“Jack, can’t you just tell me what this is all about?”
“No Jane,” said the man driving the car, handsome and dark haired. “It would ruin the suspense of it all.”
“We’ve been driving in the car for five hours. I hope that this is going to be good,” said Jane.
Jack laughed. “It will definitely get us away from the stress of planning our wedding. Besides, you’ve wanted to go to where I’m taking you for your whole life.”
Jane, silent, curled a strand of her hair. She looked back at her fiancée, her eyes wide. “You don’t mean? We aren’t going to Rochester Point, are we Jack?”
She looked over at her fiancée, who was smiling. Rochester Point was a famous amusement park in the south of Illinois. Jane loved roller coasters, and Rochester Point was full of them; it also had delicious restaurants, fun theater and gift shops.
“We are going!”
Jack nodded. Jane could never have been happier. She especially wanted to get a go on ‘The Snake,’ which was the park’s grand attraction. She smiled brightly. “I love you,” she said, kissing him on the check.
“I love you too,” replied Jack with a smile.
“So, how much farther until we get there?”
“Any minute now,” said Jack, gesturing a ‘WELCOME TO ROCHESTER POINT’ sign. “And I already bought the tickets, so we should be able to check right into our hotel.” Jack smiled as he kissed her.
●
They arrived in their hotel room at around six in the evening; they were able to unpack, order room service, and watch a little TV. When they were done, it was eight o’clock.
“The park doesn’t close until two in the morning,” said Jack, looking at a brochure as he was lying down on their bed. “Maybe we can go quickly, enjoy a few rides.”
He sighed. The wedding planning had been extremely stressful, full of a lot of work, much more so then Jane or Jack had ever imagined. They both wished that real life was like a Disney fairytale, where the couples would get married on the same day that they were engaged.
It had been too stressful for either of them to endure, so they at least needed a break, and they were on it now. Jack needed to enjoy himself.
“Alright,” replied Jane. “Let’s get ready.”
Jane had tied her brown, highlighted blonde hair in a loose bun and got in a purple tank top and jeans; it was summer, and very warm.
Jack hadn’t changed, but he took a quick shower. Once they were ready, they exited their hotel room and got on a shuttle bus that would take them to the parks.
●
“I’m sorry sir,” said the man at the ticket booth. “I can’t let you in if you don’t have your ticket.”
“But I paid for it,” said Jack. “I just forgot in my hotel room.”
Their hotel was twenty-five minutes away from the park, and Jack had only realized that he had forgot his ticket twenty minutes into the drive, and there was no way he was going back. It would be ten o’clock, and a precious hour would have been wasted. At least Jane remembered hers.
“Can’t you look me up in your computer or something? My payment will be in the records.”
“What’s your name, son?”
“Jack Locust.”
“Ah, let me see now,” said the ticket man. He began to browse, and realizing how long it was taking, Jack told Jane to go wait for him inside the park.
“Your record isn’t showing up,” said the ticket man.
“But I paid for the tickets!”
“You’ll have to talk to the manager then,” said the ticket man flatly. “Shall I phone her for you?”
“Please,” said Jack. He waited as the ticket man dialed the phone and calmly explained the case. He then handed the phone to Jack.
The call seemed to last forever, when finally, Jack was told to go take a shuttle bus to the ticket office at the visitor’s center and tell him his name. Then, they would print him another ticket. Jack looked at his watch. It was around 10:30. He tried to call Jane, but she wasn’t picking up her cell phone.
They wouldn’t let him go into the park just to find her, either.
So Jack took the shuttle bus and got the reprint of his ticket, hoping that Jane wouldn’t be too worried about him. Jack figured that she would be having too much fun on the rides. After all, it was Jane who wanted to go, not him.
I mean, she's