“This is Chris’s little brother, Riley. Riley, this is my friend, Ember.”
Ember exhales a muffled breath that seems a lot like relief to me. “Hi there, Riley.” She squats down until she’s eye level with him and extends her hand. He takes it with a bashful smile then lets it go. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She squeezes his nose and makes a honking sound, giving Riley another fit of the giggles. It is by far the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She stands back up, her lips twisted into a grin. “So toys, huh?”
“Yup.” I nod, motioning toward the store. “Thought it might be fun.”
“You just secretly wanted to ride the Ferris wheel.” Her tone is light, and my chest loosens at her playfulness. Given the heaviness between us the other day, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I smile back, relieved. Playful I can handle. “You might be right.”
Riley yanks on my hand. I’ve obviously made him wait long enough to enter utopia. He leads the way, pulling me along as the three of us weave through the craziness. Inside, my eyes bulge while my mouth hangs open. I glance down at Riley and his expression matches mine.
“Holy shit!” Ember hits my arm and glares at me. “I mean shoot. Shoot, Riles. Look at all these toys.”
“First time here?” she asks, and I can barely drag my eyes away from the giant minions. I’m as bad as Riley.
“Uh, yeah. I would’ve loved to have had a store like this as a kid. We didn’t have anything like it where I grew up.”
“We didn’t either.” She flashes me a grin, a twinkle in her eyes. “Avery and I went to FAO Schwartz before they closed. We danced on the big piano. It was a lot of fun.”
“You danced on the piano?”
“Don’t look so surprised.” She rocks on her feet. “Okay. Actually, it was more like Avery coerced me. But once I was on there, I was so glad she did.”
“I want to wide the Fewwis wheeeeeeeel!” Riley’s squeaky voice cuts into our conversation. His head bobs from left to right, unable to take in everything all at once. Ember laughs, staring at the bright circle of color in front of us. “Can I get a toy, too, Unca?” He gazes up at me with those big blue eyes and I couldn’t refuse him anything. “Pwease?”
“Of course, buddy.” I pat him on the head. “I already told you I’d buy you a superhero. And you can get something else, too. Anything you want.”
Ember clears her throat, blatantly trying to get my attention. I turn and she leans close, her hair brushing my cheek. She smells just like I remember. “You might want to narrow that down,” she whispers. “There are some crazy expensive things here.”
Her proximity and her scent makes me lose my train of thought. “Huh? Oh, right. Thanks.” I smile, then shift toward Riley. “Let’s see what you want first. Okay, buddy? Then I’ll see if we can get it.”
“Okaaaaaaaay.” Riley hops over to Ember and bypasses me completely. I understand, because she has that same effect on me. He tilts his head back as he watches the ride. “Embew, will you come on the Fewwis wheel with me?”
“Of course I will.” Ember glances up at me, teasing in her eyes. “But I think Uncle Vance should come too. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” he calls out, his excitement contagious as we both laugh. And fuck, it feels good to laugh with her again.
We brave the long line and several impatient children to finally make it onto the ride. Riley picks The Toy Story car and insists he sit in the middle. Ember steps in first and we file in right behind her.
“This is so fun!” Riley stomps his feet. “The best day evew!”
I point a finger toward the second level of the store. “Look, Riley, there’s a big dinosaur over there.”
“Oooooooooh, can we go see that next?” he asks, bouncing up and down in the seat.
“You got it, buddy.” I ruffle his hair and Ember looks over at me. The sweetness of her smile makes warmth spark in my chest and spread to my limbs.
The car surges upward, stopping every other minute or so to let people on. As we sit suspended in mid-air, the continual rocking motion brings on this weird dizziness. Blood rushes to my head and a loud buzzing noise fills my ears. As if I’m being sucked under by a giant wave, dark spots cloud my vision and I can’t seem to catch my breath. I vaguely hear Ember saying my name but she sounds far away. Caught in a fog, my pulse pounds too loud and I’m afraid I’m going to pass out when soft fingers wrap around mine.
“Easy breaths, Vance.” Ember coaxes in a gentle voice. “Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. That’s it. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” As I follow her direction, my breathing begins to level out, my heartbeat slows. The sounds around me gradually register again and I blink, staring at our joined hands. She starts to pull away but I latch onto her fingers, leaning back against the car.
“Don’t let go.”
“You okay, Unca Vance?” Riley asks, and I force a smile for his benefit.
“I’m better now, little guy.” Then I glance at Ember and mouth, “Thank you.”