Reader in the Park

by Rachel Maldonado

  “You got it,” replied the man. He handed the women two cups so that they could fill their own beverage at the drink station. “Your order will be right out.”

  “A Bella burger? Twilight was hardly a horror movie,” said Anna toward Nikki as they walked away from the counter.

  “What?” asked Nikki as she neared a booth after having filled their cups with soda from the drink station.

  “I thought you said you didn't watch much TV?” inquired Anna curiously.

  Nikki laughed as she sat down. “I don't, but I read those books. I also watched the movies when they came out in the theater.”

  Anna sat across from Nikki. “I guess you got me there.” She sipped on her grape soda through a straw. “So you were saying we couldn't have a Ghostbusters marathon?”

  Nikki shook her head. “No, I don't think it's fair to call it a marathon if there were only three movies. If you were to go to a drive-in theater would you say you were at a marathon?”

  Anna laughed. “Well, no because you'd be watching two different types of movies.”

  “Okay, then going by that theory, then what if they were the same? What if they were showing Ghostbusters 1 and Ghostbusters 2? Would it be a marathon then?”

  Anna shook her head. “No, a double feature. But if you add the third movie with Kate McKinnon I'd call it a marathon.”

  “Okay, well I wouldn't.” Nikki took a sip of her root beer.

  Anna laughed. “I think you're just trying to be difficult and give me a hard time.”

  “No, I'm just trying to get out of having to sit through three movies.” Nikki grinned.

  “Just for that,” said Anna giggling. “I'm not only going to make you sit through those three movies, but you're going to have to watch five seasons of the Ghostbusters cartoons with me.”

  “Order up! A Frankenstein burger and a Bella burger!” shouted the Wolfman looking in the direction of where the ladies were seated.

  “Oh, thank God. I'm saved by the Wolfman,” replied Nikki as she slid out of the booth to retrieve the order.

  When she returned to her seat, Anna had already picked up napkins and a bottle of ketchup. “I'm not letting you off the hook that easy,” said Anna giggling.

  “You really don't own those cartoons, do you?” pressed Nikki as she sat down.

  Anna laughed. “No, I don't. And you don't have to watch the Ghostbusters movies with me if you don't want to.”

  Nikki took her meal off the tray and popped a French fry in her mouth. It was still steaming. “I was just messing with you. We can have a movie night. We can watch anything of your choosing.”

  “Anything?” asked Anna grinning.

  “Why do you look at me like that?” asked Nikki. “You're not going to make me watch something gross are you? Like blood and gore?”

  Anna laughed. “No, I was thinking of a Twilight marathon.”

  “Now that's a marathon I can watch,” said Nikki popping another French fry in her mouth. “I thought you didn't like those movies?”

  “They're not my favorite, but I can watch them. Mostly because I know a special someone that enjoyed them.”

  Nikki took a bite of her burger. “You're sweet.”

  “I try,” replied Anna just before taking a bite of her Frankenstein burger.

  “Well, you don't have to try too hard.” Nikki took a sip of her soda to wash down her hamburger. She could sense the butterflies starting to flutter inside. She loved that Anna was so sweet and attentive of her.

  “Thank you.” Anna took a bite of her burger, then dipped a fry in some ketchup before eating it. “So we're still on for the beach tomorrow? Weekend getaway?”

  Nikki nodded. “Yeah, I haven't forgotten.” She took a French fry and began to dabble it and swirl it in circles in a small amount of ketchup that she had pooled on the side of her plate. “I just didn't want to bring it up if you didn't want to go after all.”

  “I want to go. Why wouldn't I want to go?” Anna tried to shield her mouth with her hand as she talked and finished chewing her bite of green Frankenstein hamburger.

  Nikki shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. I guess because we hadn't talked much about it or made plans.”

  “That's because I like the spontaneity.” Anna took a sip of her drink. “Isn't it fun to not always have to plan things? I mean, at work we're always on schedules, and we have to be places at certain times and meet deadlines...” she paused for a moment as she sprinkled pepper in Nikki's glob of ketchup, then dipped a French fry in it and ate it. “I know that I for one am so glad to be off schedules when I go home.”

  Nikki watched as Anna sprinkled the black pepper in her ketchup, but rather than object to it, she dipped a French fry in it as well to taste it. “We're not going to go swim with sharks, are we? I think I'm going to have to draw the line on your death wish activities at swimming with Jaws.” She dipped another French fry in the ketchup and pepper mixture. “I like this,” she said having another taste of her new spicy condiment. It was yet another thing to add to her list of things that Anna had introduced her to.

  Anna laughed. “Death wish activities? How about death-defying? I think I prefer that terminology better. And no, I hadn't planned on taking you to swim with sharks. I would've had to have booked that in advance, and I wasn't sure if you could swim.”

  Nikki let out a sigh of relief. “I'm glad because I really never learned how to swim, but that wasn't what concerned me. I was more worried about the sharks having me for lunch.”

  Anna grinned. “It's a cage dive. You dive into the water inside a protective shark cage, and the sharks swim around. You can view them safely from within the inside of the steel bars.”

  “No, thank you.”

  Anna chuckled. “I've done it already. Plus, I knew you'd say no.”

  “Really? How did you know?”

  “Because you seemed horrified to have to do the 5k zombie run and those man eaters weren't even real.” Anna laughed. “I guess I figured you'd say no to sharks.”

  “Well, you figured correctly. Glad to see you've gotten to know something about me.”

  The edges of Anna's lips slightly went upwards as she held a devilish grin. “I pay attention. But I do like the fact that you haven't said no to me yet.”

  Nikki hadn't realized it until Anna pointed it out, but it was true. She was always eager to see Anna and no matter what it was that she had planned, she never said no. She didn't want to have to say no to her, not ever. She loved being a part of her world. It was like being a part of a special club that only the two of them were a part of, and she almost wished at times that she didn't have to share her with the rest of the world.

  After the two young ladies were done eating, Anna again smirked. She had that look in her eyes again. The one that told Nikki that she was up to something.

  “What do you say we not call it a day just yet?” Anna rose from the table, then waited for Nikki to follow her through the exit door and back to the vehicle.

  “I'm pretty spent after that glorious victory of mine,” boasted Nikki. “What did you have in mind?” She followed Anna toward the Jeep, then stood at the driver's side door.

  “Did you want tot drive?” inquired Anna.

  Nikki shook her head. “No, I'm waiting to open the door for you because you're always so sweet in opening doors for me. I thought I'd return the favor.” She winked at Anna who seemed taken aback but pleasantly surprised. She unlocked the door, and Nikki held it open for her. Anna suddenly felt her face warm as she blushed. Her heart warmed, too. It certainly was an unexpected gesture and not one that many women had ever done for her.

  Nikki shut the door gently, then ran around to the passenger side and hopped in. “Like I was saying, what did you have in mind?”

  Anna shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. I mean, if we're just going to hang around the house for the day, I thought we might as well hang around somewhere else.”

  “Somewhere else?”

  “Yeah
, like somewhere outdoors. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere almost as beautiful as you are. Like maybe out in the hill country.” Anna turned on the vehicle but waited for a response before she drove out of the parking lot.

  “That sounds nice.”

  Anna nodded. “Yeah, it does. What do you say?” She looked at Nikki with those pleading and beckoning eyes. “Let's not end our date yet.”

  Nikki couldn't help but smile warmly. It was her smile, it was those eyes, it was just Anna all together... she couldn't turn down an opportunity to spend more time with her. Especially because she was asking so sweetly.

  “I say, why not? Let's do it. We'll hang around in the hill country.”

  Anna's face brightened. “Hill country here we come!” She quickly reverse the Jeep out of the parking space, then headed out of the lot and onto the next leg of their adventure.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Nikki wondered where they were going as she glanced out the windows, but she knew not to ask. She had a feeling Anna was up to something. She always was. She knew already to expect surprises. The two young women had the radio on, but neither one seemed to be listening much to what was playing. Instead, Nikki had chosen to roll her window down to take in the fresh air and sunshine. Her hair flapped gently in the breeze. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then let the air out slowly as the edges of her mouth turned slowly upward in a grin that she couldn't seem to get rid of.

  The drive out of town was only about twenty to thirty minutes. She wasn't too certain because she didn't glance at her watch before they left the restaurant. But after some time, they seemed to be going uphill and in a winding pattern. At every turn, Nikki could sense the climb in elevation rising. The road appeared to be getting much steeper with every turn around the bend. Nikki noted the signs along the road; slow down, falling rocks, steep hill, 10MPH. She wondered if Anna was okay or if she was having any sort of anxiety about her vehicular accident. Nikki glanced over at Anna to make sure she was okay. Anna grinned that same devilish grin that said she was up to no good. Nikki chuckled to herself, then took a deep breath and sighed wondering what was in store for her.

  Anna grinned as she turned slowly around another curve on the hill. She could feel her palms become sweaty as she recalled her nightmares of driving along the side of a hill and losing control of her car. She hadn't completely recalled exactly what had transpired, but the dreams were enough to frighten her. She tried not to think about them as she drove. She could barely stomach the nightmares, she hated to think what would happen if she recalled the actual events. She instead focused on the road and wondered if this new activity would be the one that finally made Nikki decide to say no to her. Everyone has their limits. But it seemed like Nikki was as much of a thrill seeker as she was. Maybe she had just never figured it out because she led such a sheltered life, she thought to herself.

  “What's a matter?” asked Anna when she caught a glimpse of Nikki looking over in her direction. “You scared?”

  Nikki shook her head. “No, not scared exactly. More like nervous. I always get nervous jitters when I know you're up to something.”

  Anna chuckled. “What makes you think I'm up to something? I said we were going to hang out, and I meant it.”

  Nikki shrugged her shoulders. “I guess the look in your eyes, the way you laugh when I say you're up to something, and oh, I don't know...” she paused for a moment as she pretended to think, cocking her head to one side, furrowing her eyebrows until her forehead crinkled and scratching her head. “Hmm,” she finally said as she bit her lower lip. “Maybe what gave it away was the climb up the side of this humongous hill with all the falling rock and slow down to 10mph signs.” She made it a point to emphasize the word humongous to where it sounded more like three separate words rather than just a word with three syllables.

  Anna laughed with thunderous, contagious laughter. Nikki joined in, laughing at her own comment.

  “Okay, you got me. I'm definitely up to something. But I think this is something you'll enjoy. You'll get a bird's eye view of the hill country, the different color foliage, and the wildlife.”

  “Uh huh,” said Nikki. “Bird's eye view. That's what worries me.”

  Anna snickered at Nikki's comment, and it just so happened to be just as she finally arrived at their destination at the top of the hill and pulled into a parking spot. It became clear to Nikki that they were about to embark upon an adventure of epic proportions. There were people that were standing at the top of a large wooden platform awaiting to be strapped into harnesses that were suspended from a large zipline. Other men and women of various different ages could be seen already ziplining down the hill. Much to Nikki's surprise, she even saw a few children zipping by with their families.

  “This is what we're going to do,” explained Anna as she sat in the driver's seat. “We're going to start at the top of this hill, then zipline down to another platform.” She pointed with her right finger toward the length of the zipline toward where the second landing was, then continued. “From there we zipline down to a lower elevation point.” She put her hand back down since the third landing wasn't visible from where they were seated, but continued with her explanation. “There are ten ziplines all together until we reach the bottom of the hill. Are you up for the challenge?” She smiled broadly and nodded her excitedly hoping it would prompt Nikki to say yes. She sat a few seconds awaiting Nikki's response.

  Nikki took a deep breath, watched another person zipline down the hill at what looked to be the speed of a moderately fast moving vehicle. She wasn't sure exactly how fast the person was going, but she guesstimated it to be about 30-40 MPH. She gulped down hard as she felt the anxiety building inside of her like a volcano about to erupt.

  Noticing her worried expression, Anna feared she had made a mistake in bringing Nikki to do something like ziplining down a hill without asking her. It's not like it was a plastic wall with footholds or a small rock climb. This would be being suspended a few hundreds of feet in the air and relying on a harness to keep her safe. There wouldn't be a belayer to hold her or catch her to ease her down with a rope if she fell. “We can turn around and go home,” said Anna as she placed her hand on Nikki's.

  Nikki bit her bottom lip softly as she sat pensively. Tears filled her eyes. She knew she was afraid, but she didn't want to allow fear to control her life or keep her from living it to the fullest. She shook her head. “No, I want to do this,” she said at last.

  “Are you sure?” asked Anna intertwining her fingers with Nikki's.

  Nikki felt Anna's firm grasp and tried not to be frightened. She trusted Anna, and Anna wouldn't take her somewhere if it wasn't safe. She nodded. “Yes, I'm sure.”

  “How sure is sure? Are you sure sure or just saying you're sure because you don't want to hurt my feelings?”

  Nikki giggled nervously, then tried to sound more confident as she spoke. “I'm sure sure.”

  “Okay,” replied Anna. “Let's do it.”

  Anna and Nikki paid the required fees, watched a safety video, then practiced ziplining on a line that wasn't more than 10 to 20 feet off the ground. Nikki was surprised that she found it thrilling. Her heart was pounding, her adrenaline was pumping, she was starting to really get excited about the idea of seeing the country through a series of ziplines down the hill. That is, until she climbed the first platform and stood beside Anna looking down at the panoramic view of the colorful trees. It wasn't the landscape that frightened her, however. It was the thousand foot drop below. Nikki took a step backward in fear and stepped on Anna's toes. She was near ready to turn around and climb back down the side of the platform. But Anna grasped her arms firmly to steady her.

  “Are you okay?” she asked concerned, sensing her trepidation.

  Nikki took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.

  “I know I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm not so sure that you look well enough to do this.”

  Nikki took another deep breath, then exhaled. Sh
e nodded her head. “I'm okay.”

  “You're okay? You sure?”

  Again she nodded. “Yes, I'm okay. I'm doing this. I'm not going to allow my fear to conquer me. I'm going to conquer my fear.”

  “That's the spirit,” said Anna. She was confident that Nikki would do well. At least, she hoped she would.

  “Would you mind going first? Maybe if I see you go across, then I won't be so afraid.”

  Anna grinned. “If that will make you feel better, yes. I'll go across first. But don't think you have to do this for me. I'm perfectly okay if you climb back down and wait for me at the car. A shuttle will drive me back up the hill when...” Anna's voice trailed off as Nikki interrupted.

  “I'm not going to climb back down. I can do this. I know I can.”

  “Okay, I'll see you at the bottom.” Anna hugged Nikki, then walked over to where someone was standing and waiting to assist her with her harness. They carefully attached it to the ten-thousand pound zipline, gave it a pull to make sure it was on right, then watched her go.

  Within seconds she was speeding down the hill as if she was soaring like an eagle. She even let out a 'Woohoooo!' as she went down.

  Nikki steeled herself, took one last deep breath, then walked up to the zipline.

  “You'll be okay,” said the zipline assistant. “After this first zipline, they get much easier. By the last one to the ground, you'll be back up here ready to fly back down another ten ziplines.” He chuckled to himself. His pep talk didn't seem to make her feel any better. It sounded rehearsed. It was as if he'd probably said it to thousands of frightened souls every year.

  “Thank you for your kind words,” she said, patting the man on the shoulder. “But I don't think I'll be back to do this ever again.”

  Again the man chuckled. “You say that now, but just wait. Like I said, wait until you get to the end.”

  “Here goes nothing,” said Nikki as she left the first platform. She had her eyes shut tightly; too scared to even take a look down below. But she felt the rush of wind in her hair much like when she drove with Anna in the Jeep with the top down. The thought of meeting up with Anna and knowing she would be waiting for her at the next platform brought a smile to her face. It's what prompted her to open her eyes to take in the view. She wanted to see if Anna had made it to the other platform. As she soared through the air, she felt as if she was weightless, flying over green pastures and lush trees and bushes.