“You’ll have to come by for a show sometime,” he said. “Bring friends. Or a date.”
Their gazes met.
He smirked and raised one eyebrow.
“I’ll do that,” she said, wondering what he knew.
He held his glass aloft. “To new beginnings,” he said.
Vanessa clinked her glass with his, sealing their détente.
At the end of the day, Vanessa pulled her union-free binders off the shelf and left for the Mirror Castle.
She passed the voting station outside the underground break room, where observers from both sides counted and recounted the ballots.
Crew members on break gathered around to watch.
The Voice of Destiny droned on above it all.
At the Mirror Castle, she shifted the binders into one arm to allow her to push the elevator buttons with her free hand.
She approached the desk of Mr. Destiny’s secretary.
“I need to return these,” she said.
Voices echoed from Mr. Destiny’s office.
“I paid you all this money and we still didn’t win!” said Mr. Destiny.
Vanessa heard the sound, but not the content, of the consultant’s response.
Mr. Destiny spat a final “Get out!”
The door opened and Amy strode through, head held high.
“I can see he’s busy,” said Vanessa as she handed the binders over to the secretary. “I’ll just leave these with you.”
Vanessa hurried back to the elevator, where she and the consultant waited for the elevator in silence.
They stepped inside.
“So … the crew members got their union?” asked Vanessa.
“You win some, you lose some,” said Amy with a shrug. “I get paid either way.”
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Vanessa allowed Amy to precede her, then stepped into the sunshine beneath the Mirror Castle.
Though it was time to go home, Vanessa didn’t want to leave.
She scanned the crowd, an automatic habit for a theme park manager, noting the crowd size and movement, picking out the positions of the crew members in the streets, absorbing the energy and reading it like tea leaves.
Something in the air set her path for the manager parking lot, where she retrieved a spare set of street clothes.
She changed in the locker room and emerged in the Fantasy bazaar, inconspicuously attired, with no name tag to be seen.
The scent of caramel corn led her to the stand where she purchased a bag for herself. She continued down the row until she reached the outdoor stage.
Vanessa slid onto a bench and fished around in the bag for the choicest-looking pieces of caramel corn while waiting for the show to begin.
She had just popped too many into her mouth when she heard a familiar voice above her.
“Is this seat taken?”
Thomas stood before her. She shaded her eyes to look up at him. He wore fitted jeans topped with a black turtleneck sweater, sunglasses, and a fedora. On anyone else, it might have looked absurd.
On him, it was charming.
She swallowed hastily. “Have a seat,” she said. “How did you get in here?”
He sat down next to her. “I bought a ticket like everyone else,” he said. “No way I was going to miss my weekly show.”
“We probably shouldn’t be seen together,” she said. She offered him caramel corn.
“Probably not,” he agreed, reaching into the bag.
“I heard you won the election,” she said.
He threw his head back and laughed. “Poor Mr. Destiny,” he said.
“Poor, poor Mr. Destiny,” said Vanessa.
They grinned at each other.
“Wait—you’ve got something—right there,” said Thomas, staring at Vanessa’s face.
Vanessa colored. “What? Where?”
“A little caramel. Right there. Let me—” He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. “It’s gone now,” he said.
She leaned back and cast an appraising gaze at him. “Smooth,” she concluded.
“Oh, you have no idea,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“Maybe not,” said Vanessa. “But I’d like to find out.”
Pomegranate Champagne
Toast someone you love with this ruby-colored sparkler!
Ingredients:
Champagne
Pomegranate juice
Pomegranate arils
All ingredients should be completely chilled.
Instructions:
Pour champagne into a flute, leaving space at the top to add a shot of pomegranate juice.
Pour a shot of pomegranate juice into the flute.
Garnish with a teaspoon of pomegranate arils and serve immediately.