“I’m so glad to see you guys!” Cassie said, giving us hugs hello. Effortlessly cheerful. I almost believed she was happy to see all of us again, although I was pretty sure only one person in particular was important. “It would have sucked to be by myself all day.”
While we had already been at the park for about two hours, Cassie was still waking up and she informed us that coffee was non-negotiable. This time, thank God, Allison relented. So, the five of us went to Starbucks and we finally got our caffeine fix. The line for coffee was worse than any ride we’d seen, but it was worth the effort.
Afterwards, we wandered around the park and watched some shows. We went to a 3-D Muppet movie in a vaguely New York-like theater. Then we saw the Indiana Jones stunt show at an outdoor arena. Finally, we did the sing along for Frozen. I actually enjoyed that one more than I thought I would — it was cute, and the cast members were funny. On the other hand, I could have lived without Allison trying to make me belt out Let it Go.
As we went around the park, Mike and Cassie stayed close together while Allison and Emily chatted. Suddenly, I found myself as the fifth wheel. Honestly, I was fine with it. Any chance to sit back quietly was one I preferred. Still, I did think our distribution was a little odd, despite what Mike had told me earlier. I’d assumed that he and Cassie would at least be discreet. Instead, you’d have thought that they were the married couple.
Finally, right before lunch, we walked up to the one Star Wars ride currently open in the park: Star Tours. Emily knew the ride was going to mess with her motion sickness, but she couldn’t back down. As soon as she saw the massive AT-AT, my adult wife squee-d like a little girl. So, yeah, I guess she was going on that ride.
Afterward however, it was pretty clear she’d paid the price for her fandom. After escaping Hoth and taking on the trench run, my wife looked so nauseous that other families were giving us a wide berth. I put my arm around her shoulders and helped keep her from swerving off the road.
“I don’t know how many more rides I have in me today,” Emily confided in me as we went. “Actually, I don’t think I have any more rides in me today.”
We walked to a nearby outdoor cafe. I sat with Emily under a bright red umbrella while the group got big pretzels and charcuterie. The place also offered beer, and we all indulged. Going back to alcohol after the night before felt both comforting and dangerous. But that didn’t stop us. We sat outside, enduring the hot sun, and ate our meal. Emily’s color slowly returned and that made everything seem so much brighter.
“It’s easy to get fat on these trips,” Mike said between bites.
“Fortunately, all the walking makes up for it,” Allison said.
“We should do Slinky Dog after this,” Cassie said.
Emily looked my way, nervously. She wasn’t getting on that ride again; I knew that for sure. It seemed like my afternoon at the park would be coming to an end shortly.
Allison took out her phone and checked the wait times.
“It’s up to two hours,” she said, “I don’t want to stand in a line that long for something the rest of us already did.”
“Why don’t we just get a FastPass?” Cassie asked.
“Believe me, I tried,” Allison said, “We logged on three months ago and missed out on Slinky. We’re on Tower of Terror later, but that’s all I could score.”
“Let me call my concierge,” Cassie said. She picked up her cell. One quick conversation later, she tucked it back into her purse. “All set,” she announced, “We can go when you’re ready.”
Allison and Mike both stared at the blonde woman like she was floating three feet off the ground. Impressed and slightly frightened. They couldn’t figure out how Cassie had accomplished this amazing feat. In their eyes, she’d transformed from normal woman, to all-powerful being in a blink. To be fair, Mike always kind of looked at Cassie that way, but now Allison was giving the beautiful blonde woman a similar stare.
Emily, however, grabbed my elbow. “I think I’m going to go back to the hotel,” my wife said.
“I’ll come with you,” I said. Sure, we’d all been switching partners, but there was no way I was leaving my wife to loneliness. Besides, it would be fun to have some time just the two of us.
“What? No!” Allison said. I guess she’d overheard us talking.
I did feel bad. Leaving Allison with Mike and Cassie was basically abandoning her for the afternoon. In truth, I didn’t like leaving either woman alone. But given the choice I had to stand by my spouse.
“Come on, the ride isn’t all that,” Allison continued, “Plus, it isn’t every day you meet someone who can pull a FastPass out of her ass.”
“Seriously, I’d have been less shocked if you pulled a watermelon out of there,” Mike said, “I’m so impressed.”
Cassie gave a little curtsey. “Honored to be of service,” she said. Holy fuck the flirting was getting out of hand.
“I’m sorry,” Emily said, “Just thinking about that ride makes my head want roll off.”
“But Paul, can stay, right?” Allison said. She wasn’t even pretending to hide her pleading tone anymore. “You don’t need him if you’re only going to lie around our hotel room.”
Actually, I was pretty sure that having me around would made lying around our hotel room especially fun for my wife. But I decided to keep things clean and so I told the group I didn’t want to leave Emily alone.
“Jack’s back at the hotel right now,” Cassie said, “Em, why don’t you go hang out with him? His kids are gone for the day, so I’m sure he’d love the company.”
Emily’s eyes went wide. My stomach clenched.
“That’s perfect!” Emily said, immediately. “I mean, um, that way Paul can still have fun.”
“Exactly,” Allison said, “That totally works.”
“I’ll text him to let him know you’re coming,” Cassie said.
“You’re sure?” I asked, pulling my wife aside.
“I’ll be good,” Emily said, showing me a smirk, “Mostly. Like we agreed this morning. You have fun with Allison.”
“I’ll take good care of him,” Allison said, pulling me away from Emily. She wrapped her arm tightly around mine. The tall blonde must have been listening in again.
“You’re all set,” Cassie said to Emily, “Jack’s over by the pool already.”
I tried to give my wife a quick clasp goodbye but with Allison holding me on one side and my wife practically squirming away from the other it wasn’t much of a hug. As soon as I let go, Emily scampered off. I stared after her for as long as I could, but she was quickly swallowed up by the crowd.
Meanwhile, Cassie grabbed Mike’s arm and the four of us headed back towards Slinky Dog. Two happy not-couple-couples.
“Thank you for staying with me,” Allison said. She looked pointedly up at her husband. The beautiful blonde Cassie was hanging on to him like she was a koala, and he was a eucalyptus. “I don’t think I could take being by myself with those two.”
I shrugged a reply. It didn’t seem like that big a sacrifice to spend time with the attractive Allison. Especially if my wife was running off to who-knows-what with Jack.
“Emily will be fine,” Allison said, “Trust me. Your wife thinks the world of you.”
Unless she’s distracted by a different heavenly object, I thought to myself. But I didn’t say that. We’d all agreed that this was OK. The boundaries had been set. I just hoped my wife would abide by them.
“Emily, of all people? You can trust her to follow the rules,” Allison said.
“And you?” I asked, “You’ll also follow the rules?”
Allison raised her eyebrow and shot me one of her wicked smiles. “Always,” she said.