Fireworks

Kyle can’t help his grin as Misty drags him to the first rollercoaster. As they get in, he rattles off dialogue as always. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Misty Miller airlines.” The coaster starts to climb. “The weather seems calm and pleasant today so we home this will be an enjoyable flight.” The coaster reaches the top of the hill. “In case of an emergency, the exits are…” The coaster shoots downward, and Kyle’s last statement is lost to Misty’s shriek. His laughter rings out, his free arm held in the air, taking the ride for all it’s worth, his own whoop accompanying Misty’s scream.

Staggering alongside Misty once they’re off the rollercoaster, Kyle is breathing heavily and spins around once, as if totally having lost his bearings. “Methinks that is a definite ride to come back to,” he agrees.


As the day moves on, the merriment continues as well. The sunshine is warm, and the activity and excitement at the park is contagious.

Kyle is totally himself, goofing off at just the right times to bring an extra smile, or saying the right thing to bring on laughter.

Rides are conquered one by one, the competition started as to who can stand the most times on one ride. Supper is forgotten as concession stand food is downed, making stomachs a bit queezy but not enough to quit going for the rides.


Walking to the other corner of the park, Kyle licks his ice cream cone to keep it from dripping. Giving Misty a sidelong glance, he moves quickly, running a finger through the cold treat, then reaching over to swipe Misty’s nose playfully.

Trying to contain his laughter, he steps out of the way in fear of being swatted. “Got something on your nose,” he points out.


Time flies yet seems to go slow enough for the enjoyment of the day to last. With each ride comes a new adrenaline rush, and with each rush, more screams and laughter.


“Melady…” Kyle bows low, handing Misty a blue teddy bear that had been won at a game of luck. “For you.” He ends with a flourish of the hand. “And you better hang on to him tight, ‘cause I hear that rollercoaster calling my name again.”

On impulse, he grabs Misty in a playful side headlock to drag her to the rollercoaster again. “Hurry before everyone gets there first!” His statement is met with irony as there is no one in line, but he runs anyway, pulling Misty along with him until he’s laughing too much to keep it up.


With evening comes the chirp of crickets and a soothing quietness in the air. The few milling people in the park create ambient noise along with music and the rushing sound of the rollercoaster still going. But darkness has settled, bringing about an end to the excitement, a good feeling of weariness seeping into the bones.

“Ooh, that one was nice.” Kyle lies on his back on the blanket in the bed of his truck, looking up at the fireworks display.

A loud boom makes him cringe. “Yowza. And I thought Jason was loud with his guitar amp.” He chuckles, watching as another firework shoots into the air. “This’ll be a good one,” he predicts.

After a lame pop and a few fizzling colors, he has to laugh. “Okay, so maybe not.”

He sighs with content and puts his arms behind his head, not looking forward to the drive home. At least Misty could keep him awake on the way back. It was already late and he was getting tired. But it was a good tired. The day had been fun.


Velvet nods to Jess. “Yeah, last I knew he was still coming. Since we’re all riding together, I told him we’d pick him up on the way out of town.”

Carson leans back in his chair, his mind mulling over everything that had been discussed. He’d never been a card player in a scheme like this, though he’d been the lookout several times. He knew how the game worked, the rules, and how to get around them with numbers. With Jess’ expert leadership, this should be an easy take. If luck was with them and the right hands came along, they could definitely hit the jackpot.

The four remain at the bar for several more hours until finally splitting up to go get ready. Once four o’clock rolled around, they were back together again in Jess’ car, picking Sean up, and on their way.

Vegas. Lights. Activity. Action.

The hotel room was dim with a window looking out onto the highway. On the outskirts of the city it provided the base they needed. Here’s where they started out, and here is where they would meet again once everything was over.

“So how about you, Jess, and Peter and Carson heading out first and splitting up. Sean and I will follow up in a bit so we don’t all arrive at once.?”