Eden (17 page)

“This is wonderful, Thomas,” Eden said happily during a commercial break, “It has been a while since I’ve seen cartoons.”

“You like cartoons?” I asked her.

“You bet,” she assured me, “Ever since my parents took me to see Steamboat Willie in the movies a few years ago.”

That had to have been back in the 1920’s or 30’s, I thought to myself, but she talked about Steamboat Willie as if it came out recently.  Eden’s incredibly long life span still took some getting used to.

“This breakfast is fantastic, Eden,” I said through a mouthful of egg, forgetting to maintain a semblance of manners.  I realized my mistake and quickly covered my mouth with my hand, “Sorry,” I muttered feebly.

She laughed covering her own mouth, “That’s okay, and thanks for the compliment.”

“Seriously, though,” I continued, “everything you cook is out of this world.  I’ve never tasted anything like the food you make.”

“That’s Old World care,” she replied proudly.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Well you know how people claim that their mothers can never cook as well as their grandmothers?” she asked.

I remember my father saying that about my mother’s mother.  He always gushed over her food saying no one takes the time to cook like that today; that everyone is too busy.

“Yeah, my father says that all the time,” I told her.

“Well technically I am older than any grandma in the world,” she stated proudly, “therefore I should be able to cook better than any grandma in the world, too.”

“I never met a girl who was so proud of being older than my grandmother,” I teased.

“You are so lucky I love you, Mr. Atwell,” she said with an evil grin.

“You don’t have to tell me that,” I replied leaning over to kiss her lightly on the lips.

She pulled back after a few seconds, “Shh, the cartoons are starting back up.”

I couldn’t be sure about the cooking, but she was definitely the sexiest grandma in the world.

18

I went home to change after the cartoons winded down around eleven.  I was tempted to take another shower, but fought the urge; the line had to be drawn somewhere.  I changed into jeans and a sweater and hurried downstairs, eager to see Eden again.

“How was your breakfast?” my mother teased.

“It was awesome,” I told her honestly.

“You’d better stop that,” she said, “you’re going to give me a complex.  I don’t want to think that some little girl can cook better than me.”

I wanted to laugh, to tell my mother that although Eden looked like a teenager, she wasn’t; but how could I say anything like that to her without her thinking that I was crazy?  Instead I told her something along the lines of how no one could match the cooking of my mother.  It seemed to appease her and she smiled.

“Do you need money for the fair?” she asked.

I had money saved up for this, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

“I could use some,” I said hopefully.

My mother gave me fifty dollars to use for the fair!  I was amazed, never had my mother been so generous.  If I would have known this would happen, I would have started dating years ago.  Then again, maybe it was only because I was dating Eden that my mother was being so benevolent.

“Make sure that Eden has a good time,” my mother pressed.

“What about me?” I asked.

“With that beautiful girl on your arm and all the jealous stares you are going to be getting, I’m not at all worried about you having a good time,” she replied with a wink.

“True dat, mom,” I laughed as I slipped out the door.

Eden was already dressed and waiting for me on her front porch when I left my house.  She looked more beautiful to me everyday.  What had I done to deserve such a wonderful girlfriend?  I silently prayed that I never screwed this up.  I wanted to spend my short life with this girl.

“Are you all set?” she asked when I reached her porch.

“I sure am,” I assured her, “and I’m bankrolling this whole affair.”

“You are too kind,” she laughed.

“I’m serious, Eden,” I said, “Today, the world is yours.”

“But I don’t want the world,” Eden answered, “All I want is you.”

My heart melted at her reply.  I took her into my arms and kissed her gently on the lips.

“You already have me,” I assured her, “for as long as you want.”

“I wish that were true,” she mumbled as if to herself.

I knew what she meant; my life span was centuries shorter than hers.  I would give anything to be able to live as long as she did; not because I was afraid of death, but because wherever I went after death, I would have to wait so long for her to join me. Hand in hand we walked towards the fair grounds, which were on the other side of the Harbor Square Mall.

“Are we meeting your friends there?” Eden asked as we approached the highway.

“We haven’t set up a meeting place or time, but I am sure we will run into them at some point,” I told her reluctantly.

“Oh, come on, they seem like nice guys,” she chided me, “Don’t sound like you don’t like seeing them.”

“I do like seeing them,” I admitted, “I just don’t feel like sharing you with anyone.”

“I belong to you, Thomas,” she said stopping and facing me, “I am yours and you will never ever have to share me with anybody.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” I laughed as if it hadn’t concerned me at all, although deep down it really had.

Why did I have to have such a low self esteem?  Could it be because of the fact that Eden was the most beautiful and wonderful girl I had ever met?  That could have something to do with it, I thought.

We reached the fair grounds sometime after twelve.  The park was already crowded with vendors and concession stands, but mostly it was the people walking every which way.  Eden looked around in wonderment.  As she told me before, she often stayed away from public places in fear of being found by leeches; but here the crowds were so dense that even out in public she was virtually invisible, at least to everyone but me.

Looking around, we marveled at the different rides and attractions that were on display; they had live animals to feed and pet, clown shows, concerts and so much more.  The many different aromas were mouthwatering, if I still hadn’t been so full from Eden’s breakfast, I would be waiting in line for a sausage sandwich or something.

“So what do you want to do first?” I asked her.

“Let’s just walk around,” she said, “I want to see everything.”

Happy just to hold her hand, I followed her around the fair grounds, hoping that I wouldn’t run into my friends.

“What’s that?” Eden squealed motioning towards one of the gaming booths.

“I think you have to pop the balloons with darts to win a prize,” I ventured.

“Those giant Pink Pumas are so adorable,” she said excitedly, “I want one.”

“I’m not so good with the whole hand-eye coordination thing,” I admitted sadly.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” she beamed at me, “I’ll win it easy.”

Eden stepped up to the booth and asked the man inside how much to play.

“Three darts for a dollar,” he informed her, “The bottom rows are one balloon prizes, the middle rows are two and to win one of these beauties,” he said motioning to the Pink Pumas, “you have to pop all three balloons.”

Of course, the Pink Puma stuffed animal was a top row prize.  I knew that if the contest was one of strength, Eden could win no problem; but super strength meant zilch when it came to throwing darts accurately. Eden made like she was going to pay for the darts, but I cut her off.

“No way,” I scolded, “Today is my treat.”

“What a gentleman,” the man behind the counter said as he pocketed my dollar and handed the three darts to Eden.

Taking the three darts in her hand, she seemed to be scanning the position of the balloons; it took all of about three seconds.  Suddenly, she raised the first dart and let it fly, before the dart even hit the back of the booth, she launched a second and then a third.  All three darts seem to plunk into the wood at the same time, followed by three harsh balloon pops. The man seemed to be frozen in place.  It wasn’t that he had never seen anyone pop three balloons in a row before; but at the same time?  That had to be a new one to him.

“What’ll it be, sweetheart?” he asked Edenafter he recovered.

“I’ll take the big Pink Puma up there,” she said gleefully.

“We have ourselves a winner,” he boomed so that the gathering crowd could hear, “and here is the little lady’s prize – this fabulous Pink Puma!”

There was scattered clapping from the crowd as Eden gathered up her stuffed animal in her arms, the thing had to be at least three feet tall!

“That was amazing,” I whispered to her after we stepped away from the booth.

“That was nothing,” she assured, “I just have really good eyesight.”

Looking at myself, I wanted to argue that statement.  How could a girl claiming to have really good eyesight settle for a guy that looked like me?

“What’s that?” Eden exclaimed in glee pointing at something in the distance.

Her eyesight was indeed much sharper than mine, I could barely see the cotton candy stand through the dense crowd.

“That looks like cotton candy,” I told her.

“Cotton candy?” she asked like she had never heard of the stuff, “What’s that?”

“Seriously?” I said bewildered, “you never had cotton candy before?”

“No,” she admitted, “is it good?”

“Is it good?” I was amazed, “it’s only the best.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stand determined that after two hundred years of existence, Eden was about to experience the sensation that is cotton candy. Reaching the stand, I pulled out a five and asked the man for a cotton candy.  When I received the cone, I grabbed a piece and handed the cone to Eden.

“Just rip off a piece and pop it into your mouth,” I instructed her.

She did as I told her and her eyes lit up once the cotton candy entered her mouth.

“Where’d it go?” she asked, “I didn’t even get a chance to bite it.”

“It’s supposed to do that,” I laughed.

“It sure is strange,” she assessed, wrinkling her nose in concentration, “Why would a candy that disappears before you can chew it taste so good?”

“The world may never know,” I answered in a mysterious voice.

“What’s that over there?” she cried, peering across the field, “The sign says it’s called a funnel cake, but it doesn’t look like any cake that I have ever seen before.”

“We can get one of those later,” I promised.

I was still full from the continental breakfast earlier and my stomach wasn’t quite ready yet for the heaviness of a funnel cake.  My introspection was cut short when I heard a familiar cry pierce the air.

“Yo, Tommy, there you are!” It was Matt.

Looking towards the scream, I could see Drake and Kyle close behind.  Eden waved the Pink Puma at them excitedly, as if she was glad to see them.

“Hi guys,” Eden greeted when my friends reached us through the crowd.

“Wow, that’s an awfully big puma you got there,” Drake pointed out.

“Thanks,” she blushed.

“So what are you guys doing?” Kyle asked.

“Nothing really, just walking around,” I confessed.

“Want to go on some rides?” Drake asked.

I could have killed him right there.  All my friends knew that I was deathly afraid of amusement rides.  Not only was I afraid of amusement rides, but fair rides were a hundred times worse.  You might ask what the difference was, but to me fair rides were much more dangerous than any amusement ride in the world.  Why?  The answer was simple – amusement rides were permanent; they were built to stay where they were set up, so that you knew no matter what, the rides weren’t going anywhere.  Fair rides, on the other hand, were put up and taken down many times.  Who knew how safe they were?  Who wants to ride a tilt a whirl or roller coaster that is just sitting on the ground, not even bolted in place or anchored in anyway?  It was suicide, plain and simple.

“I would love to go on some rides,” Eden announced happily.

Of course she would, Eden had nothing to worry about.  The whole fair ride could collapse around her and she would walk away as if nothing had happened.  I only hoped that by ride, Drake was referring to the Haunted House, or Hall of Mirrors and not any ride actually in motion.

To my horror, Drake pointed behind him to the ride that even ride lovers fear – Zero G!  This instrument of torture disguised as a ride consisted of many enclosed capsules that the ride enthusiasts could climb into.  The capsules were held to the large central girder by long metal cables that penetrated through the top of the capsule and anchored it in place.  When in motion, the cable, each containing one capsule at its end, would rise into the air as the central girder spun in place.  It looked sort of like the swing ride that spins around; just imagine a capsule capable of enclosing many riders instead of a single swing at the end of each cable.