ROSE

Chapter Five: Family Day Out

Mr. Williams spent the entire morning and afternoon fixing his car in the garage. He tweaked several parts of the car, mostly the engine. He took a shot break of 10 minutes duration after every 1 hour of working until he finally wiped the last sweat off his forehead and declared to himself, "Finally... It's done."

He rushed to the bedroom where he found his wife dusting the furniture.

"Dear," he whispered, "I have finished fixing the car. We still have time. Tell Kimberly to get ready. You can do so as well."

Mrs. Williams informed Kimberly. Although Kimberly was not interested, the least she could do was appreciate her father's effort. She took a shower and scouted for fancy clothes to wear.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams were downstairs waiting for Kimberly. They wore quite fancy clothes: Mr. Williams wore a white shirt which was neatly tucked in a black trouser. He wore fancy black shoes. He looked very handsome and younger than he actually was. Mrs. Williams wore a long red dress and black flat shoes. She applied make-up and styled her hair. She looked very beautiful and younger as well.

Kimberly walked down the stairs in a purple dress and purple heels and a purple hand bag. She looked gorgeous in the purple dress with the new hair style.

"Wow!" Mr. Williams exclaimed after seeing Kimberly. "You look amazing, dear."

"Thank you," she replied. There was a tone unhappiness in Kimberly's voice but Mr. Williams didn't mind.

Mr. Williams rushed to the garage to reverse the car. Kimberly sat in the back seat while Mrs. Williams sat in the front passenger seat. Mr. Williams drove to the Family World Park.

They reached their destination in time, you could hear the upbeat music from afar. They stepped out of the car and rushed through the entrance, the Williams wowed as they admired the colourful pictures and posters nailed on the walls. Balloons were floating in mid air. Spectators admired the balloon show up in the sky.

Vendors scattered around the park while they sold their goods to customers. It was difficult to be noticed in such a busy park, as a result some vendors used megaphones to advertise their products. A variety of creamy foods were put out by the vendors to be sold: candy, ice cream, pops.

It was also difficult to navigate through the crowd of different ages who were walking back and forth as spot lights flickered separately. It was nearly impossible walking without having to bump into someone.

Mr. Williams gazed unto Kimberly, he wanted to talk to her but couldn't find the right excuse to use. He glanced at her quickly and look away.

Mrs. Williams rolled her eyes in different directions, looking for the best family activity. Screams from children and adults caught her attention. The screams came from a roller-coaster that accelerated at a speed that did not please Mrs. Williams. It was like the speed of light. Her neck ached as she tried to keep up with the curly movements of the roller-coaster: up, down and sideways.

"That ride doesn't seem safe," Mrs. Williams declared aloud. "It is too dangerous especially for me. I might get dizzy and eventually throw up. Let us go for something that spins less and accelerates at a moderate speed."

A train whistle blew as the conductor announced, "All aboard the Family Express. Two minutes until we get rolling..."

Mr. Williams had a thought. He smiled partially as he whispered into Mrs. Williams' ear, "Kimberly and I will go on the family express train. That will give me enough time to talk to her. There is no way she would resist me now. In the meantime purchase some food."

Mrs. Williams smiled beautifully and walked away into the crowded area.

Mr. Williams and Kimberly boarded the train and sat next to each other. Mr. Williams could see through Kimberly's face that she was unhappy.

The train whistle blew for the second time as it began to move on the train truck. It began as a bumpy ride but soon the train stabilized.

Mr. Williams spoke, "When I was a child, my father promised me an action figure. He promised me that he would buy it the following day when he came back from work. I waited for him the following day. He came back empty handed, I was disappointed. I ran to my room and never spoke to him for days. One day my father was out late, the phone rung. My mother picked it up. Little did I know that it was an officer calling to inform us that my father was involved in an accident."

Kimberly looked at Mr. Williams with sadness in her eyes. She felt sorry.

He continued, "Later that evening, my mother came back home from the police station with a toy train in her hand. She told me that the reason my father didn't buy me the toy train was because he wanted to give me a bigger train. He was involved in an accident when he was coming from the toy shop."

"See... My father did not say any sweet words to me when he went out because I refused to talk to him. I had no idea that on that day he would not return. And for that, I will never forgive myself."

Tears rolled down Kimberly's chicks. She said, "I'm sorry. I was so stupid for putting you in so much pain."

"No," replied Mr. Williams. "I'm the one who has inflicted that pain on myself."

"No... Dad..."

Mr. Williams interrupted, "I was actually being silly when I turned you down. Therefore," he said with a smile, "I'm giving you permission to go to Green Forest Resort with your friends."

Kimberly replied, "No. I don't want to go, I want to stay here with you and mom."

"If you don't go," Mr. Williams began, "Then I will not talk to you for a year. Trust me I can do that."

Kimberly laughed with tears in her eyes.

When the train cycled around the park, it finally came to a noisy stop. Thereafter, the passengers wondered off in separate directions after alighting from the train.

Mrs. Williams was patiently waiting for Kimberly and her husband with a bag of food in her hand. A wonderful smile creeped onto her face when she saw Mr. Williams sharing a conversation with Kimberly.

The Williams found a spot and ate their food. They didn't have too food much because they feared they would throw up while participating in other family activities.

Their legs were aching, except for Kimberly. They hadn't had such fun in a while. Mrs. Williams couldn't continue but she didn't want to steal the fun away from Kimberly. She said to her, "I bet you are you dying to go solo with other activities. As you can see we are old."

"You still have strength left," replied Kimberly.

"No... You go on and have your fun dear. We will take rest here... Don't stay too late though," she instructed.

Kimberly stood up and rewarded her parents with tight hugs such that they groaned: "Thank you, thank you," she said in a quick voice.

Kimberly wondered off and disappeared into the crowd. She saw an interesting game ahead of her and wanted to take part in it. As she was approaching the game, she heard a woman's voice say to her:

"Do you want to predict your future?"

Kimberly stopped walking and turned slightly to her right. She saw a woman in a black hood. The woman's face was not clear. She was seated on a wooden chair while leaning forward. A crystal ball was on a table in front of her.

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Authors Note: Cheers for making it to Chapter 5. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please don't hesitate to drop a comment and let me know your view, or you can give it a vote; otherwise I appreciate your support.