Disney World was all I had dreamed it would be. At least the attractions were, anyway. Somehow, when I was a kid, I’d never calculated how many people were crammed into the park every day. Especially on a beautiful Saturday like this. We managed to make it onto most of the rides, though the longest waits were at Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. I might have enjoyed a trip to the Magic Kingdom more when I was eleven, but being here today with Marty was really special too. Maybe the most important thing was that I realized how carefully Marty had listened to me and how badly he wanted to see me happy. This guy would do anything for me, and no one had ever made me feel like that before.
Walking hand in hand with Marty made me feel like no matter what choices I had made, I had the right man in my life now. He was just what I needed.
But after lunch my mood started to change. It began with the salesman from the Bentley dealer calling Marty and asking how he liked the car. Marty handled it perfectly, telling the salesman we were still undecided but we’d bring the car back later this afternoon.
As Marty stuffed the phone back into his front pocket, he smiled at me and said, “I just won’t answer the phone again until we’re about to drop the car off.”
The call had brought me back to reality, and my problems were no longer a world away. I started thinking about the court hearing and that pompous ass Brennan. While we were floating in our boat through It’s a Small World, I noticed our conversation had turned darker as well.
Out of nowhere Marty said, “Disney makes a fortune separating people from the real world and the ugliness around them.”
“Whoa, what brought that on?” The little girl in front of us had been peeking behind the seat since the ride had started. She might not have understood what he was saying, but she picked up on Marty’s attitude and quickly twisted around to sit low in her seat, out of sight.
Our conversation drifted back to normal, Magic Kingdom–related topics as we shuffled our way through the Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. Once we landed in comfortable seats and under air-conditioning at the PhilharMagic 3-D, with no one sitting close to us, I acted on the urge to kiss him.
Marty said, “I’m glad you’re having a good time. I’m sorry you missed out on Disney for so long, but I’m glad your ex-husband didn’t hurt your sense of joy.”
“First of all, he’s not my ex-husband yet. And he didn’t hurt my sense of joy, but he did come close to ruining it. He was never the man I thought he was. It turns out you are the man I thought he was.”
We kissed again, deeply and passionately. I felt Marty’s hand around the back of my neck, and I wanted to hold him tight. As the show began and objects came flying at us in 3-D, we continued making out, grabbing at the visual effects before us. I’d never thought I’d enjoy the PhilharMagic 3-D so much.
Somehow I knew Marty was a guy I could depend on. He would protect me, and since he had taken me to Disney World, I knew he just wanted to make me happy. Who could ask for anything more?