To be honest, I couldn’t imagine it. Maybe I was naive, thinking that nothing was going to happen. Even Cassie commented on it as we speed-walked across the road.
“I’m surprised you didn’t argue,” she said, “About the whole split.”
“I’m learning from the expert,” I said, giving her a nod.
I expected Cassie to bring out her sunny smile, but instead her lips twisted. Like I’d said something that troubled her. I went to my reliable response.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I meant no offense.”
“None taken,” Cassie said. Her grin returned, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Tomorrowland was a large transition from where we’d been, with a sort of retro-future vibe and energetic electronica music. A spinning, 50s-style rocket ship reached upwards from the center of the area. I assumed that was Space Mountain, but it turned out that our ride was all the way in the back of the land in a large building that looked like a giant, vanilla-frosted cupcake.
The wait said 40 minutes, which seemed OK in the grand scheme of things. With eight hours at the park that evening, it felt like we had all the time in the world. Also, air conditioning would make everything way easier. So, we queued up.
Inside, it was surprisingly dark with tight hallways that almost felt claustrophobic. There were screens on either side of us with fake announcements about our ‘flight.’ We leaned against the carpeted walls and waited, patiently.
Cassie was very chatty, of course, carrying the conversation. She told me how she met Jack (at a PR event for his company), used her phone to show me pictures of their wedding (tasteful and classic, on the side of the East River; Cassie looked gorgeous in her dress), and talked about how they spent their time together (mostly trying fancy restaurants and going on adventures like this one).
It was all very surface. For my part, I nodded along, adding the appropriate ‘hms’ and ‘ahs’ as Cassie flowed along. It didn’t feel like much time had passed at all before we were climbing into our tiny spaceship.
The cars were surprisingly small. Cassie sat in front and I went behind her, spreading my legs around her seat to fit. We were so close, the vehicle so tiny, it felt more like were going to race down a hill in a box, Calvin and Hobbes style.
Apparently, Space Mountain usually had you going through a starfield, but their solution for how to make it more “Halloween-y” was to turn out the lights completely and play loud, scary music. I’d never been on the ride before to compare, but complete blackness — never knowing which way we were going to turn or drop — made it plenty thrilling (if not a little painful).
When we got out of our rocket, it felt like I’d been in a fight. My head and neck were sore, and my legs were so stiff it felt like they were made of balsa wood. Fortunately, it was a long walk to get out of the building. By the time we were in the gift shop, I felt better.
“Where next?” Cassie asked, “I got first choice so now it’s your turn.”
I’d never been to the park before, so I didn’t have a sense of it. Honestly, I’d wasn’t a ‘Disney’ person — I didn’t have a bucket list or a catalogue of must-dos. We were on this trip mostly because Emily had wanted to go with her friend to Florida and it was free so why the fuck not?
I was happy to have Cassie lead, and I told her so. I expected the beautiful blonde to get upset with me, the way Emily would when I didn’t make a decision. Instead, though, Cassie clapped her hands excitedly, then raced off, dragging me behind her.
We walked past a car ride that stank of gasoline fumes and went up a hill past the iconic Teacups ride. Cassie wanted to get on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but the wait was two hours long, so instead we kept walking into Fantasyland. I assumed that we’d bump into Mike and Emily there, but we didn’t see them.
Instead, Cassie led us right past Peter Pan and It’s a Small World, then down another small hill to a dark, foreboding mansion. Out on the front lawn were a couple of cast members dressed as old women and heckling the audience. A small crowd had gathered to be insulted.
We walked around that and got on line for the ride. I’d have thought the Haunted Mansion would be popular on Halloween, but we were able to walk right in. After that, we hurried past the giant steamship sitting at its dock and into Frontierland. Looking to the horizon, I could see a flume ride with a massive drop, and I assumed that’s where Cassie was taking us.
Instead, though, she veered left through an opening in a shop, past some bathrooms, bringing us into Adventureland. I knew this was where Allison and Jack had headed earlier, but again, we didn’t bump into them.
We went straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride, too, had added some live cast members who sat in the ride and playfully harassed us as we passed them. The smell of bromide and chemical smoke filled my nose as animatronic Johnny Depp popped up in random places around us.
We’d only done three rides, and already I felt like I needed a break. But Cassie was now powering through the park like it was going to close forever in a few hours. I didn’t know you could binge rides like watching episodes on Netflix, but the beautiful blonde made it happen.
We raced onto the Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain, and finally that big flume ride I’d seen in the distance (Splash Mountain), all in quick succession. At one point, we realized we were both hungry and so we stopped and shared nachos at a nearby restaurant. Then we went back to jumping on rides.
Because we were going so quickly, and the lines were nonexistent, we didn’t have time for things like conversation, let alone the sorts of flirty behavior I was used to engaging in on this trip. Even when we were eating, we were so busy stuffing our faces that we didn’t say anything. I let Cassie drag me along, like chasing after a waistcoat-wearing rabbit, bounding from place to place..
I realized that the woman I was spending the evening with was subtly different than the one I thought I knew. This Cassie didn’t worry about whether everyone else was enjoying themselves. She didn’t work to keep things light and happy. She just threw herself into her own gratification, loving every minute, and letting me find my own fun. It was lovely, actually.
Like I said, I liked to be left to my own devices and I enjoyed silence. It didn’t feel like Cassie was ignoring me. Instead, it was almost like the comfortable trust of a long-term relationship. The two of us happily fit together in a way that was lovely for how unexpected it was.
After Splash, however, Cassie slowed down. She took my hand and we slowly strolled along the wooden boardwalk on the riverside, heading back the way we came. The sun had finally slipped below the horizon, and the park was now surprisingly dark.
“That was awesome,” Cassie said. She couldn’t keep the girlish grin off her face. She was practically skipping as she walked, swinging my arm with hers.
“It was fun,” I agreed, “Though a bit like being with Allison.”
Cassie gave me a wounded look. “I wasn’t that bad,” she said, “I didn’t try to beat you at everything. But if you want to be competitive…”
Her grin went from innocently happy to scheming and wicked. It reminded me of the aggressive looks that my tall, athletic companion would give me. It was different though, with Cassie’s bright blue eyes and her heart-shaped face — she couldn’t pull it off, even when she wanted to.
The beautiful blonde stopped sauntering and started marching us through the park. This time, we turned right before the Haunted Mansion and crossed back towards the castle. There was a stage show going on now, with iconic Disney villains parading in bright, glowing costumes. A crowd had formed there, though not so bad that we couldn’t skirt our way around and over to the other side.