Someone in the crowd laughed and shouted back, “Not me!”
“Insolent language and oaths will not be tolerated,” Thomas fired back, fully in character as a Victorian factory overseer. “In you go, ladies and gents.” He motioned the visitors into the first room of the attraction. “Keep in mind that any person leaving his or her station or talking with other workers will be dismissed. Drop waste on the floor and you shall be fined. Got it, lad?” He glared at a young boy holding a lollipop with a dangling wrapper.
The boy giggled and stuck his tongue out.
Thomas made his way through the crowd to trigger the door to the next waiting area. “Remember, you are required to give four weeks notice if you wish to leave, but we may dismiss you at any time without notice.”
The door to the loading area slid open, but none of the visitors moved. “Don’t just stand there,” he chided. “The devil makes work for idle hands.”
When the last of the group of visitors had straggled through the door to the loading area, Thomas closed it and returned to the exterior door to repeat the process.
This time when he opened the door, he opened it to a little girl in the front, who appeared to be on the verge of tears.
Dropping his Ghost Factory persona, he immediately kneeled to her level and spoke in a gentle tone. “What’s wrong, princess?”
She peered around him to the dark interior of the attraction. “I’m scared the ghosts will get me.”
“Oh, no,” Thomas said, very seriously. “We don’t have that kind of ghost here. Only silly ghosts. Are you afraid of silly ghosts?”
She shook her head solemnly.
“Well, then.” Thomas smiled at her. “You have nothing to worry about. Would you like to be my helper and let the people into the ride?”
Her eyes brightened. “All right,” she said.
They walked side by side into the first room, the girl’s family right behind them with the rest of the crowd following.
“You know how to say ‘Open sesame,’ don’t you?” said Thomas.
The girl opened her mouth as if to say it right then and there.
“Not yet—it’s very powerful, you know. Only to be used when absolutely necessary. Now, face this door.”
She faced the door with an air of great concentration.
“Ready?” He secretly positioned his hand over the button that triggered the door. “Now!”
“Open sesame!” said the girl.
The door slid open as if by magic. Thomas applauded. The girl marched into the loading area with a big smile on her face. Thomas caught Vanessa’s eye and winked.
After they’d worked their way through the rest of the stations, they returned for lunch to the little cafe where they’d picked up coffee earlier in the day. They sat at a rickety outdoor table and dined companionably on premade sandwiches and iced tea.
“So, I noticed you have a little accent … is that a Southern thing you have going on?” Thomas asked in between bites.
Vanessa cocked her head and looked quite serious. “Is it that obvious?”
“No! Not at all. I mean,” he fumbled for the right words, “don’t get me wrong.”
Her serious expression disappeared and her eyes twinkled. “I’m just messing with you. I know it’s obvious. I try to keep the ‘y’alls’ in check most of the time.”
Thomas chuckled. “I know what you mean. I have a tendency to talk like I’m onstage even when I’m not. Old habits die hard.”
“What did you do before you started working here?” she asked.
“You want my life story?”
“Give me the highlights,” said Vanessa, settling back with her iced tea in hand.
“Let’s see. I’m a local boy—can you believe it?”
She shook her head. “Seems like everybody here is from somewhere else. You must be the exception,” she said.
“Exactly. Went to high school in a Podunk town on the coast I bet you’ve never heard of. Dropped out of college, went to New York, tried to make it as an actor … did not make it as an actor,” he finished. “Came back here and got a job at Destiny because they were hiring and I like to eat.”
“Don’t we all,” she drawled.
“What about you?”
“Me?” Vanessa gathered up her sandwich wrapper. “What’s to know?” She pushed back her chair and looked at her watch. “I sprang fully formed from the sea.” She winked at him.
“Don’t try to scare me off with mythological references,” he said.
She laughed. “I promise I’ll fill you in another time.” She stood up and looked down at him. “It’s been fun. Thank you.”
He didn’t want lunch to be over. He rose from his chair anyway. “You’re welcome.”
He watched her walk away, her green skirt rippling in the wind.
As she walked, she pulled the pins out of her hair one at a time.
Chapter 5
Vanessa
Vanessa settled into her chair. A full day stretched before her with no trainings and no costumes. She felt she’d earned a quiet morning to sip a cup of coffee and catch up on paperwork. She set her coffee within reach and laid out her papers with enough space to identify them and be able to flip pages as needed. Her pens and pencils lay in a row.
Everything was in order.
She sighed happily.
She’d picked up the first paper in the stack when someone knocked at the door. “Come in,” she called.
Dirk walked in, closed the door behind him, and sat down without being invited to have a seat.
So much for a relaxing morning of coffee and paperwork.
“Please, have a seat,” she said, putting down the paper in her hand. “Can I help you with something?”
“I thought you might like to make a plan for dealing with this union thing. You know, putting pressure on the ringleaders? Getting the crew on our side?”
“We’re not on the same side as our crew?” She knew what his answer would be, but wanted to hear him flounder his way into it.
“Of course we’re on their side, if they’re on the company’s side,” he said.
She regarded him from across the desk. She hadn’t met anyone at Destiny Park whom she liked less than Dirk, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be useful, perhaps in ways he didn’t anticipate. “I’m listening,” she said.