Far From Miami, Close To The Heart

Gumballs & Farewells

They browsed the store for about thirty minutes until Danielle heard her phone buzz. She checked her messages and found a text from her mom. "Hey honey, the meeting is halfway over. I'll be there in about two hours. DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR SISTER! Love ya!" Danielle inwardly groaned. "Hey Ben, I have to go find Lindsey." They searched the mall for about ten minutes until they found her standing by the gumball machine. "Lindsey, what are you doing?" she asked. Lindsey tried to answer. " A wunta tp Hrsm gish impuk." Danielle's eyebrows lifted in confusion. "What? I can't understand what your saying. Spit that gum out!" Lindsey spit the gum into the palm of her hand. " I said I spent the ten dollars you gave me so I could see how much gum I could fit in my mouth! Can I have more? I want to get a few more pieces" Danielle looked at her sister incredulously. " You spent 10 dollars on gum that loses its flavour in 15 seconds!? And there's no way in heaven or hell that I'm giving you any more cash!" Lindsey scowled and chucked her chewed up mound of gum at Danielle's head. Danielle glared at her. " I'm going to the Disney Store." Lindsey declared and stomped away. "Be at the food court in an hour in a half!" Danielle called to Lindsey. "So much for not taking your eyes off her." Laughed Ben. So your leaving in two hours, huh? Well then we better have some epic fun! I know just the place!"

"Where?" Danielle asked.

"It's a secret." He said slyly. " Close your eyes and I'll take you." Danielle shut her eyes and let him lead her away. About 3 minutes later they arrive at their destination.

"Ok, open your eyes!" Danielle followed the instruction and took in her surrounding. They were at the children's play place. In front of her was a handful of kiddy rides and a few plastic coloured balls scattered around the floor. Behind them was a ball pit and some slides. "So this is your idea of a good time." She said sarcastically.

"Ah yes my good friend. Entertainment doesn't get any better than this!" Danielle laughed and they crammed into a small rocket ship ride meant for 4 year olds. Ben inserted two quarters and the rocket began rocking back and forth at an excruciating slow pace. "Wow." She said dryly."I think we're going faster than the speed of light." When the ride ended they hopped out and dove into the greasy ball pit. " Danielle gagged. "It smells like used diapers in here." Ben crinkled his nose. " Having a 1 year old sister, I can assure you that it most certainly does smell like used diapers." They climbed out as fast as they could and jogged over to the slide. Danielle went down first. Then Ben, who decided to go down head first on his back. When only his head emerged, they realized there was a problem. Ben was stuck. "It seems to me," he said, " that this was not built to hold 15 year old guys." Danielle couldn't stop laughing at the sight of him lodged in the slide. She pulled as hard as she could and finally, they had to get a worker to come help. When he was freed of the slide the worker gave them a dirty looked and walked away muttering about stupid teenagers. Danielle and Ben laughed all the way out of the play area. Danielle pulled out her phone and checked the time. 3:15. Her mother would be there in 45 minutes. "Ah crap. I only have 15 more minutes before I have to meet Lindsey in the food court."

"We'd better not waste it then! Come on!" He pulled her into a photo booth and took 3 pictures. They grabbed the strips and started walking in the direction of the food court. Lindsey was sitting at a table in the corner. "I'm hungry!" She whined. Danielle took her to the Chick-Fil-A and she bought her some chicken nuggets. As Lindsey ate, Ben and Danielle chatted about old memories. "Remember when were walking Max around the block and we saw that weird guy wearing the Mickey Mouse costume and we freaked out and ran away and got lost?" Danielle burst out laughing. " Of course! We hid behind a palm tree for twenty minutes until we were sure he was gone!"

"Danielle! Lindsey!" Their mom was standing by the entrance. "Danielle hugged Ben. "It was so nice to see you again! I hope I see you soon!"

"See ya Danielle! I missed you."

"Bye!"

She waved at him and walked out of the mall. Then she realized something. "Hey mom! I left something with Ben. I'll be right back!"

"Ok but hurry back!" Danielle raced through the door and spotted Ben. She quickly wrote down her number and jogged up to him. "I nearly forgot! Text me!" He grinned. "Can do. See ya!" She ran back out and hopped into the truck. They pulled out of the mall parking lot and started on their way to their new home.