They looked around for a place to sit. When they found all the seats taken, Vanessa suggested they sit in her car. She unlocked the driver’s side door and leaned across, ice cream tipping precariously, to unlock the passenger side door.
“Nice car,” said Thomas as he sat down. He pulled the lever to recline the seat.
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s a little small, but I like it.”
“Call it snug,” said Thomas. “Or cozy.” He scooped a bit of vanilla and chocolate together.
Vanessa swirled the ice cream around in her bowl. “You know, this isn’t what I was expecting when I moved down here.”
“No?”
“It’s different. So much money went into making this place beautiful. Not that my old park wasn’t nice,” she said. “It was just—how do I put this—simpler? Homegrown?”
“Was that better?” Thomas asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I feel a little like the country mouse in the city.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing. It’s a fresh perspective.”
She nodded, appearing to consider his words. “I hope you’re right.”
They finished up their ice cream lunch.
After Vanessa locked the car doors, she turned to Thomas. “What’s next? Oh, wait—you have something there. Right there.” She pointed at his face.
Thomas groped his face all over, feeling for melted ice cream. “Where?” Embarrassment curled around the ice cream in his belly.
“No, not there. There,” she said.
He patted his face faster, finding nothing.
“May I?” she asked.
He sighed and nodded.
She held her hand lightly along his jawline and rubbed her thumb across his jaw. “There. All clear.”
“Thank you. We can go get changed now,” he said, gesturing for her to go first.
As he followed her down the stairs, his hand traced where hers had touched.
After picking up a fresh costume at the window for himself, and helping Vanessa select her items, he breezed into the locker room to change costumes for the next attraction.
Thomas rather liked the Gold Rush costume. It came with a broad-brimmed hat he could wear at a rakish angle. He didn’t love the garish neckerchief, but acknowledged that it certainly fit the theme even if it wasn’t the most attractive accessory. He observed himself in the mirror. Pants zipped? Check. Shirt smoothly tucked in? Check. Hat at the right angle? He made a slight adjustment. Check.
Outside the locker room he spotted Vanessa fully kitted out in brown slacks, a beige blouse, a red neckerchief, and the signature Gold Rush brown felt hat. “Have you been on the ride before?” he asked as they walked to Gold Rush.
“I’m not much of a roller coaster person,” she said.
“No? Me neither. But,” he clarified, “even I like Gold Rush. It’s not too rough and the drops aren’t too big.” He led the way to an outdoor overlook where they could watch the ride in action. Each time a train swooped past their position, the happy screams of the riders faded in, increased to full volume, and faded out like someone had rapidly dialed a volume control up and down.
“Does it go upside down?” she asked.
“Nope.”
She watched the ride for another minute. “I can handle it,” she said.
“You sure?”
“Positive. Oh!” she said. She touched her hat. “Where can I stash this thing?”
He swept his hat off and held it out as if he were taking up a collection. “With mine.”
She nested her hat neatly inside of his and followed him to the loading area, where he deposited their hats behind a podium. They stepped into one of the two-person cars and pulled down the lap bar.
The train ambled out of the station and climbed the first hill. Thomas eyed Vanessa. Her face was serene, but her hands gripped the lap bar. “Here we go!” he cheered as they reached the top. The train swept down the hill and around a corner past abandoned carts heaped with ore.
They couldn’t help sliding from side to side and bumping into each other as the train careened along the track. When they swerved through a cave streaked with sparkling gold veins, Vanessa’s head tipped back and she laughed in delight.
Thomas applauded as the train pulled into the station, leading the entire train full of visitors—and Vanessa—in an impromptu standing ovation as they exited.
“That was fun!” she exulted.
He smiled broadly and returned her hat, sweeping his hair back before putting on his own. “Now you get to see behind the scenes,” he said.
The control tower contained an intimidating array of buttons that operated loading gates, ride vehicle doors, emergency brakes, and a PA system, not to mention an internal phone handset and a bank of old computer monitors displaying a constant cascade of system notifications. Thomas noticed Vanessa’s forehead furrowing as her gaze traveled across the controls. “Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “You don’t have to know all of this like a crew member would. That would take days. You’re just here to get the basic idea.”
They stood in the background as the control tower crew member deftly dispatched ride vehicles one after another in synchrony with the crew loading and unloading below.
“It’s not that,” she said, still focused on the controls. “I’m not worried. I’m just comparing your controls to the roller coaster I used to run.”
Intrigued, he asked the crew member at the controls to stand aside. Thomas took the seat and gestured for Vanessa to come closer. He caught a faint scent of roses as she leaned over his shoulder. Focus, Thomas. He narrated his actions as he ran through the sequence of controls that operated the ride.
After watching the process through several arriving and departing trains, she recited the sequence without a flaw.
“Well done,” he said with sincere admiration, ceding the controls back to the control tower crew member.
“All in a day’s work,” she replied, and tipped her hat.
Vanessa
After she completed her Gold Rush training, they returned to the costume department to change into their normal attire.
One more training day. Then everything will be back to normal. She would be back in her regular clothes, back in her office, back to the familiar feeling of exercising a reasonable amount of authority. Being the supervisor, not the supervised.
Wearing a costume blurred the lines.