Cole vowed to enjoy now, to leave the future alone until time to face it.
Chapter Thirteen
Maggie suggested dressing for comfort, not style so Cole donned his oldest, most faded jeans, a St. Louis Cards t-shirt, socks, and his worn athletic shoes. Until he picked her up around eight, he’d worried he might be too laid back but she wore a similar outfit for their outing. Maggie’s well washed Levi jeans, however, fit her round little bottom to perfection and he enjoyed the way her deep rose pink blouse curved low enough to display the very tops of her bosoms. She wore her hair tamed back into a ponytail but he predicted it’d unravel by noon if not before. If Cole didn’t know better he’d swear she couldn’t be more than in her early twenties.
“You look fantastic,” he said as she climbed into his car with a cloth tote bag in hand.
Maggie flashed him a million dollar grin. “Thanks!”
“What’s in the bag?” he asked, although he could guess most of the contents. She reeked of some tropical scented sunscreen and he knew it must be in the bag. She’d want him to wear it too so he resigned himself to the prospect.
“Sunscreen,” she confirmed. “My hairbrush, billfold, and stuff. I’m all set.”
“Then let’s go have fun.”
Traffic remained light through downtown, along the 76 Strip, but when they headed out of Branson toward the amusement park, traffic picked up until they found themselves in a queue of vehicles waiting to turn onto the road leading to Silver Dollar City. He never expected a long line and told her so.
“It’s worse than I thought, too,” Maggie said, peering ahead at the lined up cars, trucks, and motor homes. “But the line’s moving so we should get in before it opens officially. I hope we don’t miss the opening ceremony though. It’s one of my favorite things.”
“If I remember right, we need to get parked and through the gates first,” Cole said as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel with impatience. He hoped they’d make it. His plans for a romantic outing and revisiting a place from his youth appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
“We’ll get there in plenty of time,” Maggie said with complete certainty.
And they did. The traffic began moving and before long they turned onto Indian Point Road, then into one of the mammoth parking lots. Acres of vehicles stretched out into almost infinity, as far as Cole could see. The lot a parking attendant directed them into seemed about as far from the amusement park as possible and he mentioned it.
“They do it on purpose,” Maggie said. “I don’t know why. I guess they leave the closer parking places for latecomers.”
“Sounds assbackward to me,” Cole said, using one of his grandpa’s old phrases. She laughed. “What do you have to do to park closer?”
“If you have season passes, you can pay a few bucks and get preferred parking,” Maggie said. “This is okay. We can catch a tram from here.”
The first two trams filled up with folks before they could climb aboard but they made the third and entered Silver Dollar City with more than thirty minutes before the official opening. Since they didn’t have tickets, Cole joined a line and after perusing the options bought four adult season passes, two for him and Maggie to use today, the other two for her kids later. Anyone over eleven classified as an adult and although the price seemed a bit steep, he figured it’d be worth it since he hoped to return to the park several times during the summer.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed Maggie her ticket so they could go through the turnstiles and enter the park.
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile and glanced down at the ticket. “Cole! You bought a season pass?”
“Yep,” he told her. Fondness rushed over him like a warm wave. “I figured I might as well – it’d cost almost as much to come back when we bring your kids. I might as well tell you I got two more for them.”
“You did?” Her face lit with delight and she hugged him, right there in the line. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” he chuckled with amusement. He handed her the two other passes. “Hang onto them, would you?”
“Sure,” Maggie said. She tucked the passes deep into her tote and linked her arm through his after they passed through the single file turnstiles. “Let’s go have fun!”
They emerged onto the city square, a huge block with an old fashioned bandstand in the center ringed by vintage style buildings. Cole stared at the ice cream parlor, general store, the Wilderness church, and everything else with a powerful surge of memory. The frame buildings boasted the look of an authentic frontier village and everywhere Cole looked, he saw employees dressed in calico dresses and sunbonnets, long sleeved shirts, suspenders and boots. A young girl sang gospel songs from the bandstand and the City Marshall, resplendent in costume, stalked around teasing kids and gathering laughs. Flowers blossomed with brilliant color around the edges and bloomed from containers beneath the shade trees. He remembered all of it and decided this part of the park hadn’t changed much. Delicious aromas wafted out of the small bakery near the entrance and from other restaurants within the park. Cole sighed with pleasure.
“This looks about the same,” he told Maggie.
“It does,” she replied. “There are some new things deeper in the park, though.”
Eager anticipation for the day ahead spread through the square and the crowds were contagious with excitement. Cole caught it too as they settled into a seat on the porch of the post office to wait for the opening ceremonies. A shiver of recognition ran down his spine when the music shifted from gospel to the old tune he recalled from years ago, Company’s Coming and then into the poignant strains of The National Anthem. As veterans old and young gathered out of the crowd and marched in formation toward the flagpole tears welled up in Cole’s eyes. As he glanced around, he realized most people doffed their hats, held a hand over their heart or sang the words to the song. The unabashed outpouring of patriotism surprised him and touched a chord deep within. Nothing like this ever happened at the Cards games, he thought, or anywhere else he’d been in years.
When Old Glory flew from the top of the flagpole and The Star Spangled Banner ended, the park opened and the people scattered in every direction. Kids giggled and sprinted ahead of parents, women pushing strollers hurried to keep up with their youngsters and old folks meandered among the other generations with big sappy grins. Cole grabbed Maggie’s hand and they joined the melee.
“Which way?” he called over the general din. Two paths led downhill, deeper into the amusement park but at the moment he couldn’t remember which led to what attraction.
“It depends on what you’d like to do first,” Maggie hollered back. “Want to ride Thunderation?”
As she spoke the speedy rollercoaster rattled almost overhead, shooting through the treetops accompanied by a chorus of shrieks and he laughed. “Let’s start with something tamer,” he told her. “How about taking the ride through the flooded mine?”
“Sure,” Maggie said with one longing look back at Thunderation. He’d forgotten what a daredevil she could be and how much she liked thrills. “It’s fun.”
So they rode the tame indoor water ride and fired their virtual guns at the escaping convicts, then headed down to ride the train. The Frisco Silver Dollar Line boasted an actual vintage steam engine. The ride headed off into the woods surrounding the park. As they rode, the conductor narrated a tale about outlaws just before a gang showed up to ‘rob’ the train, all good theater and fun. Cole sat beside Maggie on the bench and laughed, enjoying every moment as the present connected to the past in his mind.
After that, they rode Lost River of the Ozarks, a water ride he’d ridden at other theme parks under other names. The round boats bounced down the waterway, over the rapids with speed, some bumps, a thrill or two, and as promised they did get wet. They emerged laughing with their clothing soaked, and sat on a bench in the sun near the old time photography shop to dry.
Maggie squeezed excess water from h
er ponytail and shivered.
“Are you cold?” Cole asked, sliding a damp arm around her.
“A little bit,” she said, cuddled against him. “I’m mostly wet.”
He gazed across the open area between attractions and noted several little concession stands. “Would you like some coffee or something?”
“A funnel cake would be nice,” Maggie said. “Want to share one?”
He remembered the rich, fried treats and although they didn’t rank among his favorites, Cole nodded. “Sure. Do you want just powdered sugar on top or fruit too?”
“Just sugar,” she said.
The closest concession wagons offered popcorn, frozen lemonade, and soft drinks so he ambled across the way to a small shop offering up funnel cakes along with other treats. Cole returned balancing the treat on a paper plate. Maggie broke off a piece and crammed it into her mouth, greedy but he enjoyed watching her lips part to insert the dessert. She ate several small bites before she pushed the plate toward him, “Go ahead and have some.”
He took a section and tasted it. The flavor of sweet, hot dough heavy on grease filled his mouth and he wrinkled his nose.
“Don’t you like it?” Maggie teased.
Cole tried another section before answering. The second tasted more palatable than the first but it’d never rival ice cream or pie in his preferences. “It’s not bad,” he said. “It’s kind of like a donut or something. I like it okay.”
“That just leaves more for me,” Maggie said as she ate most of the rest. “What now?”
“Let’s ride Fire-In-The-Hole,” Cole said as he pulled her from the bench, giving her time to drop the empty plate and napkin into a trash bucket. The rollercoaster, probably the oldest remaining one in the park, differed from most coasters because it ran indoors, inside what the story painted on a sign outside the entrance purported to be an old mine. The fast ride through the dark offered a few thrills but the cars spent most of the time climbing for a dramatic drop and a final run through fake fire. The simple amusement offered enough kick for Cole but Maggie craved more.
“Okay,” she said as they exited hand in hand. “Now let’s ride Powder Keg!”
The monster coaster loomed above them as they approached and he hid his qualms. Cole wasn’t as into wild rides as he’d been in his teens. He had seen this one advertised on television since his arrival in the Ozarks and he wasn’t sure he wanted to go from “zero to more than fifty three miles an hour” on launch. Maggie radiated excitement, however, so he sucked up his reservations, waited in line, and climbed into the car beside her. The ride’s attendants made sure each passenger was strapped into safety harnesses which did little to ease his anxiety. Although he braced himself for takeoff, when the coaster began, Cole grasped the bar so tight his hands hurt. Without the restraints, it’d be easy to break your neck, he mused but as they roared up the first incline, slowing slightly, he peeked at Maggie. Her rapt grin stretched wide and she whooped with delight. Then the coaster took off at a breakneck speed, spinning and following the rail with tight corners and turns until he thought sure they would tip off the track. The ride lasted no more than minutes but when they exited, Cole refrained from acting on an urge to bend down to kiss the ground. His head whirled and his heart pounded in his chest.
Maggie, windblown and still smiling, noticed his quiet. “Cole? Did you have fun?”
“In a terrifying sort of way, yeah,” he said, lying just a little because he didn’t want to remove the sparkle from her eyes. He didn’t fool her, though, because she put her hand on his chest and her smile dimmed.
“I can feel your heartbeat and its way too fast,” she said, with surprise. “You really were scared. You should have told me, silly. I don’t care if we don’t ride the wilder stuff. You okay?”
“Sure, now that my feet are on the ground,” he joked. “We can ride anything you want, honey. How about the merry-go-round if they still have it?”
“They do,” Maggie said, standing chest to chest with him, gray eyes studying his face. “And we can ride the carousel in a little bit. Let’s browse some of the shops.”
Cole moved the inch or so necessary to kiss her, slow and sweet. Her eyes lit up and she took his hand as they walked over to check out some of the nearby places. He insisted on buying her a painting on sawmill blade and had it customized with ‘Lake Dreams Resort’. They sent it along with some lye soap, a hand turned broom, and some other little items up to package pickup where they could retrieve them at the end of the day. In the home furnishings store Maggie made over antique style furniture with modern day prices and Cole wished he could buy her all of it. They chattered back and forth in each venue, tuned into the same wave length, and he enjoyed every moment.
At Half Dollar Holler, a place he remembered as Tom Sawyer’s Landing he noted some of the larger chances he’d seen in the park but at the heart of the kid friendly section Cole spied the familiar antique carousel. “There it is,” he said, pointing it out to Maggie. “Let’s go ride it.”
She smiled. “Do you really want to?”
“Sure.”
In line Cole realized maybe his idea hadn’t been the best. He never thought about the kids, dozens of them, also waiting to ride the merry-go-round, many of them in the same age range as his children would have been. He tried to ignore their giggles but when he saw the third stroller just like Becca’s and the fourth little boy wearing a Lightning McQueen shirt identical to Brock’s favorite tee, Cole couldn’t stop the poignant memories. His ears tuned out the bustling noise of the amusement park as he remembered his kids at another park, Six Flags Over St. Louis. Although the two places were quite different, enough commonalities existed to remind him of the past.
Still, for Maggie’s sake, Cole tried to contain his memories and the wave of grief rushing over him. She chose a black horse and he rode beside her on a bear as the tinny calliope music echoed in his ears, loud enough to drown out some of the children’s voices. He’d managed to ignore most of the memory pictures conjured up by the kids and they’d just exited the ride when he saw her. The small girl wore a flaming red dress with a full skirt and puffed sleeves, the kind Brianna had called a ‘princess dress’. Her dark curls bounced as she giggled, arms open wide, and cried, “Pick me up, Daddy, oh, pick me up!” Cole stared at the child, the same size as his daughter would be now, the resemblance striking enough to take his breath away. Her sweet piping tone could’ve been Brianna’s too and he paused in his stride, almost tripping over his feet swamped with emotions.
“Watch out,” Maggie said, in a breathless voice. She hadn’t noticed his discomfort yet and when she did, seconds later, she added, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Cole. What’s the matter?”
He raised one finger to indicate the little girl and Maggie’s face shifted with understanding. “Oh, sweetheart. She looks a lot like your daughter, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Cole said, swallowing the invisible ball of pain creeping up his throat. “Sounds like her, too. Brianna used to ask me to pick her up too.”
“But she’s not your little girl, honey,” Maggie said, her voice soft with compassion. “Let’s move on. You look like you could use some lunch. What would you like?”
As she listed some of the many foods available within the park, Cole’s stomach twisted into a tight knot. Kids made up a major part of the scenery and he’d been fine with it all day until now. Somehow he’d ignored most of the little ones with his focus on Maggie and their day out. Now children loomed everywhere he looked. Cole’s ears rang with their babble and laughter. Aware he’d have to learn with the presence of kids in the real world, he drew several deep breaths and tried to calm. Cole paid little attention where Maggie led him until they stepped into a sandwich shop tucked away off the main paths. Before Cole could assimilate their location she seated them at a table in the back, away from everyone else. Maggie reached across the table and grasped both his hands in her smaller ones. “Cole, don’t you dare zone out o
n me again. Do you hear me?”
Cole did but from a distance as if her voice traveled through a pipe to reach him so he shook his head to clear it and nodded. “Yeah, I do. I’m sorry, Maggie.”
“Don’t be,” she said in a low yet powerful voice. “I understand, Cole, but you’ve got to suck it up. You can’t let seeing a kid cripple you like this. Look at me. I’m here, I’m alive but your children, they’re gone. You’ve got to stay in the present, right now, sweetheart or you’ll drown in your grief, guilt, and whatever other mess you’ve got going. I don’t want to lose you to ghosts. I won’t, Cole, I won’t.”
Her fervent words dashed over his consciousness like cold water and he blinked. Maggie hit him within, reached him deep down into his heart and Cole found strength to pull out of his hurt. She penetrated into his inner hell and dragged him out. Before, back in St. Louis, booze would have been the only thing available dull his pain but things were different here. Now he looked straight at her, Maggie his friend, his lover, and maybe part of his future. Cole exhaled the breath he’d been holding without even knowing it. He relaxed his tight shoulders and felt some of the load he carried drop away. She cried out, a tiny sound and said, “There, you’re back now. You scare me when you go away into your head.”
“Do you think I’m nuts or something?” he asked, without rancor because he wondered himself sometimes.
“Never,” Maggie said, firm. “I don’t and you’re not. You’re recovering from a terrible loss but you can’t dwell on it. Now, I think some lunch would do you a lot of good. Sit here and I’ll share half a Big Jack with you.”
Cole had no clue what a Big Jack might be but he nodded as she released his hands and plunged off toward the line to order food. In her absence, he scrubbed his face with both hands and let the peace she brought expand like a sponge until it filled him.
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