16
MAISIE
Considering this is only the second time Henry and I have been alone together, I thought it would be more awkward but instead it feels… normal. It feels comforting, as if we’ve been friends for longer than we actually have.
Like Henry said, being here brings me back to the memories I had with my mom as a child. It’s bittersweet.
I’m currently eating shaved ice—coconut and raspberry flavored—while I watch Henry throw darts at balloons.
“I’m going to win you something,anything, I swear.” He doesn’t look at me, just continues to throw darts, handing over more cash the more he loses.
I take out my phone to take a picture of this moment. “Can I take a photo of you losing horribly?”
He turns around after another missed dart. "I'm not losing, I am practicing until I hit something.” He hands over another five dollar bill to the attendant. At this point, he may as well have just paid for the teddy bear himself instead of buying the darts to throw.
My mom always took photos of me as a child. At the time I didn’t understand why she wanted a photo of everything we did,but as an adult, now I understand. She wanted to hold onto the memories. We all grow up so fast, I can only imagine how fast I grew up in her eyes.
She would always take her disposable cameras to the local drug store to get them developed and we’d flip through the photos together on the couch. When digital cameras became more accessible, she bought one and was able to store photos on her computer. Digital copies never stopped her from having a physical copy though, she has a photo album for every year I’ve been alive. Even now at twenty-four years old.
I click the screen to take a photo right as he turns around, the widest grin on his dimpled face.
“Finally!” He throws his hands up in victory and the attendant gives him the teddy bear that he worked so hard for.
“First try, right?”
“Right.” He winks as he hands me the bear. “You can never get rid of him, okay?”
“And why’s that?”
“I can’t have you forgetting about me when The Summer of Maisie is over.” He has a smile on his face but that statement makes me feel anything but smiley.
“Henry, I don’t think you would let me forget you even if I tried.”
He leans forward, taking up the space in front of me. “You already know me better than I know myself.” He takes my bag from my shoulder. “Are you hungry? Let’s go grab something to eat that we’ll hate ourselves for later.”
“Who knew puttinga hot dog in corn batter could create such a terrific combination,” Henry says.
“They are pretty good, thank you again, you really didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” He smiles. “I enjoy being around you, Maisie.”
Henry leaves me speechless, I still can’t grasp my head around the fact that this beautiful man can look the way he does and be a total gentleman. Maybe I’m just so used to men only wanting a hookup. It’s altered the way my brain thinks about someone wanting to be around me just to be around me.
“How are you feeling about crossing off your first list item and going on the ferris wheel?” Henry pulls me out of my head and reminds me why he’s here, to help me check off my list one by one.
“I’m feeling… nervous.” I look at him with his gentle eyes already looking down on me. I feel centered just by him and his dimpled smile being here. “But I think I’m ready.”
“That’s my girl.”
My girl.
“Wait, Henry—” A thought occurred to me that had my stomach tying in a knot, I can’t do this alone. “You’re going to go with me right?”
He grabs my hands that are shaking over the thought of being so high. “Of course I will, only if you’d like me to.” He squeezes my hands a little bit.
“I’d like you to.” Our hands are still connected. “Now let's go cross off the first item, which may very well be our last if we die on the ferris wheel.”
He lets out a deep throaty laugh, though what he thinks is a joke wasn't really a joke.
