Mia woke up well rested from the most peaceful night sleep she had in ages. It was unbelievable how that lingering cloud of despair seemed to have dissipated. Last night, Bill had walked her to her car in the Chez Pierre parking lot. It was there where they exchanged numbers and hugged good night. It was such an enjoyable evening. And they agreed to go out again next Saturday. Seven whole days away…

Bill sent her a "good morning" text. She could tell he wasn't much for texting, so the effort was especially appreciated. She felt giddy, almost childish, when she read it. She texted back immediately, wondering vaguely if there was a "rule" about waiting a certain amount of time before replying, but then Bill responded quickly after as well, assuaging her doubt.

Mia was meeting Jackie at the gym and then for iced coffees after. She put on her gym clothes and packed a change of outfit in her bag before pulling her hair up into a ponytail. She was excited to tell Jackie about her night last night. Jackie was the best to share things with; she listened appropriately and gasped in all the right places.

"Tell me everything!" Jackie demanded immediately after Mia arrived at the parking lot. They walked up to the gym together, Jackie practically bouncing with excitement.

"Hello to you, too," Mia laughed.

"Come on. You're glowing. I've never seen you this happy before!"

Mia described to her everything she and Bill did last night. She told her how attentive he was, how chivalrous and polite, how interesting…

"Is he hot?"

"Yes. In that older guy sort of way."

"Daddy."

"Jackie!" Mia shrieked, though she privately agreed with the sentiment.

"Are you seeing each other again?"

"Saturday we're going to the carnival in McMaynerberry."

"That's great! I'm so happy for you!"

"You'll have to thank Tom for me for setting us up. And um, thank you for like...making me go out."

"See? Now do you realize I'm always right and you should always listen to me?"

Mia rolled her eyes and smiled.

Mia and Jackie finished at the gym and made their way to the cafe. They ordered their iced coffees and chose a table next to the sunny window. Mia kept looking at her phone and smiling, at times completely zoned out of anything Jackie was saying.

"...So I gave her directions to where I thought the place was. I could have sworn it was on Cherry Street. But after she left I looked it up and I think I sent her to a loan shark office instead. ...Ugh, are you texting each other?" Jackie asked, irked, after another story of hers fell on deaf ears.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry…" Mia put her phone down guiltily.

"It's okay. I know you're all infatuated and whatnot," Jackie chuckled. "God, it's so weird to see you happy again!"

"It was just one date. It could all go to shit by the next one," Mia said facetiously.

"I'll just find you a new guy then! And another and another until one sticks!"

Mia shook her head, laughing.

It was just one date, but it felt so real...

"Tell me more about him," insisted Jackie.

"Well," Mia began, "He's engaging and funny with a lot of funny stories. He's so nice when he talks, I mean, he doesn't have a negative edge when he talks about things or other people, you know? He asked me about myself a lot, and seemed to really listen to what I said. It was...fun. A lot of fun. I'm excited to see him again."

Jackie listened with rapt attention, grinning ear to ear as Mia spoke. "He sounds like a really great guy!" Jackie beamed, "I'm glad you went out with somebody who treated you so well. And I'm glad you're finally recognizing your self-worth."

"I know it was just one date but, I don't know...I really feel like we connected on a spiritual level or something. He's definitely nothing like Aaron, which I really appreciate."

"I knew Tom was "The One" on our first date, so hey, I believe it!" Jackie nodded.

Mia thought back to Jackie's first date with Tom, remembering how excited she was. Mia didn't recall feeling like this when she first met Aaron. Aaron made her feel like she was blessed to be in his presence and she should be grateful for it. But, with Bill, he acted as though he were the fortunate one…

Mia's cell phone buzzed on the table. She pretended not to notice, instead looking around the cafe and drumming her fingers. Jackie smiled complacently and laughed when she caught Mia's eye.

"Oh, go ahead! Text him back!"


The next afternoon Bill and his friends were out in the alley again, with a cooler full of ice and beers readily available. Hank's son Bobby and Dale's son Joseph were riding their bikes back and forth down the street. Leah was gardening in her yard across from them, deadheading a rose bush. Connie, a neighbor girl, was practicing the violin next door. The neighborhood seemed active and lively, even the birds were singing with more melody. Everything occurring around Bill only improved his already euphoric mood.

Bill was deliriously happy, his stomach fluttered with butterflies, his heart jangled with every beat. He was a tangle of emotions and nerves, radiating from the best evening of his entire existence. He felt like he could run a marathon with all of the energy inside of him. The way Mia would gaze up at him with those mesmerizing eyes was still etched into his thoughts. Her smile, her laugh, the delicate contours of her body kept playing like reel in front of his mind.

He had sent her a text this morning. He rarely texted, mostly because he had no one to text with. Anything he or his friends needed to say to each other was usually said in person, or a phone call at most. The anticipation of waiting for his phone to buzz from her response was thrilling.

He and his friends got settled beside the fence, retrieving their beers and cracking them open. When that first sip hit his throat it was like liquid ecstasy.

"Yep," said Hank.

The rest added their agreements.

"So Bill," Hank turned to him, "How was your date last night?"

Dale and Boomhauer perked up and turned to him as well.

Bill couldn't hold back his broad grin. "It was incredible. Best date I've ever been on."

"That's great, Bill!" approved Hank. "Are you seeing each other again?"

"Yes, next weekend, at the carnival in McMaynerberry." Almost a whole week away…

"What's she like?" Hank asked.

"She- Mia, she's… She's unlike anyone I've ever met before…" Bill lit up as he thought about her. "She's so beautiful, even more beautiful in person. And she is so easy to talk to. You know, I don't think we had a single awkward moment, and you know how I am when it comes to that type of stuff. We have a few things in common, too." Bill paused and took a sip as he replayed the events of last night again in his head.

"What could she possibly have in common with you?" blurted Dale with skepticism.

"Well, we both like cooking. We like similar types of music. We're both bilingual. We-"

"Bilingual?"

"She can speak Spanish. She's Colombian. Well, half, I guess."

Dale snickered. "What's your second language? Pig Latin?"

Bill rolled his eyes. "I speak French, grossier petit homme."

"Oh, yeah."

Dale was always crude and ignorant, but would say such things under the guise of it being a joke. Bill was usually the object of ridicule. An easy enough target, especially when he didn't often stand up for himself. However, Bill would usually let the jabs slide. Dale was as old of a friend as Hank and Boomhauer, and had always had his back.

"I think that's wonderful, Bill, it's great you found such a nice gal to spend time with," said Hank. Hank was always supportive and encouraging. He was one to see the best in people, even if they didn't see it in themselves.

Boomhauer never said much. He usually operated on a binary system: a nod of approval, or a shake of disapproval. After Hank's words, Boomhauer nodded contently.

Leah had finished her gardening work and crossed the street over to where they stood. She was willowy and slender, due to her daily jogging and yoga, and suntanned, due to her long days enjoying the outdoors. Her golden hair was pulled to the side in a braid that she had tucked a rose into.

"Hi, guys," she greeted as she took a spot beside Boomhauer. He kissed her head and she smiled. "Bill, how did your date go? Your aura is stronger today!"

"It went very well, thank you, Leah. Your advice really helped me."

"Any time!" She beamed. Turning to Boomhauer she murmured, "I need your help with um, something inside."

Boomhauer smirked and left with her, waving goodbye to his friends as they crossed the street.

"Probably another, ugh, crystal healing," Hank mumbled uncomfortably. He looked down on all of that spiritual stuff, finding it absurd and imaginary.

"Yeah, a naked crystal healing," chuckled Dale.

"I think that's what 'crystal healing' is code for," Hank concurred.

Bill sipped idly on his beer while the other two talked. It was hard to believe how far his feelings and emotions had shifted in the past day. He went from completely and utterly desolate to...happy. He was happy again, just after this one night. And he and Mia kept texting each other, so his newfound joy never waned because he always had something to keep him going. Everything else was just filler. It filled in the gaps between the times he would see her again.

Six more days...


Saturday finally arrived and dusk had almost fallen. The air was muggy, almost thick, but occasional relief came from an intermittent breeze. The rides were moving and flashing neon lights, music was playing, the scent of funnel cake and other fried foods wafted by. Mia hadn't been to a carnival since she was a kid. She remembered trying so hard to win a goldfish by tossing the ping pong ball into the fishbowls. She remembered declaring the game was rigged when she kept losing.

She approached the entrance as the butterflies in her stomach fluttered. She was nervous and excited to see Bill again. They had texted regularly throughout the week, but seeing him again, in person, was thrilling. She didn't see him waiting for her yet, so she hung by the ticket booth and watched people go by. There were couples holding hands amorously, children with widened eyes full of wonder, friends laughing with excitement. She felt exposed and alone as she stood there by herself surrounded by so many people. Her arms felt awkward; she didn't know what to do with them.

"Mia!" she heard over the noise, and turned to see Bill. He was happy to see her, grinning, his face lit up with delight.

"Hi," Mia said, and the butterflies' fluttering increased. He looked very handsome to her, in a soft cotton T shirt and jeans. His arms, of course, looked as good as always.

They bought a length of tickets before going in. The full experience of the carnival was hitting her now, all of the lights and sounds and people. She felt a little overwhelmed by the busy action. She held Bill's arm to keep close to him.

They walked around first to see all of the rides and games before deciding what things to do first. They settled on a Tilt-o-Whirl ride, then a Scrambler ride, both of which left them laughing from the thrill. Mia's uneasiness was beginning to subside.

"Whoa, let's go do that!" She pointed excitedly to the funhouse.

They went in, pressing through a hall of mirrors, wobbling up a moving ramp, dodging a forest of hanging sandbags, inching through a rolling cylinder, rocking across a shifting platform, and finally skipping through a passage of air jets. They barrelled out back into the fresh air, again laughing together.

"I'm glad that wasn't a scary one," Mia said as they started walking again.

"Do you get scared easily?"

"Yes. I'm a scaredy-cat."

"I'll protect you."

Mia smiled up at him. "I know."

They walked across the carnival again, deciding what to do next. Suddenly Mia stopped, almost tripping Bill. He followed her fixed stare to the goldfish bowl stand.

"I want one," she said, with a determined look in her eye. She pulled Bill under the canvas awning and right up to the wooden bar. In the center was a table holding dozens and dozens of fish bowls filled with water. She handed the attendant a few tickets, receiving a bucket of ping pong balls in return.

"I've always wanted to win one," she told Bill, and launched one of the plastic balls towards the bowls. It pinged off of a rim and bounced to the ground. She rolled her neck from side to side, limbering up, and tossed another ball. And another, and another, until the last one she tossed also bounced off the side of a bowl and onto the dirt below.

"Rigged," Mia bitterly said.

She made to turn away but was stopped when she heard Bill announce, "One bucket, please."

The attendant gave him his bucket and took his tickets. Mia observed curiously by his shoulder. He flexed his knuckles, cracking them, and started to toss the ping pong balls. His throws, too, ended up bounced onto the ground, one after the other. He sent off his last ball with a deep breath and an underhand cast of pure determination. It arced up into the air, uncertainty hanging with it, and it plunked so satisfyingly straight into a bowl of water, droplets splashing out of the sides. Mia cheered as she threw her arm around his back. The attendant handed her a plastic bag filled with water, and one shiny orange goldfish floating inside.

"I can't believe it! That was awesome!" she praised, holding the bag to eye level and peering at her new fish. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Bill said. He felt proud to have done something that made her so happy.

They ordered a funnel cake from a nearby food stand to share at a picnic table. The fish sat front and center on the table between them.

"What are you going to name him?" Bill asked.

"I'm not sure yet. But tomorrow I'm going to buy him a tank and all the stuff for it. This fish is going to live like a king."

Bill smiled. "Lucky fish."

They finished their food and found a few more rides and games to play. It was getting later in the evening now, the sunset darkening to an inky purple. Mia was beginning to feel tired, both from the long day and from the busy excitement surrounding her. Being with Bill made her lowered energy feel dreamlike. She wished she could be somewhere quieter with him, alone.

"I think the place is closing soon," Mia told him, "Should we finish up with the Ferris wheel?"

"Let's do it."

They joined the back of the line, which was shortened due to how late it had gotten. The ride operator rolled the wheel backwards and lifted the bar off of the bucket seat for them to sit, then sent them rolling back as more passengers got on the other seats.

Once the ride filled up the wheel started slowly spinning forward. The bright neon lights below flashed and beamed while the music still played. Bill felt like he was somewhere else, up so high away from it all. He was in a different world with Mia.

The wheel stopped while they were at its highest peak. Bill looked at Mia's profile as she watched the carnival beneath them. The dazzling lights reflected off of her face and flashed in her eyes. She was so close to him, close again like they were by the fountain. When she had held his arm crossing the intersection during their last encounter, he had described it as sobering. But tonight when she had held his arm as they wandered through the carnival, he found it to be intoxicating. He felt almost inebriated, high up in a separate atmosphere from the excitement below, up where it was still and quiet, alone with Mia, this impossibly gorgeous girl who genuinely wanted to be there with him.

She turned her head to look at him, her brown eyes lit up like fireworks, smiling in that enchanting way, as if there was no one else but him. Her face was so close to his, inches away. He wanted to kiss her so badly. The very thought of doing so sent a thrill through him, like a bolt of lightning. His heart palpitated, everything telling him to close the space between them, yet remaining rooted to the spot…

Abruptly they stuttered forward, rolling slowly, and Mia turned back to look at the ground they were approaching. He turned forward while mentally berating himself, feeling suddenly drained of the electricity that was crackling through his body moments ago.

They stepped off of the Ferris wheel, back on solid earth. Suddenly the electricity cracked back into him like a whip when Mia held his hand, his heart fluttering again, his breath catching in his lungs. And Mia was simply moving forward, walking with her hand tenderly in his, not even realizing the effect it was having on him.

The once intermittent breeze was becoming more regular now, blowing in a thick cover of clouds in the dark sky above. The carnival was closing for the night. The booths and stalls were shutting off their lights as they walked by them. The music had stopped, the only sound coming from the other carnival goers making their way to the exit with them. Bill walked Mia to her car. He was reluctant for the night to end, again, just like on their last date. But she did hug him last time; he had been replaying it in his mind for the past seven days. He was starved for affection, both physical and emotional. It had been so long since he had either. And Mia's expressed affection towards him felt so intense, so raw, every time she touched him or complimented him it felt magnified.

"Thank you, again, for my goldfish," Mia said as they idled beside her car. She had set her new pet safely on the seat inside.

"Of course. I'm glad I was able to win him for you."

The carnival lights had all been extinguished. Most cars in the parking lot had since driven off, leaving the two of them alone under the soft glow of the street light.

"I had a lot of fun tonight."

"This was fun. I think you could even make a root canal fun," Bill joked. Mia smiled up at him.

She held his gaze, hesitating. "I hope we can do something again, sooner than this time." She had said it casually, but the weight of her words hung heavily on him. She wanted to see him sooner...

"I thought so, too. Let's plan something for earlier this week?" Bill wanted to see her tomorrow, as soon as humanly possible, but he didn't want to come across as desperate by suggesting so.

"Well, I was thinking...maybe tomorrow? We could get breakfast or brunch or something?" Mia shifted with uncertainty.

Bill's heart skipped a beat. "That sounds great," he replied, taken aback yet pleased. It was like they were on the same wavelength. She always seemed to agree with his thoughts.

Mia brightened back up with relief.

She stepped towards him, closer together, and grabbed his hands. Bill felt hazy, his mind swimming as his breath caught in his chest again. Rain began to sprinkle down now, a cooling relief from the humidity. Mia was gazing up at him, all eyes and lips, tiptoeing to reach him, kissing him as softly as the raindrops did.