A/N: Hey guys, this is just me reminding you guys for the reviews and suggestions for any improvements I could make to keep coming and to read all the chapters leading up to this one and the other books. Thank you so much for your continued support, and I hope you have a good day whenever and wherever you're reading this!
Chapter 8 – Mike
"I'm just going to assume that you've got everything," I said to Phoebe, as we got into the front two seats of the car.
"Good call," Phoebe nodded happily, as she did up the strap of the seatbelt.
I started backing into the road and drove out of our cul-de-sac to the roundabout that had the local grocery superstore on one side and a gas station on the other. We took the road that led to the main motorway, which was diagonally between the grocery store and the gas station. Phoebe and I had stayed up last night, attempting to figure out what we could do with 4 kids that didn't end up in having them all on screens all day.
Phoebe had come up with the idea of taking them to a Water Park that she had heard work colleagues talking about, and I had been more than happy to agree to go. Luckily, the kids had shared our enthusiasm, and both Phoebe and I were both glad to know we would get some quality time alone together whilst the kids entertained themselves.
Usually, we don't have much time to ourselves when we get out as a family, as Chris and Addie are still too young to be allowed to go on rides themselves without us worrying. Therefore Phoebe and I were planning on trying to make the most of the day with lots of coffee at the café and going on a few rides, as I wanted to challenge her to go on as many rides as we could manage to.
Luckily the journey wasn't too long as I had started to fear that having four children in one car all at once was going to be considerably more hectic than I had first realised, and soon enough we were checking into the Park.
"Now, you guys can go wherever you want now we're inside the Park," I said, watching Chris and Addie's faces light up as they realised exactly what I meant. "But please make sure that you stay with at least one of Erica or Jack."
Both sets of twins nodded back at Phoebe and I. Phoebe helped both of our kids to fix their wristbands to have full access to the Park whilst I attempted to locate the nearest coffee shop from the free site map that we had been gifted at the kiosk to pay for parking. The other two waited patiently, but I could tell that they wanted to get going and were just waiting because they wanted to be polite. I appreciated this but felt that it was a little unfair on them.
Phoebe handed Jack a map that I hadn't realised she had also been given and then sent all four kids off to run loose around the park. She turned back to me, and asked, "Where do you want to go first?" I could tell that she realised I had been studying the map, yet I still had no real clue what I wanted to do after the necessary option of going to get coffee.
"Let's make sure we get some coffee because I have a definite suspicion that we're going to need lots of it if we are going to make it through today," I said, laughing.
Phoebe laughed with me. "Agreed," she said, leaning into give me a quick kiss.
We walked together towards where the café was located, according to the map. Luckily when we got there, it wasn't too busy, which was understandable since it was 10.30am in the morning. Almost all of the customers were parents like us, either alone or with younger children who weren't old enough to access the rides.
Phoebe and I sat a table that was tucked away in a corner of the café seating area, surrounded by mostly empty tables. "What are you feeling like ordering in terms of drinks?" I asked Phoebe, as I searched through my jacket pockets for my wallet.
"I think I'll go with a Chai tea," Phoebe answered, searching through her handbag for what I assumed was for her purse.
"Don't worry about paying me, Pheebs," I said, trying to reassure her. "Think of it as an early Thanksgiving treat, and a reminder of how much I love you."
Phoebe grinned happily at this. "You really are the best man I've ever set eyes on," she said, with pure adoration in her eyes that melted my heart. "Thank you so much."
"You have no reason to thank me," I said, standing up with my wallet in hand to walk over to the cafeteria area to place our orders.
I was second in the line at the till, which allowed to have the time to choose between a regular latte and a Chai tea. In the end, I ordered the regular latte, as I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last hot drink I ordered here today. I was a little shocked at how high the bill for both hot drinks was, but then again this was an attraction, and so they often tended to be massively overpriced when it came to the food they offer. Realistically, this also probably wouldn't be our only astronomically large bill after today, so the drinks were really just the beginning.
I joined Phoebe back at the table, after mentioning our table number, courtesy of an emergency text from Phoebe as I hadn't paid attention to it before. She looked up from scrolling through her phone as I sat down.
"I can't stop thinking about how much Chandler and Monica are probably appreciating not having to look after the twins all the time," Phoebe said, sounding genuine happy for them and if a little envious. "I hope they know that we would do this for them anytime they needed it."
"I'm sure they do," I said, smiling reassuringly back at Phoebe. "I mean, they've known you long enough to know that being a kind, helpful and caring person is something that comes completely naturally to you, so I'm sure they would expect nothing less."
"I really hope so," she said, smiling back at me.
A waitress came over, with a kettle and small jug of milk and a coffee mug with a saucer and sugar cube dish laden on a tray along with another plate which had the receipt on and the table number placeholder. She set the tray down and asked, "Anything else you need?"
I shook my head, and she disappeared back behind the cafeteria counter. I turned back to Phoebe, as I took my mug off of the tray and started spooning a couple of sugar cubes into the latte and watching them dissolve as I stirred.
"Are you sure that having Frank Jr. Jr. over as well as Jack and Erica won't be too much of a stretch on Thanksgiving?" I asked, deciding that it was finally a good idea to voice a concern that had been bugging me ever since I agreed on our behalf that it would be fine for him to stay.
"Yeah," she nodded back as she poured herself another mug of tea. She usually downed tea and coffee quickly, and almost had some kind of talent in it which I had come to realise over the years of our marriage. "I can get in extra food when I do the usual big shop that I had already planned to do ahead of next weekend, and we can use the spare room as the couch can become a bed, don't you remember?"
I had forgotten that it could fold out into a bed, as I hadn't been as involved in the interior design within the house as Phoebe had been when we moved in, and clearly it had slipped my knowledge. I hoped that Frank Jr. Jr. would understand that we were strapped for space and the spare room was the best we could do given the circumstances, as I knew it was a bit of a crappy option especially when it was to house a guest, who was not only a guest but also a family member.
"Okay," I said, trusting Phoebe's judgement. "If you're 100% sure." I added, "You know that I will do everything I need to help you out if you need it, right?"
"Of course," Phoebe replied, looking a little shocked that I had even asked the question. "You've been nothing but helpful for over 14 years, so I'm pretty certain I would've realised that by now." She laughed good-humouredly after she finished talking.
I couldn't help but laugh too. I was genuinely shocked every day when it hit me that I had been able to marry someone as gracious and humble as Phoebe, and that she still seemed to love me as much as she had when we were still in the honeymoon period of being a new couple, in both our wedding honeymoon and when we started seriously dating.
We finished our drinks whilst chatting more about many different topics together. It was just nice to finally just be able to sit and talk without any responsibilities eating into the back of our minds, and be 100% genuine and honest with each other in such a carefree manner and setting.
"Where do you want to go first?" I asked, finally regaining a feeling of composure after laughing from Phoebe's many jokes that she had decided to share with me.
"What about one of the rollercoasters?" Phoebe asked me, her eyes lighting up with childish excitement.
"I don't see why not," I shrugged, happily. It had been long enough since we had eaten breakfast that I wasn't worried about speed-induced nausea, and I wanted to make the most of the caffeine high that both of us had embarked on whilst it lasted and didn't fizzle out to pure adrenaline, which was considerably less stable.
We walked out together, holding each other hands, fully embracing the married couple mentality. We got many adoring looks from other couples, both accompanied by children and without, as we navigated our way from the café to the specifically designated rollercoaster section of the park.
There were about four different rollercoasters all open, and populated by customers waiting in lines to ride them. I decided to try and figure out which rollercoaster had the shortest line as, although both of us were probably going to want to get on all of the rides, I didn't fancy the prospect of having to wait another half hour when we could be having the level of fun that I felt we deserved to experience sooner.
I made a quick judgement, and guided Phoebe quickly and strategically towards the end of the snaking line. Luckily, it seemed that I had been right about the speed at which the queue was moving, as it wasn't long before we had moved a good four or five places up the line despite having only just joined it. Sure enough, the next thing we knew was the ride attendant just briefing us on the rules of the rollercoaster before moving out of the way to allow us to climb the steps up to the ramp where we boarded the sections of the rollercoaster from.
Phoebe sat on my left side, and we both pulled down the safety seat belt in a joint test of strength. The ride attendant's assistant colleague didn't bother coming over to help us as we were clearly adults, but instead flashed us a thumps up. I nodded in acknowledgement, and he moved onto helping the two teenagers behind us.
I turned to Phoebe, and smiled as my way of conveying how excited I was that we were on this ride together. She returned it, and I could see the realisation of what she had just signed up for hit her just as I heard the attendant's assistant yell 'Go!' at the attendant, who had gone into the small hut on the boarding ramp, and felt us lurch forward.
The more speed we picked up, the harder people seemed to scream. Phoebe was already screaming like a banshee, but I was just sitting there, casually soaking in the atmosphere and other people's screams. I might be one of the calmest riders at the moment, but I had a feeling when the ride really started picking up speed and we encountered the couple of sudden drops on the track and the cartwheel-shaped loop that I would be very different.
By the time we had to attempt to make off the ride and back into reality without collapsing from simultaneous adrenaline rushes and dizziness spells, I was feeling elated but also considerably more exhausted than I had anticipated. In stark comparison, Phoebe looked as if she had already gained full composure again, and was more than ready to go on the rest of the rides.
"How are you already so put together after all that?" I watched in disbelief, while also trying and apparently failing to desperately get my breath back.
"It takes skills, babe," Phoebe said, a triumphant note in her voice, as she watched me fighting in vain to recover from what had been as much if a scarring experience as it had been absolutely thrilling.
I rolled my eyes, but flashed her a small grin to know that I was only joking and wasn't really annoyed. When I was satisfied that I wasn't going to pass out from breathlessness, I turned to Phoebe, who started immediately walking over to the next ride to the one we had just been on.
The line for this one barely existed compared to how it had been when we had first seen it, so we joined the end and quickly boarded it. I decided this time to make sure that I was holding onto the seatbelt so hard that I could feel my fingers start to ache. I would've stopped holding them so hard, however I didn't fancy the other option, which was almost certain death if I wasn't careful about staying upright and stable.
Luckily, thanks to that precaution, this time the ride seemed to take less of an extreme toll on my body and senses. In fact, I was actually mainly revved up to go another round on the rollercoaster. Phoebe and I immediately boarded the line to the next rollercoaster along after the current. "Let's make this the last before going on something else," I said to Phoebe, hoping that she would be okay with the fact that I didn't fancy burning out too quickly on the massive rollercoasters and that ruining the prospects of us going on another one later.
A/N: Here we are with the end of this chapter. I wanted to make sure that I thanked my friend who suggested the premise for this chapter (you will know who you are, I hope) and hope that you liked what I did with it! In addition, here's the usual reminder from me to you guys for the reviews and suggestions for any improvements I could make to keep coming and to read all the chapters leading up to this one and the other books. Thank you so much for your continued support, and I hope you have a good day whenever and wherever you're reading this!
