Married For Now

CHAPTER 17 - RIDE

PHOENIX SIGHED hard in annoyance after Grandpa Fred disappeared from the reach of their sights.

"I can't believe he's making me spend the rest of my day with you." Phoenix complained.

"You're kidding, you're actually obey Grandpa and hang out with me?" Jewel said in a surprised tone.

He gave her a more annoyed look. "Do I have a choice? Even if I leave you here, Grandpa will still probably know because he has his eyes all over this place since he owns it now. So what is your next stop?"

"Really? Grandpa owns this?" She said while her eyes sparkled because of the news.

"Yeah...So where are you headed after riding that childish ride?"

"Oh come on...carousels are not childish...who said adults can't have fun with them?"

"Me..." He said, sternly.

Jewel just pouted.

"Now where to?"

"I don't know...Oh, do amusement parks have claw machines?" She asked with a hopeful tone.

Phoenix scoffed because of her innocence. "What do you think this place is? An arcade?"

She gasped. "I've always wanted to go to an arcade..." She beamed like a child making him pity his wife a little and also surprised that she has never been to one.

"You've never been to one? How did you even have fun when you were young?"

"School was fun..."

"Yeah right...only an idiot would say that."

"Are you saying that I'm an idiot?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"You asked yourself that question, you answer it."

"Geez...your humor sucks..."

He completely ignored her remark. "So where are you off to?"

"Hmmm...I have really no idea."

"Hm...I think I may have." Then he took her wrist and dragged her to the booth where they sell the tickets for the roller coaster ride.

"W-wait..." Jewel stuttered as her eyes widen upon seeing the huge extreme ride in front of her eyes with the coaster passing along them with screaming people. "Phoenix, I-I can't ride the roller coaster..." She said, in panic. She started to pry her wrist from his grip but he did not let her.

He did not listen to her and bought two tickets from the booth instead. When he gave the cashier the money, she was shocked to see a huge bill from him and said that she doesn't have any change for his payment. But he told her to just keep the change instead as he took the tickets from her.

"Why, you scared? You don't have to...You're with me. Come on, I already have the tickets."

"N-no...I'll pay you back for the tickets. But I don't want to ride that thing."

"Why? You said you're not scared."

"I—I'm not scared...It's just that..." She grunted as if she is forced to do something that she doesn't want to. Then she blew a loud breath and licked her lips a little. "I don't really want to say this but...I have asthma, okay...that's why I can't ride that, or any sort of extreme ride."

Phoenix was dumbfounded, making him release her hand. 'She has asthma? Since when?' He doesn't remember her as being asthmatic when they were kids. She was so active back then. He felt himself soften a little. He felt bad for her. He knows that there are a lot of things that asthmatic people are not allowed to do. "Please don't give me that look." She said. "That's why I hate it whenever someone new knows about this ailment. They always give me that look."