"Oh look," Eddie said as she turned her phone around to show her husband the screen. "Luna Park at Coney Island opens up today."

Jamie glanced up from looking at his laptop on the other side of the couch, "Mhmm."

"We should go," she suggested.

"You want to go to the amusement park?" he asked. "Really?"

She let out a chuckle at his look, "Yeah really."

"But Ed… you hate heights," he responded.

"I know… but this is different."

"Not really babe."

"I don't really have time to focus on the height factor with it. Come on, it will be fun! We have a three day weekend so it's perfect timing. I haven't been in so long and we live only thirty minutes away. Everyone at the precinct always talk about how fun it is."

Jamie gave her a look that told her that she was slowly swaying him.

"It's a good day for it," she continued. "And we'll be right by the beach. We can go for a swim afterwards and I'll wear that little number that you bought me for my birthday," she said with a wink.

He let out a chuckle as he finally gave in, "Okay fine. Let's go."


They packed up a bag for the day and made the thirty minute drive out to Coney Island. Jamie smiled at her excitement as they drove. It wasn't often that they did things like this so he couldn't help but join in on her enthusiasm.

They arrived at Luna Park at around eleven in the morning and were surprised to find a parking spot close to the entrance, especially since it was opening day.

"It's hotter than I thought," Eddie commented as she put on her sunglasses after getting their wristbands and walking through the gate.

"And it's only going to get even hotter," Jamie interjected. "The high today is supposed to be 101 but it should cloud over by 4."

"Thanks for the weather report, Bub," she said jokingly.

"No problem," he replied as he took her hand. They walked around for a minute before Jamie spoke up. "I think this is the first time that you and I have ever been to an amusement park together."

"It is," she realized. "Have you ever came here before?"

"A few times when I was younger with Danny and Joe. You?"

"Came with a few boyfriends before."

He gave her a look, "A few?!"

She chuckled, "I said that wrong. It was only like one or two. They weren't that fun because they thought amusement parks were stupid. I have a feeling that you'll be a way better date."

He smiled, "So, what do you want to do first?"

She looked around for a minute then responded, "The Cyclone doesn't have a long line. Let's go over there!"

Jamie glanced over at the ride with a little bit of hesitancy. "That one? You sure that you don't want to start on something small first? Like the Wonder Wheel? It's nice and slow."

"I'm sure. Now let's go!" she urged. As she pulled on his hand, she felt him tense up and stay still. She pulled on his hand again and got the same result. She turned back to him in confusion.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently, trying to gauge the look on her husband's face.

"Yeah…" he responded, pursing his lips as he looked over at the ride.

"Jamie… what's wrong?"

He let out a sigh as he shook his head, "It's nothing… it's stupid."

She smacked his arm gently, "Whatever you're feeling is not stupid. Don't say that. Now what's going on?"

"Okay. When I was twelve, I was out here with Danny and Joe and we got on this ride. I hadn't gotten on one this big before and didn't want to but Danny and Joe said that it would be okay. So we got on and everything was okay at first, but after we went down the first drop... a guy flew out because he wasn't strapped in correctly. It was crazy, Ed. He was right in front of me. After that day, I've been scared to get on a roller coaster ever since."

Eddie frowned. "Oh Jamie, I'm so sorry. If I would've known..."

He shook his head, "Stop Ed. Don't apologize."

"Why didn't you say anything at home?" she asked.

"Because I saw how much you wanted to come. I didn't want to ruin it for you."

"You wouldn't have ruined it for me, Jamie," she responded. "Not at all."

"We don't have to get on," she continued. "We don't have to stay. We can just go to the beach instead."

"No. No," he said as he squeezed her hand. "I need to do this. I want to do this. I can't think of anyone better to help me get over this fear than you."

She gave a small smile, "Are you sure? We don't have to do this, Jamie."

"I'm sure," he replied.

"Okay, let's go then." They made their way over to the line. She made small talk the entire way through the line to distract him as they made their way to the front. Finally, when they were next in line to get on, she turned toward him.

"Are you sure that you still want to do this?" she asked again. "We don't have to, Jamie. Truly. I don't want you to do this because I want to."

"I need to do this, Ed. It's been almost thirty years."

"Okay. Only if you're one hundred percent sure."

Jamie nodded, "I am."

The gate opened a few minutes later. The attendant led them toward the middle section of the seats and directed them to sit. They strapped Eddie in first, then Jamie and gave them a few instructions.

Eddie looked over and gave him a comforting smile, "You good?"

"Mhmm," he replied.

She reached over and interlinked their fingers, "I got you, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen. Just squeeze my hand."

He nodded. Then, there was a booming voice that came over the intercom.

"Riders, are we ready?!"

Everyone let out a cheer besides Jamie. Eddie gave a small smile and squeezed his hand.

"Okay here we go!"

Jamie took a deep breath as the ride started to move. He closed his eyes tightly. It took off a little faster than he remembered.

"Okay we're starting to approach the first drop," Eddie said to him.

He squeezed her hand harder than he ever had before. "Alright, here we go!" she exclaimed.

Suddenly, he felt them go into a free fall. The fear that he had all those years ago wasn't there anymore. It was replaced with a kick of adrenaline. He opened his eyes and threw his hands up in the air.

"Woohoo!" he let out.

Eddie looked over at her husband and smiled. The joy on his face was infectious. She was so proud of him for wanting to do this. And she knew it had to have been a lot for him to admit this to her. He was never the one to offer up his feelings on a platter, it always took a little bit of a push.

Before they knew it, the ride was over. They slowly arrived back at the start. The attendant came over and unbuckled them.

"How was that?" she asked Jamie as they walked off the platform.

"It was great," he said happily. "I forgot how fun roller coasters truly are."

"Do you want to go again?"

He immediately shook his head, "I liked it but I don't think I want to do it again just yet. Give me time to recover."

She chuckled and grabbed his hand as they walked away from the ride.

"I'm proud of you," she said gently. "I know it took a lot for you to do that. And I'm happy that you were comfortable enough to do it with me."

He simply smiled and squeezed her hand.

"So what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"Well... I say that let's play some games and then get on one or two more rides. We can eat and then go on the beach where I can see you in that swimsuit that I love so much," he winked.

She jokingly rolled her eyes, "Of course you'd remember that."

He flashed a cheeky grin, "I wasn't going to forget." Then, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. "I love you. Thank you."

She smiled up at him, "I love you too."