His brother Alex died, they buried him, a few days passed, and then George booked the tickets to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. George got tickets for himself, his wife Julia, and his two sons: seventeen-year-old Mark and fifteen-year-old Andrew. His family had never been to Disney World. George had been once, many years ago as a child, with his parents and his brother.
For somebody who’d only been to Disney World once, George had an affinity and respect for it that he had for few other things. He frequently referenced specific rides in the various Disney parks and would provide random updates on the goings-on, improvements, and ride replacements to his family.
When he bought the tickets, he expected joy and excitement from his wife and sons. He waited to see their smiles burst onto their faces. He didn’t expect his sons to jump up and down, but he expected some sort of positive reaction.
“Where is it?” was the first thing older son Mark asked.
“Florida. Orlando,” George answered, his Greek accent pronouncing the names of the two locations as if they were lines of poetry.
“Is that near any beaches?” Mark asked.
“Probably,” George answered. “I don’t know. What it is near, though, boys, is Epcot. You know, the one with the big silver ball?” You know that one, I’ve shown you that one.”
He waited for an acknowledgment.
“Right?” George prodded. “Andrew, you know the Epcot ball.”
“Do we get school off?” Andrew asked, his head shooting up.
“No,” George shook his head. “It’s during your spring break.”
Julia watched her boys’ reaction but couldn’t read anything in their faces beyond genuine disinterest.
“You get to ride Space Mountain!” George said, holding out his hands as if he were presenting the roller coaster to his sons on a platter. “Eh? Space Mountain! You know I always talk about Space Mountain!”
Silence from the sons.
“What do you boys say to your father?” Julia instructed more than asked.
Sitting on the couch, the two boys looked as if they were just asked to take a state-mandated standardized test in five minutes.
“What do you boys say?” Julia demanded further.
“Thank you,” Andrew said quickly.
“Thank you,” Mark said in what was half a sigh.
“Alright, boys,” George nodded. “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”
Later, Julia sat next to George, who was looking at pictures of Disney World’s Animal Kingdom on his tablet, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose.
“Julia, look,” George leaned the tablet to show her what he was looking at. “You know those Avatar movies? They have that at Animal Kingdom now.”
“George—“ Julia started.
“The blue aliens walk around,” George continued.
“Honey, I know you love Disney World…”
“You can take pictures with them.”
“But don’t you think this is something we should’ve discussed together?”
“The blue aliens.”
“George!” Julia whisper-shouted, making sure the boys couldn’t hear her from the other room. George looked up from his tablet, peering over his reading glasses. Julia put a hand on her husband’s thigh.
“I know how horrible these past…however many days have been,” Julia said softly. “And I’m mindful of that. And I love you, and I support you no matter what.”
George nodded, waiting for more.
“I just wish you had discussed this with me before buying the tickets. You’ve gotten the plane tickets, too?”
“Yes,” George shrugged.
“Honey,” Julia said, putting a hand on her forehead. “How much…?”
“It doesn’t matter, Julia!” George whispered. He looked at her over his sliding eyeglasses. He smiled. “It doesn’t matter. We’re bringing the boys to Disney World.”
George smiled and looked into her eyes. They gazed before he once again presented a roller coaster with his hands. “Space Mountain, Julia! Space Mountain!”
In the other room, Andrew watched as his older brother Mark played a shooter game on his Xbox.
“Do you think it’s fun?” Andrew asked, his arms crossed, rotating his torso back and forth but keeping his head and eyes locked on Mark’s screen.
“What?” Mark asked, focused on the screen, too.
“Disney,” Andrew added.
Mark shrugged.
“I don’t fuckin’ know,” Mark answered.
The two were silent, Andrew still rotating his torso back and forth as he watched the screen.
“It’s probably for fuckin’ babies,” Mark tacked on.
“Yeah,” Andrew nodded. “Probably.”
_______
For George, the Orlando airport was the perfect appetizer for Disney World. There was even a large Disney store in the airport itself. George led the kids inside the store, trying to stoke something in them, some sense of excitement, of wonder. The boys were mainly just tired and wanted to get to the hotel room.
Arriving at the hotel—a ferry ride away from Epcot—they checked in and rode the elevator up to their floor. Inside their room, George looked out the window at the land below them. He put his hands on his hips, taking in every inch of the Florida landscape.
“Boys, honey, look,” George said. “Come look.”
Andrew walked over first, and George put his arm around his younger son and pointed at the Epcot ball.
“There it is! You see it?”
“The silver ball?” Andrew asked as Julia approached, chomping on a granola bar.
“That’s the Epcot ball, Andrew!” Julia said. “Dad has shown you that before, remember?”
Andrew nodded before turning and bouncing away, throwing himself on one of the two hotel beds. Mark emerged from the bathroom, the sound of the toilet finishing its flush cycle accompanying his entrance.
“I’m not sharing a bed with Andrew, by the way,” Mark said immediately, as if head rehearsed saying it in the bathroom.
“Mark, look at this view,” George said, not peeling his eyes from the window.
“I saw it,” Mark said. “We’re not sharing a bed, right, mom?”
“If you really don’t want to share a bed with your brother, you can sleep on the sofa,” Julia said. Mark rolled his eyes and sat on it, pulling out his phone.
“We’re here,” George said as Julia stood beside him. She put her head on George’s shoulder momentarily as she continued chewing her granola bar.
“I’m hungry,” Andrew said, flipping to his back on the bed. He slid to its side so that his head hung off the edge.
“There’s a restaurant in the hotel, I think,” Julia said, balling up the granola bar wrapper and searching for the little hotel room trash can.
“I saw a candy store downstairs,” Andrew said, upside down. Julia threw out her wrapper before she lunged for her son, her fingers tickling his stomach.
“Stop!” Andrew laughed, losing his breath. “Stop!”
Mark scrolled on his phone on the sofa.
“Dinner first, then candy, sure,” George said, turning away from the window. “I’m gonna shower.”
“Anyone need the bathroom before your dad showers?” Julia asked.
“No.”
“Mark?” Julia asked.
“No,” Mark answered without looking up from his phone.
George unzipped his suitcase, pulled out some clothes, and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind himself. Julia waited until she heard the shower turn on before she sat on the other bed.
“Mark, Andrew,” Julia said. “I need you two to listen to me.”
Andrew flipped so that he was on his stomach again, his hands propping up his head. Mark didn’t look up.
“Mark, look at me for a sec,” Julia said. “Phone down.”
Mark sighed and then put his phone on the sofa.
“You know your dad has been having a really…really tough time lately, with your uncle…it’s been hard for him.”
Mark’s phone lit up, and his eyes jumped to its screen.
“Flip it,” Julia ordered.
Mark looked up at the ceiling for a moment and groaned before following his mom’s instructions.
“I need you two…I don’t need you to be on your best behavior,” Julia continued. “What I need is for you two to be there for your dad on this trip.”
Andrew watched his mom talk, nodding. Mark shrugged.
“Okay,” Mark said.
“Okay?” Julia asked. Andrew nodded quickly, his head still in his hands.
Julia nodded and smiled.
“Good,” she said. “How are you boys feeling? Overall.”
Andrew flipped to his back and threw his feet in the air.
“Do they have Marvel guys here?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” Julia responded. “Mark?”
“I don’t know, either,” Mark shrugged.
“No,” Julia shook her head. “Not the Marvel guys. How are you feeling?”
Mark flipped his phone again to read the screen.
“Fine,” he said. “It’s not like we saw him all the time, anyway.”
“Who?”
“Uncle Alex.”
“That’s…” Julia began before trailing off, looking down at the pattern on the hotel room carpet.
_______________________
The four arrived at the hotel restaurant in their best polo shirts and khaki pants.
“It’s so hot,” Andrew said, hopping alongside the other three.
“You only have to dress up for this dinner, and then you can wear whatever you want,” Julia said.
“What kinda food do they have?” Andrew asked.
“American food,” George answered, leading the other three toward the entrance. “Cheeseburgers and all that.”
“Yeah, definitely can’t get that in Baltimore,” Mark grumbled, shaking his head. Julia shot her son a look, but the comment seemed to bounce quickly off George.
“Hello,” George said to the maître d’, who smiled and bowed her head. “We are here, just got here, looking for dinner?”
The maître d’ smiled widely.
“Great! Well, welcome in!” she said. “How many in your party?”
“Four,” George said. She grabbed four menus and smiled again.
“Great! Please follow me.”
George took in the sights of the vast dining room. Families of all sizes ate and laughed, babies cried, and people took photos. George smiled as they reached their table. He pulled out the chair for Julia before sitting in his own, gazing around the room.
“Great,” he whispered to himself. “This is great.”
Within moments, a waitress stopped at the table with a pre-rendered smile.
“Hi, I’m Julie! I’ll be taking care of you today. Can I-”
“Ha!” George exclaimed. “What was your name again?”
“I’m Julie!” the waitress tilted her head at him.
“Ha!” George exclaimed again. “She’s Julie, she’s Julia!” George pointed to the waitress and then to his wife. “Funny!”
Julia smiled as George giggled and pulled out his reading glasses, slotting them onto his nose.
“Too funny! Small world,” Julie laughed professionally. “I’ll get you all some waters. Anyone need any other drinks for now?” the maître d’ asked.
“Julia?” George nodded to his wife with a wink.
“Could I get an iced tea with lemon?”
“Sure thing! For you?” Julie asked George.
“Boys, what do you want?”
“Can we get soda?” Andrew asked his mom across the table.
“It’s vacation, honey. You can get whatever you want.”
“Soda, please,” Andrew smiled.
“What kind?” Julie asked, returning the smile.
“Uhhh,” Andrew quickly opened his menu and began scanning for the section with the sodas listed.
“Just say Coke, dude,” Mark whispered to his brother.
“Coke! Yeah,” Andrew said, looking up at Julie.
“And for you?”
“Same,” Mark answered. His voice cracked halfway through his monosyllabic response, causing him to blush. Andrew leaned to look at Mark’s face and giggled, which prompted Mark to smack his brother on the leg with his hand. Julia widened her eyes and shook her head at her sons.
“Great,” Julie smiled before eyeing George. “And you, sir?”
“One, uh…” George had his pointer finger on the laminated menu page. “Amstel?”
“Amstel, sure,” Julie nodded. “I’ll be right back with those.”
“Thank you,” Julia smiled to Julie as the latter glided away.
“So,” Julia started again. “Which ride are you boys most excited about? Hmm?”
George smiled at his wife as he took off his reading glasses. His eyes shifted back and forth between each son’s lips. Nothing came out other than two “uhh”s. Andrew looked at his older brother. His older brother looked up.
“Do they have a water park?” Mark finally asked. Julia looked at George, who shrugged.
“Water park? I don’t know. Look, boys: Animal Kingdom, fine. MGM Hollywood Park, fine. Epcot is where we start, though. Yeah?”
George looked at Julia, who smiled and shrugged.
“You’re the captain,” she answered with a slight, loose salute.
“Epcot,” George continued. “We can go around the world. They have all countries there.”
“Do they have Greece?” Andrew asked, his eyes lighting up.
“They–I’m sure they have Greece. They didn’t when we went as kids, but I’m sure they do now.”
“I’m sure they do,” Julia chimed in.
“I’m sure they do, yes,” George confirmed.
“So we’ll finally get to go to Greece?” Mark said more than asked, flicking his brow. Julia immediately stared a laser into her older son’s eyes, eyes that weren’t even looking at hers.
“Epcot, boys,” George nodded at his sons. “You will see.”
_____________
The next morning, George woke up at 4 am. He stared at the hotel room ceiling for an hour while mentally combing through his memories of Epcot from when he and Alex were children. Was there a Greece section in Epcot?
George rose from the bed, causing Julia to stir and turn her body the other way, still mostly asleep. He showered, dressed, and took an elevator to the hotel lobby. Looking around, George didn’t spot any other guests. As he looked, he spotted a chipper-looking employee manning the front desk. George approached and the employee, like a theme park animatronic, came to life.
“Good morning, sir!” the younger man said. “How may I assist you this morning?”
“Hi, yes, good morning,” George said. He put his hands on the counter. “Epcot.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know how there are the different countries?”
“Yes, sir, mhm.”
“What does Greece have?”
The employee nodded, understanding.
“Let me check on that for you, sir. Just one second.”
The employee typed on his keyboard. It only took a few moments for him to speak again.
“There is no section of Epcot currently representing Greece. But! I can email you a link to suggest such an area to our Disney Imagineers?”
George looked at the counter briefly, considering.
“Yes, please,” he responded. He gave the employee his email address, thanked the young man, then returned to the hotel room. George opened up his laptop, accessed his email, and clicked the link, which sent him to a generic form on Disney World’s website. George spent the next twenty minutes writing about the beauty of Greece but there was a character limit preventing him from submitting it. Instead of deleting a large chunk of what he had written about Greece, he closed his laptop.
Julia woke up soon after, and the two took turns trying to wake up their sons, Andrew in bed and Mark on the sofa. Andrew rose first, hugging his mom and leaning into her shoulder in an attempt to convince her to let him go back to sleep. His mother smiled, nearly convinced to allow it.
George slapped Mark on the leg, which jolted Mark to life.
“What the fuck?” Mark squeaked, his voice cracking once more.
“Mark!” Julia yelled.
“Wake up, son!” George smiled, leaning down and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Today, we travel the world.”
____________________
“There it is!” George pointed at the huge silver ball of Epcot. “The ball!”
“Wow,” Julia whispered. “Do you see, boys?”
The four stood in line at the park entrance, winding through the metal railings that served as guides and funnels for the guests.
“The huge fuckin’ ball? Yeah, I see it,” Mark said. Julia gripped his upper arm, just hard enough to send her secret message to him: don’t fuck this up for your father.
“Whoa!” Andrew said. George smiled, his eyes firmly on the silver Epcot ball.
“Great, huh?” George shook his head in wonder. “Beautiful ball.”
“They have pins!” Andrew exclaimed. George looked down to see his son gazing lovingly at a kiosk stacked with Disney-branded pins. “Mom, can I get a pin?”
“Maybe, honey. Do you see the ball?” she prompted.
“Oh,” Andrew turned his head to acknowledge the ball. “Yeah. That’s cool.” His attention immediately magnetized back onto the pin kiosk. “Can I get a Buzz Lightyear? Or…who’s the mad guy in Inside Out?”
“Anger,” Mark whispered, rolling his eyes. “Dumbass.”
George stopped staring at the Epcot ball for now.
After about an hour and a half of walking inside the park, Julia’s head began to throb.
“Can we sit?” she asked.
“Huh?” George responded.
“Can we sit? My head is killing me.”
They found themselves in the Italy section of Epcot, finding a bench. George sat down next to his wife, putting an arm around her shoulders, then gently placing the back of his hand on her forehead before moving his arm back around her shoulders.
“Son,” George said to a standing Mark. “Go get your mother some water.” George handed his son a $5 bill from his wallet. Mark accepted the bill before furrowing his brow.
“I don’t think this is gonna cover it.”
George grumbled as he yanked a $20 bill from his wallet and handed it to his oldest son.
“Hurry,” George ordered before turning his attention back to Julia. “What is it, honey? Are you sick?”
“I don’t know,” Julia said. “Nauseous.”
“Can you walk?”
“Kind of,” she put the edge of her hand above her eyebrows, gripping her temples with her thumb and pointer finger.
“Do you want to go back?” George asked.
“No, no,” Julia waved him off.
“We can go back if you’re sick.”
“No, George. We don’t need to. Aren’t we going to the Magic Kingdom part next?”
“Yes, darling, but we have more days here.”
Julia couldn’t look up at her husband without wincing in pain.
“I know how excited you are about the, you know, about Space Mountain and the whole thing,” Julia whispered to her husband as Mark returned with a large water bottle.
“Give it to your mother,” George instructed. Mark held it out for her.
“Thank you, sweetie,” she said, accepting the wet bottle.
“Here,” George said, grabbing the bottle and trying to break the cap’s seal. Unable to get a grip with just his fingers, he eyed his son. “Why is it wet?”
“I don’t know,” Mark shrugged angrily. “It just is.”
George shook his head and put the bottle under his t-shirt, gripping the cap through the shirt and twisting, finally breaking the seal. He handed the open bottle to Julia, who gently began to drink from it.
George looked back and forth between his sons as Julia drank the water bottle. Andrew sitting next to his mom, his hand on his chin, elbow on knee. Mark, standing and texting. George looked at Julia.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed. George smiled softly and pinched the tip of her nose. He looked at his sons again. He could see the silver Epcot ball some distance away.
“Boys,” he said. “It’s, what… it’s eleven a.m. I will make you a deal.”
Mark continued to stand and text, though Andrew’s eyes moved to his dad.
“I’m going to take your mother back to the hotel. If you go to the Magic Kingdom and do Space Mountain by…let’s say 2:30, today, we can spend the rest of the trip doing whatever you want.”
Mark and Andrew looked at each other, scanning their father’s words for some kind of trick or asterisk, the small print of this deal.
“What?” Mark finally asked.
“Space Mountain by 2:30,” George repeated.
“Why?” Mark asked. “Alone?”
“With each other.”
“George….” Julia began.
“What?” George shrugged. “Our son here is almost an adult, he can take care of his brother.”
George looked at Mark.
“Can’t you?”
Mark looked at his father for only a moment before shrugging in agreement.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“So they can figure it out, then,” George smiled, slapping his knees as he rose to his feet. “They’re smart boys.”
Andrew watched as George helped Julia to her feet.
“George…” she whispered again. “I don’t think this is a good idea. At all.”
“He’s eighteen in two months, Julia,” George whispered back. “Besides. What’d you say, son? ‘This place is for babies’?”
George smiled and held his arm out for Julia to take. She looked at her sons, then at her husband. His eyes searched hers. His eyes pleaded. So, she took his arm.
“Be safe,” she ordered. “Call if you need us.”
“Wait, you’re seriously leaving?” Andrew finally rose to his feet, the deal fully dawning on him now.
“Listen to your brother, son,” George said as they started the slow walk back toward the park entrance. And in moments, Mark and Andrew were alone surrounded by thousands of strangers.
Andrew looked up at Mark, who watched as their parents slowly walked away. He expected them to simply turn around at some point, for his dad to wave for them to follow. But they didn’t. They kept walking.
“Should we just follow them?” Andrew asked Mark. Mark shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he answered, as if Andrew should already know the answer to that question.
Mark thought some more.
“Nah,” he said. “Nah, if he wants to ditch us, then fuck it. We’ll just go and get it over with, then we can do whatever.”
Andrew nodded slowly, eyeing his parents, whom he could barely see now in the swaths of people.
“Come on,” Mark said, taking a step forward. “Let’s find a map.”
Andrew followed Mark as they waded through a river of people to the other side of the wide walkway, arriving at the railing near the lake.
“Is there a map here?” Andrew asked Mark.
“I don’t know, hang on,” Mark answered.
“Should we ask someone?”
Relax,” Mark ordered as he looked up the walkway. “Stay close to the railing.”
Andrew nodded as Mark began to walk, staying a step or two behind his brother.
“You there?” Mark turned his head to ask. “Stay close to me.”
A map popped into view, further up the path and close to the railing. Mark began to scan the park map.
“What are you looking for?” Andrew asked, also scanning the map but not searching for anything in particular.
“Space Mountain.”
“Didn’t they say it was in Magic Kingdom?”
Mark furrowed his brow and looked at Andrew.
“Is that different?” He asked him.
“Yeah,” Andrew nodded. “Dad talks about it all the time.”
“Alright. Well, how do we get there?”
“I don’t know,” Andrew shrugged.
Mark turned his head back to the park map. “Fuck. Alright, where are we?”
Mark turned around to see a large, brick, colonial building.
“Uh…” Andrew started.
“Is this just….like, America?” Mark shook his head.
“Yeah, there’s a flag.”
“American flag?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright.”
Mark turned back to the Epcot map. “So we’re at 32 then. Park entrance is, uh…”
He scanned around the map until Andrew pointed at the big silver ball at the bottom.
“1,” Andrew said.
“Spaceship Earth? What the fuck is that?”
“That’s the ball.”
Mark chuckled to himself. “Stupid,” he grumbled. “So we follow the path with the water on the right, it just goes in a circle back to the entrance.”
Mark looked at Andrew, whose eyes moved to his.
“Stay close to me. Don’t get lost,” Mark said. Andrew nodded.
“Okay?” Mark asked further.
“Okay,” Andrew said.
“I don’t wanna have to look for you and hear about it from mom and dad.”
“Okay.”
________________
Julia leaned against the elevator wall, pinching the bridge of her nose as George watched the floor numbers change.
“They’re okay, right?” she asked softly.
“They’re big boys,” George nodded. “They’ll be alright, honey.”
The elevator doors slid open and George held out his arm for his wife. They walked down the hall, slowly, each step a thunderbolt in Julia’s head.
Once inside their hotel room, George helped Julia lay gently on their bed. Spotting the bottles of water on the desk, George moved them to the bedside table.
“Keep drinking, honey,” he said in a whisper.
“George,” Julia responded, her eyes closed.
“Hydrate.”
“George.”
“Yes, honey?”
Julia cracked her eyes. “Make sure they’re alright.”
George nodded.
“I will.”
“George,” Julia said again, closing her eyes once more.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Honey, it’s okay. You’re sick. What can you do?”
“No. George,” she said, softer now. “I’m sorry.”
George looked at his wife for a few quiet moments.
“Do you need anything else?” he asked.
“No, no,” Julia said. “Just go get them.”
George nodded, leaned in, kissed Julia on the temple, and left the hotel room.
_____________
“What is this called?” Andrew asked his brother.
“What’s what called?”
“What we’re on?”
Mark looked to the side, to the water surrounding them.
“I don’t know. A boat?”
“But what kind of boat?” Andrew asked.
“I don’t fuckin’ know, Andrew. A Disney boat?”
Andrew nodded, accepting this answer as fact.
“How long are we on here?” he asked.
“Bro,” Mark looked up at the ceiling of the boat. “I don’t know.”
Andrew nodded again. He looked around to see a number of people: parents wrangling children, a mother rocking a baby, and, toward the front, an older man dressed as if he was going on safari.
“Why do you think he’s dressed like that?” Andrew whispered to Mark.
“Who?”
“Him,” Andrew whispered and pointed to the old safari man.
“Don’t,” Mark pushed Andrew’s arm down. “Fuckin’ point.”
Mark eyed the man from head to toe to head again, considering his brother’s question.
“I don’t know,” Mark said quietly. “It’s hot out. Probably just that.”
Mark looked off to the side, into the water.
“Do you like this place?” Mark then asked, still gazing deep into the lake.
“The boat?”
“Disney.”
Andrew shrugged but waited a few moments to answer. “I think so.”
Mark turned his head to look at his brother, who was still staring at the safari man. Mark inspected his brother’s face for a moment or two. Then, he lightly nudged Andrew’s knee.
“Stop staring,” he ordered.
Andrew shifted his focus straight ahead before once again pointing, this time directly forward.
“Look, Mark!”
Mark followed Andrew’s finger to see a large castle up ahead.
“Whoa,” Andrew said softly to himself, his eyes fixed on it. Mark looked at the castle for a few moments before once again looking at his awestruck little brother.
__________________
Mark and Andrew arrived at Space Mountain at 1:50 p.m., earlier than George had instructed them to.
“Are we just gonna wait?” Andrew asked Mark. Mark scanned the area around them, just outside the ride. The line was long. An electronic sign above the ride entrance displayed a red “30”. Mark pointed at it.
“Do you think you can wait thirty minutes to ride it?”
Andrew shrugged. “Are you coming with me?”
“Well, yeah.”
Andrew smiled. “Then yeah.”
Mark nodded.
“Let’s go.”
The line was, indeed, thirty minutes long. Mark and Andrew moving forward, step by step, minute by minute. They didn’t say much to each other; sometimes Andrew would point something interesting out, sometimes Mark would do the same, then back to silence between them. They reached the main waiting area – a rectangular, futuristic-looking room with rows of steel railings separating the rows of people. Andrew was fidgeting with the cuticle of his thumb.
“You okay?” Mark asked him. Andrew looked up and smiled before looking back at the coaster carts sliding up, one-by-one.
Mark had been on bigger roller coasters, faster roller coasters, at places like Hershey Park and Six Flags, all sorts of rides. But as they – his brother and he, sitting in one of those carts – rose up the incline, a series of flashing lights coming toward them and then stretching beyond them, it was like this was his first experience doing something like this. The cart moved quickly, stopping, starting, veering this way or that. Was Andrew okay? He couldn’t look over to his brother. The physics of what was happening, the ‘G-force’ Mark believed it was called, was too much. He’s probably okay, Mark thought. Is he okay? Is this too fast for him?
The ride eventually slowed to a halt and glided smoothly into the exit area. Mark looked over to his brother, who had a smile plastered on his face, wider than he’d maybe ever seen.
“Can we go again?” his brother asked him. “Please, I don’t care about the wait.”
Mark nodded.
They walked through the gift shop—Mark ushering his brother past the shirts, toys, and plushies—and exited the ride. Mark didn’t know what time it was, and as he followed his younger brother, he didn’t think much of it, either.
George watched his sons from a small distance as they hurriedly walked under the sign with the “30” displayed on it. His sons were chatting with each other. They chatted, they play-fought, they passed the waiting time. Then, they moved inside Space Mountain, out of sight. George smiled. He walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. He didn’t look at the ride anymore. He didn’t look at Space Mountain. Instead, his sons out of sight, he looked at the ground just in front of him. George put his head in his hands and began to sob.