I
Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.
-Amy Bloom
The pearl-white Honda Civic rolled gently along the gravel road; the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. There were two in the car. The first was Jack Locust. He was twenty five years old and an aspiring guitarist. He had thick, toned muscles from working out and dark chocolate hair styled in a neat crew cut. The second was Jane Thymine, his fiancée.
“Jack, can’t you just tell me where we’re going?” Jane was asking. Earlier that day, just after shopping for wedding dresses with her mother, Jack had mysteriously pulled up outside of the store, complete with two suitcases. Hers had already been packed. Jack had gestured her to get into the car, refusing to tell her where the two were going.
She had looked back at her mother, who was smiling at her. Jane frowned, suspecting that she had known.
“I’m sorry,” Jack replied for the hundredth time. “You’ll just have to wait. Things aren’t as grand if they aren’t surprises, my dear.”
Jane frowned, glaring at her fiancée.
Jack saw this look, and soon he found the parking lot of a nearby restaurant, pulling over. He figured that he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret any longer. They were going to reach their destination in about an hour.
It was a very, very special destination, Jack knew, and he would need his full attention to be focused on Jane while he explained it to her. That was why he had pulled over.
“Alright,” he said with a smile. “We’re going on a vacation of sorts, something that will help us take off the stress that comes with planning a wedding. That’s your first hint.”
Jane sighed, closing her eyes. The hint was too broad. Ever since day one of the wedding planning, they had always joked about going on a vacation, and they’d mentioned numerous places – Paris, The Florida Keys, Hawaii…It couldn’t have been that though. They were driving, and you couldn’t cross over water in a car.
“Can you give me another hint?” Jane said. She giggled.
“It’s a place you’ve always wanted to go, even before we were engaged.” Jack smiled, waiting for another guess. He had chosen Rochester Point, a grand amusement park in the southern end of Illinois. It had some of the most famous roller coaster rides all across the world, the kind that roller coaster geeks would die to ride. Jane fit into the category. Jack sighed, his heart pounding. If she didn’t guess it right this time, he would tell her. He hoped that she would enjoy the vacation.
