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“Dan, if we ride it again, I’m going to vomit,” Phil said, his skin an odd shade of green.
“It’s just Splash Mountain, mate! And everyone else is watching the parade so there’s only a 5 minute wait! Come one!”
“Okay,” Phil said, hesitantly. “But if I vomit, I’m aiming at you!”
“Noted. Lets-a-go!” Dan said, laughing.
The two young men made their way through the stairs and landings quickly and back up to the end of the line.
“This time, let’s pose for the picture!” Dan suggested.
“What should we do?” Phil asked.
“Let’s do our ‘The Thinker’ pose.”
Phil laughed, “Okay, that should be fun to try to do while I’m screaming!”
“How many?” The ride attendant asked.
“Two,” they replied in unison.
“One and two,” the attendant directed, and they stepped up to the first and second spots in line.
They stepped into the soaked seats, Phil first and Dan second, and held on tightly to the hand rails.
As the log ride took off, Phil said, “I don’t want to do this!”
“Too late now, mate!” Dan said, giggling. Then he rubbed Phil’s shoulders comfortingly.
Phil leaned back and accepted the massage. His tense shoulders melted under Dan’s touch, and he started to grin and relax a bit.
Then came the first drop, and Phil’s shoulders tensed right back up. Phil loved roller coasters, but certain ones triggered his motion sickness. Unfortunately, Splash Mountain was one of those. He enjoyed the straight drop, but the dips and bumps and turns are what got him feeling icky.
Dan, on the other hand, loved all coasters. The faster the better, was his motto.
As they made the turn towards the final drop, Dan deftly pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and began to unfold it.
The buzzards at the top of the ride taunted the riders about no turning back now, and Phil braced himself for the fall. Then he remembered he was supposed to pose, and he rested his head on his fist in the classic ‘The Thinker’ pose, and tried to put a thoughtful expression on his face.
The lights flashed and they plummeted down and landed with a huge splash. Dan and Phil laughed and screamed. This was the best part of the ride for them, the high after the fall, when the log flume took them into “The Laughing Place”.
Getting off of the ride was difficult since the floors were wet, but they managed and then headed right to the pictures. Dan said “I’ll get the number, you go sit down, you’re even greener now, mate.”
“Thanks,” Phil said, still a bit green but also still high from the ride.
Dan snapped a pic of their ride photo to get the number, then headed for the vender to buy the actual photo. Typically, they just downloaded the photo to their phones, but this time, Dan wanted to keep it.
Dan handed over the ten dollars and examined the photo carefully. It was just perfect. He took a deep breath, and walked over to Phil.
“How are you feeling?” Dan asked.
“Better!” Phil said. “It feels good to sit on something that isn’t moving!”
“I got the photo,” Dan said, suddenly sounding nervous.
“Aww, did the poses not turn out well?” Phil asked.
“No, they did. Um, here, look and see for yourself,” he stammered, handing Phil the photo.
“You bought the actual photograph?” Phil asked. “Wow!”
He looked down and saw his ‘Thinker’ pose, and was overall pleased with it, even though his quiff was doing something weird.
Then he saw Dan’s image in the seat behind him.
Dan was not doing a ‘Thinker’ pose, but rather, was holding up a sign.
He was smiling nervously, holding the sign in front of his chest.
The sign said, “Marry me?”
Phil’s jaw dropped and he stopped breathing. He read the sign again to make sure it actually said what he thought it said.
Then he looked up at Dan, only to find he wasn’t there.
Dan was on his knee at Phil’s feet, holding open a small ring box with a golden band inside.
A few people had stopped and were staring and smiling, though neither boy noticed.
“Philip Michael Lester,” Dan began, his voice wavering a bit, “I bought this ring three years ago, but never found the right time. Last night, that prose you wrote for me, well, um,” he stammered, “ I just knew this was the right time. Take your time and think it over, but know this: you are my best friend and my favorite person, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you. Phil, will you marry me?”
Phil’s eyes had misted over so that Dan was a blurry image before him. He wiped his eyes and then reached out, not for the ring, but for Dan’s shoulders. His arms were shaking as he held Dan by the shoulders.
“Dan, I love you,” Phil said grinning nervously. “I — I want to be with you forever, too. You are perfection to me. Yes. Yes!”
The small crowd around them began to applaud, though neither man noticed. Phil took Dan into a full embrace and Dan returned it strongly. They held each other, both shaking, for several moments, whispering to one another, then broke apart with huge smiles on their faces.
Dan took the ring from the box and slid it onto Phil’s finger. It fit perfectly.
“You need a ring!” Phil said, suddenly concerned.
“I have one,” Dan said. “It’s back at the house. I bought it at the same time I got yours. They are a matching pair.”
Phil tilted his head and smiled.
“When we get home, I’m proposing to you straight away,” Phil said.
“Good!” Dan said. “That will give me time to think about it.”
“DAN!” Phil said, cackling.
Suddenly, they became aware of the crowd around them and both broke the embrace and stood up.
Dan, secretly a lover of attention, waved and said, “Thanks”. Phil just smiled, then looked down at the picture.
It was silly, and sweet, and perfect.
Just like their love.