Coaster

Coaster

By
Lorena Bathey

2013 Copyright ©

Published by Lorena B Books

All Rights reserved. All characters in this novel are fictional and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is simply coincidence.

Cover design by Terry Whitington

ISBN 978-09854888-2-6

Chapter One

Silence permeated the park. S
creams of excitement and fear would soon punctuate the air, but for now only the sound of machines interrupted the quiet. The only smell was wet asphalt. The park stood still awaiting the multitudes of thrill seekers. It seemed to breathe deeply, as if bracing itself for the onslaught of individuals that would soon arrive. Lone employees moved through the winding paths setting up for the day.

Far above the park, a man sat with his binoculars focused on one roller coaster in particular. He smiled with malice knowing that everything was about to change below him.

The energy shifted as the loudspeakers boomed the all ready signal letting the employees know the park would open in thirty minutes. Everyone hurried through the last minute details. The music started. The coasters stood ready for the bold. As the gates opened, people pushed forward. Some even began to run so they could be the first on their chosen roller coaster.

The day had begun.

Chapter Two

The man shifted his position and set the binoculars on the ground. He opened a cooler and pulled out a beer, twisted off the cap, and took a long drink. He smiled in anticipation. It was different than the smiles happening below him. He set the beer down next to his chair, stood, and stretched. He let out a huge yawn then sat back down to resume watching the park. Today would be spectacular. He'd spent so much time working out the details he was certain the event would go off seamlessly. He stopped and looked through the binoculars watching three teenage girls heading for the entrance to the coaster. They were followed by a family where the mother was fussing over her kids. The man moved the binoculars higher locating the track and finding the point he had marked so only he would know what was there. The track vibrated with the first riders. He was so excited he thought he might have to piss.

                                                                                    ****

Rachel McBride pushed the sunscreen toward her daughter, Valarie. Valarie gave her a dirty look and pushed the sunscreen away, all while furiously texting.

"Valarie
, put this on. You don't want to burn." Rachel pushed it at her again.

"M
om, seriously? I'm not going to burn."

Her dad intervened.
"Valarie, do what your mother says. Now! And put that phone away for the day or I will take it from you for a month. Am I clear?"

Valarie
looked at her dad knowing he was always deadly serious and losing her phone meant she wouldn't be able to talk to Josh so she closed the phone, tucked it into her pocket, and wiped the sunscreen on her legs. It was so stupid that her mom was always on her about sunscreen. She had dark skin and rarely ever burned, but her mom was always harping on about skin damage.

Rachel mouthed,
thank you
to her husband.

Mitch
McBride smiled at his wife. Being on vacation while visiting his in-laws was not his idea of a real escape, but at the moment it was the best he could do. He was working on a deal with a huge music company here in L.A. to use his recording software, which had allowed him to combine a vacation with business. The added bonus of doing both meant he could write the entire trip off. He got relief from his in-laws by saying he had 'business' when actually he just went down to the beach to chill.

His in-laws were okay, but staying at their house with the kids was not the kind of relaxation he needed. He wished he could take Rachel on a cruise or
go to Italy like she wanted and if he got this deal he could. For now, they were having some fun as a family. Rachel's parents immediately begged off going to the amusement park, but said they would have a barbecue at the house later.

Mitch watched his son
Michael checking out the girls in line. He couldn't really fault him for it as there was a lot of skin exposed today. He glanced at a woman a few rows over with her shorts barely covering her ass and smiled. He looked, but never touched. He loved his wife. She was a beautiful woman in the way he felt a woman should be. She was curvy, smart, strong, and funny and they had been in love for over twenty years. He counted himself lucky since most of his friends had either been divorced or got caught cheating, while he still had a happy home life.

"Dad, how fast do you think that ride goes?" Michael's focus had shifted from girls to gears as he watched the coaster's angles and speed.

"Michael, put this on." Rachel handed him the sunscreen.

Michael was different than
Valarie in more than just looks. Blonde and fair, he had striking blue eyes just like his mom. He had figured out that instead of balking, he just did what his mother told him immediately to save an argument or being hassled. He was a smart kid and knew how to work his mom. Mitch smiled. He was proud of him even if he could be a little lazy and stubborn.

"Michael,
rub it in." Rachel was almost done with sunscreen duty. She sighed and looked at the three girls standing in front of them. The girls were about eighteen, pretty, and all of them were texting while talking to each other.
What was with these kids? They were constantly texting
. Rachel wasn't sure that they weren't texting each other as they stood there. But she stared at their long, perfect legs feeling just the smallest twinge of regret. 

Mitch put his hand on her back and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You're the most beautiful woman here." 

Rachel smiled and kissed his cheek whispering, "I love you." He always seemed to know when she needed to hear something sweet. She guessed that's what true love was, knowing when you needed to say something and when you shouldn't. Immediately, she took his hand and shifted her focus back to her family.

                                                                      ****

Lindy was texting Heather about the boy standing behind them. They all had noticed he was cute and instead of whispering about him they just texted each other their comments. Finally the line began moving and they jumped off the railing and walked forward. Heather and Lindy laughed at the video being played on the TV's throughout the winding line and Megan answered her phone.

"No, Jeff I can't come over tonight. I'm at the park and
its girl's night out tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Bye
, Jeff."  Lindy and Heather said in unison.

Megan laughed and flipped them off.  "Okay, love you too. Bye."  She put her phone in her pocket, "What?"

"Dude, you just talked to him like an hour ago. He's kinda being a creeper." Heather raised her eyebrow.

"No, he's not. He's just freaked out because someone told him that Brendan likes m
e and so now he's all lovey making sure things are cool between us. It's kinda cute. "

"Whatevs." Heather looked up as the roller coaste
r roared above their heads. "I'm so psyched to ride this ride."

"Me too. I heard it's totally weird feeling. Hey, you guys are sleeping over
, right?" Lindy needed to text her dad to tell him they'd be staying over. It was an event that had been happening for all the years that the girls had known each other. They'd met in junior high and had been best friends ever since.

Heather winked at her, "Yep."

"Me too." Megan raised her hand and said, "Did you hear about Danielle and Davis?"

The girls retreated into gossip but Lindy noticed the blonde girl standing a few people behind her. She looked
a little like Gwyneth Paltrow, blonde, thin and willowy. She was standing with a guy about the same age as her who looked like a male version of Gwyneth. They were both tall and thin and were wearing matching striped shirts. They stood close together while looking over the amusement park map. They each had on dorky hats and both of them were pale and pasty-looking. But there was something intriguing about them both. They were obviously tourists and Lindy wondered from where.

                                                                      ****

Anne Richfield looked at the map and studied the layout of the park. Her brother was standing close and plotting what they should ride next. Christopher was tall, very blonde, and lanky. He was twenty but seemed a lot younger than that. Anne was the confident one who insisted that they go to the amusement park while visiting Southern California. Her blonde hair was up in a pony tail and she looked around with serious blue eyes. She was the one who paid attention to what was going on. She'd spent more time around normal people and had even been able to take off to Paris without anyone knowing.

Anne wanted to be more than her life allowed her to be. She wanted freedom most of all. But her brother was fascinated with the movies, Hollywood, and seeing a movie star. If their itinerary had been
up to him they would have spent every moment driving through Beverly Hills with the stupid map of the stars to see if they could find them washing their cars or mowing the lawn. Anne doubted these encounters ever truly occurred for anyone. As far as they knew the maps were completely bogus and people spent money to drive past car dealers and insurance salesman's houses. Anne had patiently followed him through the studio tours and walked through some seedier parts of town so he could get pictures of his favorite actors' stars in the sidewalk. Now she was ready to laugh, scream, and get scared. Los Angeles was more Christopher's domain. But next week they would be up in San Francisco where Anne could wander through the streets, eat in fantastic restaurants, and check out the bohemian side of California.

"Anne, are you scared?" Christopher looked a bit nervous.

"No, are you?" Anne really didn't need to ask him, but she was a bit annoyed with him. "Chris, don't be a wimp."

"I'm not. I just...I don't know..." Christopher trailed off.

"We're moving." Anne noticed a big gap and they followed behind the family in front of them.

"Can you imagine Mum and Dad on this ride?" Christopher started laughing.

The image of Diana and James Richfield on a roller coaster was completely hilarious and Anne began laughing. "That is an image." 

Anne's parents were British aristocracy
, at least her mother was, and being reckless was not ever part of their life. Anne knew that was the reason Chris was so uptight, because their parents believed in behaving like the elite they were and expected their children follow suit. Anne didn't know how to fit into her family because she longed for freedom, excitement, and the chance to experience the world. While you would expect freedom would absolutely possible with all the money and privilege they had, it was really more of a prison formed by rules, decency, and titles. Anne smiled as she saw the father in front of them put his hand on his wife's back and whisper in her ear. Obviously whatever he said had touched her, because the woman's eyes filled with gratitude and love as she leaned in and kissed him. Anne wished she'd ever seen that kind of look exchanged between her parents, or for that matter, anyone she knew. Relationships in her world were more like the things you saw upon the shelves or walls. Pretty and very, very dusty. Anne was fairly certain that love in her world didn't often contain hugs, whispers, and cuddles. Christopher's voice interrupted her musing.

"Come on, Anne. They're moving."

             
                                                        ****

Roger Merit walked through the back area of the park. The corporation hid a lot of the mechanics that ran the park so the attendees wouldn't see it. There were tunnels and gates that ran through the park and under walkways which made the maintenance staff almost invisible. This was carefully structured because the corporation believed it made people nervous to see mechanics walking around the park in uniform. The perk for them being hidden was they also had an area to eat and take smoke breaks in. Most of their work was done in the early morning hours anyway, so the mechanics didn't have a lot to do during park hours. The coasters were mostly run by computer and were constantly monitored by staff that was hidden away in offices located behind bathrooms or in the spaces over restaurants. The mechanics were necessary for the nuts and bolts, especially the older coasters that needed more maintenance. There were tough restrictions in place for the parks and the corporation had such astronomical insurance costs that attention to everything mechanical was fervent.