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It was easy for Amitie to get swept up in the spur of the moment. She was the type who was unable to stop herself; when she saw something she wanted, she ignored everything else to get it. If she saw ice cream on the desert menu, she forgot how stuffed she felt and ordered it. If she saw a theme park said cute couples could get in free, all other date plans were halted. This is all to say that her mind was always chugging forward on one track with no time to consider consequences.
And so, when they were exiting the mall’s cafe and Amitie gasped as she saw the kiddie ride area, Sig knew where things were going.
“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh!” She exclaimed as she bounded for the rides. “I haven’t seen this thing in forever !”
Sig, slow as a snail, followed after her. He didn’t quite know what had gotten her so worked up. The small area of kiddie rides was what was always there at the mall. A tiny carousel, a motorcycle driven by a cartoon character that you could ride in the sidecar of, a motion ride with a video of a rollercoaster playing. The same kind of thing you’d find anywhere.
“What is it?” Sig asked, taking a drink from his tea.
“It’s the red car!” Amitie said, hugging onto an old, weathered car that was smaller than even a go-kart. “They had the same ride at this boardwalk I went to on vacations when I was a kid.”
Sig bit his lip at pointing out that, even if they were in high school, they still were kids. Especially when Amitie started climbing into it.
“Amitie?” Sig asked.
“Look! I still fit. I mean, it’s a little snug, but it’s super cool!”
Sig tilted his head. Despite Amitie’s enthusiasm, it still just looked like she was sitting in a glorified electric rocking horse.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
“What? Oh, you gotta ride it. C’mon!” Amitie pat the open half-foot of space in the ride. Sig looked at it doubtfully, but Amitie insisted. “You can drive.”
Once more Sig bit his lip and didn’t point out the steering wheel did nothing. Yet he relented. After all, she always accompanied him on bug hunting expeditions and the butterfly sanctuary and so on and so forth. He tried to do what she wanted when he could.
So Sig sucked in his stomach and crammed himself in the tiny red plastic car beside Amitie. She cheered him on, despite being shoved into the side of the car. With some effort and accepting the pain, Sig managed to sit down, his cheeks squishing against Amitie’s in way that made both their faces red.
They sat there in silence for a moment as other mall customers passed them by, making a pointed show in their efforts to ignore the pair.
“Amitie?” Sig said.
“Yeah?”
“I’m stuck.”
“Me too!” Amitie beamed.
There was another moment of silence and, with some effort, Sig managed to reach into his pocket and pull out a quarter. He thought that if they were stuck here, they might as well have their fun.
A moment later, the two were riding in place. Amitie put her hands in the air, enjoying the feeling of the wind (from the mall’s vents) on her face. And, though it wasn’t the same nostalgia rush Amitie was experiencing, still enjoyed the feeling of Amitie by his side.