It was Thursday morning, and the bright sun beamed in through the window in Cowboy Fish’s room. He reached up, stretching sleepily as he woke. The recollection of this being the day that his dad said he would take him and Poopsier to Waldameer hit him like a freight train. He leapt out of bed, finding his clothes and getting dressed as fast as he could. Then, he ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth and pick out his hair. His father felt that it was important that they always looked nice, even when they didn’t have much. He ran out to the kitchen to find Dad and Poopsie already eating an oatmeal breakfast.
“Glad you’re finally awake, son.” Dad said gruffly.
Cowboy Fish smiled and went to get himself a bowl of oatmeal from the stovetop.
“You excited, Cowboy?” Poopsie asked.
“Yeah, of course.” He brought his food over to the table. “I’m gonna go on the rides over and over again.”
“Well, the ones you can ride.” Poopsie commented.
He had trouble with big coasters and rides that went really fast. When he had gone on them in the past, he always had to run to the nearest trash can afterwards.
“Poopsie.” Dad gave her the look.
That’s all it took from Dad, one stern look, and you knew you had better shut your mouth. And it wasn’t just Cowboy Fish and Poopsie who knew the look. Adults fell victim to it as well and responded in the same way.
“You want me to pack anything dad?” Cowboy Fish asked.
“Nah, we’ll just grab somethin’ there, alright?” He wasn’t the picnic packing type.
“Ooo, I’m gonna get the pizza!” Poopsie exclaimed.
They all finished up and put their empty bowls and spoons in the sink before heading to the door to put their shoes on. Dad wore the nice black shoes he always wore, Poopsie wore white sneakers, and Cowboy Fish wore blue high-tops. They headed out the door, and Cowboy Fish made sure to lock the door as they left. When they got in the car, Dad instructed them to buckle up, then put on his jazz music.
Cowboy Fish was fearless; being scared wasn’t what kept him off certain rides. It was puking that did that. But he wanted to be able to ride all the rides like his sister could, and he decided that he should work his way up and train his stomach. He wasn’t sure that was the way to solve this sort of issue, but he wanted to try. That moment in the car, he promised himself that he would try to ride The Scrambler, which is basically a tilt-a-whirl but a bit faster. Just thinking about it made his abdomen clench up.
“Poopsie. Today I’m going to ride The Scrambler with you.” He declared.
She looked a little surprised but smiled.
“Alright, Cowboy. It will be fun to ride with my big brother.” She was teasing a little, but she did mean it; she admired her brother.
Cowboy Fish stayed in his head for a while. He pumped himself up by imagining that this was a task he had to do as a superhero on tv. He was also getting excited about all the other fun rides he would go on and the arcade. He had many favorites that he would go on over and over, as well as arcade games that practically had his name on them. The smile was pasted on his face for the rest of the ride.
When they pulled up to the amusement park, it was just opening, and there were only a handful of people walking in. Dad parked the car in a spot by the edge so they wouldn’t have any trouble leaving. They all walked up to the ticket counter together and waited in the short line. There were three different ticket options: per-ride tickets for the suckers who don’t do their math or who only plan to stay for a couple of hours, the arcade and ride tickets for people who like to play both sides, and the full-day ride pass for those who like to hang around the park till it closed. Dad got the full-day passes. He wasn’t a fool, and he didn’t drive all the way out here to leave in two hours.
When they walked through the amusement park gates, the familiar smell of machine grease and popcorn tickled their noses. That smell always made Cowboy Fish happy because it usually meant good times. He was hot, and the sun against the tar made him squint.
“Let’s go on The Scrambler first.” He suggested.
“Okay!” Poopsie ran up beside him, and they began walking over together.
Cowboy Fish turned and looked behind him to make sure his father was still following. Seeing that he was, he offered a smile and got a curt nod in return, Dad’s way of smiling back. Sometimes, people couldn’t always tell when Dad was happy or mad, affectionate or standoffish. But Cowboy Fish could tell. He had learned to read that man before he had picture books. They stopped walking when they reached The Scrambler.
Many more people were at the park now, but luckily, there was still no line. Cowboy Fish and Poopsie were waved in and went to choose a round booth to sit on. The ride looked like those tea cup or umbrella ones, except they weren’t either of those things. Each seat was a round bench with a back and a metal steering wheel-looking thing in the middle. There were nine booths in total, but only four were filled, including the one Cowboy Fish and Poopsie were in.
The ride started. ‘This isn’t so bad,’ Cowboy Fish thought. They started slowly and then picked up speed until he felt like his neck was going to break off. Like most other kids, Poopsie started to feel the simulated danger and responded by laughing loudly. That’s the way the rides work; they make you feel like you’re in danger and release adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins, which make you feel giddy. But you are actually perfectly safe, most of the time. Cowboy Fish did not get to feel this, though; he just felt green.
From off to the side, Dad could tell by looking at his son’s paling face that he was going to puke and marched right up to the operator of the ride.
“Turn it off.” He ordered.
The teen lifted an eyebrow at him and gave a look that said, “Who do you think you’re talkin’ to?” and made no effort to press the red button. Dad was getting angry.
“Did you not just hear me, boy?” He asked rhetorically. “I said turn it off!”
It could have been the loud stern voice or the intense eye contact, who’s to say, but that kid listened. The ride stopped, and Cowboy Fish jumped out and ran to the nearest trash can to dispose of his breakfast. His father walked over to check on him.
“You alright, Cowboy?” He put a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He tried to play it cool.
“No more spinning. Got it?” Dad gave him a firm look.
“Yes, sir.” Cowboy Fish said this with both disappointment and relief.
Even though he was done with spinning rides, there was still a lot that Cowboy Fish liked to do. Feeling better, he decided to go to Pirate’s Cove and told his dad where he was headed. This ride was one that you walked through. It had different little rooms in it that either shook you, made it feel like you were going upside down, or gave you a jump scare, and the whole thing was on this giant pretend pirate ship. It was pretty cool. After going on a couple of times, Cowboy Fish decided to go on something else. He walked around the park until he got to The Comet, the only roller coaster he felt comfortable riding. It did not have too many twists or turns and just one downhill drop-your-stomach-on-the-floor part. It was a wooden coaster with the metal tracks, so it made those classic rickety squeaky sounds. Cowboy Fish decided this was the best roller coaster in the park, and he was, of course, impartial.
By the time he had ridden The Comet a few times, he figured it was time to re-group with Dad and Poopsie. As he suspected, the two of them were at the circle of vendors and picnic tables, likely waiting for him. He smiled and waved as he ran over to them.
“Hi guys! You been waiting long?” Cowboy Fish asked.
“No, just got off the big coaster.” Poopsie bragged.
“Alright, Poopsie, I know you want pepperoni pizza. Cowboy, what do you want?” He looked like he was feeling pretty hungry himself.
“Cheeseburger and fries?” Cowboy answered as more of a question.
“Okay.” Dad didn’t mess around; he went straight to the counter and placed their order.
When Dad came back over, he tilted his chin up and walked to his favorite table, knowing the two of them would follow. He sat down and brought his right leg forward, rubbing his knee. He didn’t say anything to his kids, but they could tell his arthritis was bothering him. The heat was good for his joints, but being on his feet most of the time was probably giving him some trouble. His lips were a tight line, and he cleared his throat loudly before letting out a puff of air.
“You alright, Dad?” Cowboy Fish asked, concerned.
“I’m alright, son. You go ahead and grab us some napkins.” He directed.
Dad was a tough guy. This wasn’t the first time Cowboy Fish and Poopsie had seen their dad in pain. He used to smoke packs of cigarettes a day and would cough until his face turned red. He quit after going to the hospital too many times for his liking, and his family was quite grateful for that. Cowboy Fish pulled the napkins out of the dispenser until he counted to twenty.
“Yo, son.” The man at the counter got his attention. “Tell your daddy the food is ready.”
“It’s ready!” He yelled over to his dad and sister.
“I can grab a try. My dad will come get the other two.” Cowboy reached up and got Poopsie’s pizza for her.
He did it to be nice, but also because he knew his dad would like that better. It was a respectful thing grown people do, he thought. Dad passed him with a wink and a smile as Cowboy Fish hurried over with the tray of food.
“Here you go, Poopsie.” He put the tray down in front of her.
“Gee, thanks, Cowboy.” She picked her pizza up before the bottom of the tray hit the table.
“Here ya go, son.” Dad put his cheeseburger and fries down in front of him, and his eyes bugged.
He was two bites in when Dad was just starting on his. He had ordered the same thing as Cowboy Fish and laughed to himself at his kids eating like they had been starved. The three of them finished up and used all the napkins.
“Alright, y’all, clean this up and come right back.” They did so right away.
When they got back, he asked them both what they wanted to do next. Poopsie wanted to go on more coasters, and Cowboy Fish was gonna head to the Wacky Shack. They were all to meet back up at the carousel after three rides.
When Cowboy Fish got to the Wacky Shack, there was a line so long that he would have to wait for the ride to run three times before he would get to go on. He didn’t mind, though; he was too excited. When it was finally his turn, he got into one of the carts by himself and clipped the belt tightly over his lap. This ride was like a roller coaster, but inside a big building with no windows. The ride was two levels, and there were no big dips or spins. It had lots of tight corners, though, and went fast enough to whip you around and make your neck a little sore from holding your head in place. It was awesome.
After two rides on the Wacky Shack, Cowboy Fish decided to take the long way over to the carousel so he could check out the arcade. When he walked by, it looked like there weren’t too many kids in there, and he could see his favorite games. The games were each ten cents a round, not really expensive, but not cheap either. He hoped Dad would give him a few dimes to go play. When he got to the meeting point, he did not see his dad or sister. Figuring that they must not be done yet, he hopped on the merry-go-round for a ride. Sure enough, by the time it got done going around, he could see the two of them walking over. He hopped off and ran over to them.
“How ya doin’, Cowboy?” Dad asked him.
“Good. I went on the Wacky Shack ride and noticed the arcade wasn’t too busy.” He glanced up at Dad.
“Did you now?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah…I was wondering if I could have a few dimes to go play.” His voice got a bit softer.
“Why did I pay for the ride pass if you wanna spend your time at the arcade?” He waited for an answer, but Cowboy Fish just bit the inside of his cheek. “Six. That’s it.”
Cowboy Fish grinned big and held his hand out for the coins. They clinked in his palm, and the sound rang brightly in his head. He said a quick thank you and was already heading towards the arcade when Dad yelled that he and Poopsie would meet him there later. He waved a hand in acknowledgement and was on his way.
Cowboy Fish had three games he liked to play at this particular arcade and enough coins for two rounds each. First, he went to the shooting ducks game. He would always close one eye and tilt his head to hit the bullseye, and he was pretty good at it. In the first round, he got 530 points, but on his next one, he earned 660. A new record. The next two dimes were spent playing the football-through-a-hole game in the back of the arcade. Cowboy Fish was no football player, but he thought he should give it a try. It was much harder than shooting hoops, and he wasn’t particularly good at it, nor did he enjoy it much. He decided one round of that game was enough and that the three dimes remaining should all go towards his favorite game. Skiball.
After his dimes ran out, Cowboy Fish exited the arcade and found Dad and Poopsie nearby getting a drink of water from the fountain.
“You finish up, Cowboy?” His father asked.
“Yup. Used all the dimes.” He offered him a smile, but Dad’s tight lips told him he was in pain again. “You guys about ready to go? Mama will be home from work soon.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Poopsie said with a yawn.
“Alright then, let’s head out.” Dad said.
They started walking towards the exit when Cowboy Fish noticed a slight limp in his dad’s stride. When Dad felt that Poopsie was far enough ahead, he put his arm on his son’s far shoulder and leaned down a bit. He never took his eyes off Poopsie, though, just to be safe.
“Thank you for taking care of me, son.” He said to him.
“You’re welcome.” Cowboy Fish leaned into the embrace with a proud smile.
“Poopsie! Wait up!” Dad shouted, straightening back up.
The ride home was as fast as Cowboy Fish closing his eyes and opening them again. It had been a lovely, long day.
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