and Nolan were busy with customers. When the old couple left Nolan’s window, he turned around, smiling at me, and walked right over to my side. Susan continued talking with Jack; it was my one chance.
“Ava. It’s so good to see you.” His smile was intoxicating.
“I’m so sorry about the other day,” I said nervously. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did.”
“It was my pleasure,” Nolan said sweetly. But then his expression changed quickly. “But it was not my pleasure believing you were about to plummet to your death. Do you normally take such inappropriate risks?”
I laughed loudly to cover my embarrassment. “No. I’m not normally a risk taker, I just...” My mind raced back to that stupid little glittery rock. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” I smiled, suddenly lost in Nolan’s eyes.
He placed his hand on my shoulder momentarily as if to say, “I forgive you.”
Something electric stirred inside me. I could feel the warmth of his hand radiating through my thin work shirt.
Some more customers came up to the windows and Nolan’s hand drifted off my shoulder too soon. Just like that the three ticket agents were hard at work again. I lifted my hand up to the spot where Nolan’s had just been, but Jack pulled on my elbow.
“Come on, we’ve gotta go sweep before our next trip.”
I reluctantly slid off the chair, unable to bid Nolan goodbye as Jack dragged me out of the ticket booth.
* * * *
As the days went on, I convinced Jack to hang out in the ticket booth several times a day, but about a week later, unhappily to me, Jack revealed that he felt the tiny booth was too small for five people and wanted us to find a new hangout space.
I disagreed, but for some reason didn’t want to tell Jack how I felt about Nolan, despite the truth that I simply couldn’t get him out of my mind.
It was incredibly difficult to judge Nolan’s feelings for me, however, because his naturally flirty personality made it appear as though he was hitting on basically anyone he came into contact with: elderly ladies, children, hot twenty-somethings, and everyone in between.
I tried to tell myself it was all stupid, anyway. Was I ready to jump into a relationship with someone right now? My heart still felt like it was in a million pieces after my last boyfriend, Aaron, was done with me and my faith in love had completely crumbled.
On the other hand, there was no denying the jolt of life I felt every time I was within a few feet of Nolan.
Darren spotted Nolan’s talent early on and scheduled him frequently in the best booths. Nolan had completed his training, and I was happy to see him at work almost every day. Time made my mysterious connection with Nolan that much stronger. With our comfortable conversations and benign flirting in the booth, we were definitely passing from friendship into perhaps something more. I was still cautious, but with each encounter I started to feel a tiny flame of excitement rekindling my heart.
After the last tourist hopped off the back of my boat one afternoon in mid-June, I waited the right amount of time for them to head for the exit, and then I raced up the stairs by dispatch to visit Nolan in the corner booth again. I hoped Suzanne had headed home early so Nolan and I could spend a few minutes alone together before my last tour of the day. My heart skipped a beat as I approached the booth and saw only him leaning up against the counter on the opposite side of the booth. Careful not to make too much noise, I approached the booth quietly, hoping to sneak up on him. When I got close enough I realized he was talking on the phone, but what was that I heard? It sounded like he was speaking a foreign language, like maybe Russian. Curious, I slipped in the back door and sat down on a stool just as he hung up the phone. He turned his head over his shoulder, saw me, and then flashed that captivating smile. A pleasant tingle slid through my body, making me forget all about the weird phone call.
“So, Miss Ava, can’t stay away, huh?” he teased. This was my fourth trip to the ticket booth today. Were my cheeks the color I felt they were? I surely looked like a fool! I tried to wipe them inconspicuously with the back of my hand, as if that would do something to help.
“Jack wanted to run to the bank before our 5:15 tour and I’ve already swept the top deck, so I thought I’d come up here and keep you company. Where’s Suzanne?” I tried to nonchalantly thumb the rack of brochures on the counter.
He backed into the corner of the triangle-
shaped booth and hoisted himself up on the counter. It looked like something my mother would scold me for doing on the kitchen counter. “She ran out to her car to get me the schedule for next week. She’ll be right back.”
Damn.
“Is the 5:15 your last trip? I’ve gotta work until eight tonight.” He looked up at me, and I tried not to dive into the tranquil seas above his nose, but I got lost beneath his long eyelashes.
“Ava...are you alright? You’ve got the weirdest expression on your face.”
Dammit! Play it cool, girl!
“Yeah, sorry. We had two back-to-backs, and I didn’t really get a chance to eat lunch today.” It was only a half-truth. I did eat a snack-sized bag of mini pretzels on the way back upriver during the last tour.
“Hold down the fort here, and I’ll run back to the Last Chance to get you something.” He hopped off the counter that rounded the booth and was silently closing in the gap between us.
His chest looked like the most perfect place to rest the side of my head. To invite his arms to wrap around me like two satin ribbons, pull me in close, and tie gently behind my back.
Like an idiot, I let out an involuntary sigh.
Oops. Did he hear that?
“Hey, Queenie! Where’s Captain Jack?” Suzanne barged through the door and quickly freed me from the trance Nolan was holding me in.
“Why do you call her Queenie, anyway?” Nolan asked Suzanne, not breaking eye contact with me.
I pleaded with her, “Oh, no. Please, Suzanne...” This could be embarrassing. There were some things I wasn’t ready to share with Nolan yet. I closed my eyes.
“Oh, don’t you know?” An amused smile graced her lips. “I do a little subbing up at the high school, and three years ago when our little Ava here was a junior, she was elected prom queen.”
“Ah! Well, that explains a lot.” Nolan, grinning widely from ear to ear, walked back over to the corner spot.
“And what exactly does that mean?” I played along, letting my hands land on my hips in protest.
Suzanne laughed and held one finger up in the air. “Oh wait, honey, there’s more. As a senior she was named Homecoming Queen. That’s right. Prom and Homecoming Queen. I’d say we’ve got royalty amongst us!” Then she slapped me on the knee like a move from some hoedown dance.
The corners of Nolan’s mouth turned up slowly.
“No, I did not sleep with half the class, as I can tell you’re thinking. Let’s just say I am a very friendly and sweet person. It’s in my blood. A family trait, you could say.”
“I’m sure you are.” A hardly innocent and crooked smile swept across his face, but somehow I still liked it.
Suzanne let out a loud belly laugh, and a baby near the booth began to cry.
* * * *
The next day Nolan was assigned to a different ticket booth uptown. Suzanne made a tiara in my honor out of the tinfoil from her lunch and posted it on top of the clock in the booth. Nolan would think that was quite funny. It was a very slow day, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the lack of tourists or because my Nolan wasn’t around.
I spent time between boats thinking about checking my grades. Several times I had the page up on my phone, waiting for me to press log-in.
“Just do it,” Jack pressured me. “I can’t imagine them being that bad. Not from you.”
I swung around to see him peering over my shoulder. “You have no idea.”
“You? Bad grades? Come on, what classes did you take?”
“English 101, Intro to Psychology, Chem lab, and US History 110.”
“Well, see there’s the problem. Those are boring. Where’s your teaching classes?”
“I can’t take teaching courses until I’m admitted into the School of Education.” I sat down on the back deck of the Bailey. “And I can’t get into the School of Ed unless I have good grades.”
“Then get good grades!”
I blew a raspberry at him and he laughed. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Just check ‘em.”
Passengers began to descend the stairs and down onto the blue dock. “Later,” I said, tucking my phone away. “I’ve got a tour to give.”
“Right on!” Jack said, taking his place at the back of the boat. “All aboard!” he yelled.
* * * *
On Wednesday Nolan was finally back at Lower One. Once the last tourist walked off my boat from my first tour, I wanted desperately to push through the crowd, scale the stairs two at a time, and run back to that corner booth. But I knew I needed to restrain myself as well as I could. Jack told me he had to fuel up the boat and asked if I’d run up to the Last Chance Snack Stand to buy him some Rolos.
“Take it out of my tips, kid. If we have any.” He tried to smile, but I knew he was completely serious.
Glad for an excuse to leave the dock, I took the stairs to the dispatch booth maybe too quickly for DBT safety regulations and breathlessly said hi to Rob as I passed by. I walked right by the Last Chance, thinking I’d buy the candy on my way back down to the dock. I needed a Nolan-fix as soon as possible, but as I rounded the corner, I saw only Suzanne standing in the triangle booth. I stood there stuck for a moment. I didn’t really want to go hang out with Suzanne, but she caught me curiously peeking around the corner for Nolan.
“He’s not here!” I heard Suzanne yell in a singsongy voice.
Shoot!
“Okay,” was all I managed to squeak out. What do I do now? Was it rude to turn around and walk away?
Before I could tell my feet to move she continued, “But he asked me to give you this.” She held out a piece of white paper folded in half. She shook it teasingly out the open window, gently drawing me in. A note? What, were we in junior high? Even so, I smiled widely and took three very excited skips toward the booth.
Stop, idiot! I must look ridiculous, so I slowed it down to a casual walk.
I grabbed for the paper, but she pulled it away quickly and held it up near her face, which was hosting the strangest grin. “So, Queenie...what’s with you and Nolan?”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. My voice was stuck—I couldn’t say anything! “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the kid doesn’t stop talking about you.”
He doesn’t?
I stood there, smiling like an idiot, and then reached up and gleefully took the note from her hands. I could feel Suzanne peering over my shoulder and turned forty degrees right so she couldn’t see, although I knew she had read it already anyway.
Hey kiddo. They moved me out to Delton Corners for the day. I have to work until 8. You should stop by when you’re off work.
Nolan
He wants me to stop by.
“I think you should go out there and see what he wants,” Suzanne said. “He’s a handsome guy, you know, and if I were twenty years younger I’d have already bagged that hot piece!” Then Suzanne laughed her boisterous laugh, and I walked away shaking my head, slightly disturbed.
Chapter Four
My heart was racing as I pulled my baby blue Oldsmobile into the parking lot at Delton Corners. Delton Corners was the ticket booth owned by DBT located farthest from the docks. Lake Delton was a small town butted right up against the city of Wisconsin Dells. There were attractions in both towns, and many tourists probably never knew they crossed the lines into another town when they drove down Highway 12.
I turned the keys in the ignition and pulled them out. Suddenly, I felt a sharp stab behind my left eyeball. “Ow! What the heck?” But then the pain was gone as quickly as it had come on.
“Weird.” I rubbed my eye for a few seconds until I was sure the pain was gone, and then I looked up at the ticket booth. I could barely see Nolan’s face behind the wall of closed windows. I took a deep breath, held it for a few too many seconds, and then let it fly loudly out of my mouth.
I sat fiddling with my keys, waiting for my head to tell my hands to open the door. Why couldn’t I move?
After severa
l seconds, I finally pulled down the visor and checked my appearance in the mirror. Hmm, not my best. But then again, I did just finish a seven-tour day—what did he expect? If I was lucky, he found the wind-blown look sexy.
Delton Corners was the largest ticket booth DBT owned. It was the size of a small living room with rows and rows of windows and a small ticket counter several feet from the front door. I nervously walked in the back door—and there he was, facing the row of windows out the front of the booth. He looked like he was about to do some kind of goofy dance, like he was hearing some kind of funky music in his head.
What was I doing out in the middle of nowhere with this guy? I barely know him!
I started backing up toward the door...he hadn’t noticed me yet. But as my head was telling me to abort the mission, my heart was telling me to move forward and explore a little more. He must have heard my heart beating out of my chest because he suddenly turned around.
“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” His smile was as radiant as the sun. He was blinding me with his straight teeth and icy blue eyes. The sight of Nolan’s muscled shoulders and arms bulging through the white boat shirt began to stir up something exciting inside of me.
“Yeah, well, Suzanne passed me a note after study hall,” I teased, “so I figured I had to come see what you wanted.” I could feel sweat building up in my palms.
Stay cool, girl, stay cool.
I looked away quickly to the floor—I couldn’t get pulled in again. My brain turned to mush whenever that happened.
“I’m really happy you came out here. I wanted to see you again.” Nolan put his tablet under the counter and came around to the other side.
“I’ll see you at Lower One tomorrow, won’t I?” Did I have the courage to ask what I really wanted to? I suddenly felt like I wanted to see him every second of the day.
“Yeah. I guess you will.” His eyes were staring at me again. My stomach felt as though it were on fire while my heart felt like it was playing a circus march on steroids. It was the most wonderful feeling. I thought I’d never feel like this again after graduation last spring.