Unexplainable [Original Version]

[chapter seventy-five: "if it's meant to be"]

Chapter 75: "If It's Meant to Be"
Jolene Milford's POV

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For it to be a Saturday in late May, it's ridiculously warm today in Virginia. I mean, I'm fine with it, but it's usually not this warm out. The intense heat doesn't usually come until mid or late June, though I suppose I can chuck it up to me and my babe being so damn hot.

That's a logical conclusion, right?

Today's journey is going to consist of me and Kev hanging out at an amusement park with Paula and her daughter, whose name has completely slipped my mind at this point. Paula's kiddo just got out of school for the year, and Paula's wanting to reward her for it. That's pretty damn cool.

Besides, I love amusement parks! It's been so long since I've been to one, and I'm really excited to be here.

"You and Paula have met before, right?" I ask Kev as we walk towards the park. I'm finishing up my last smoke before we head in. "Or am I completely insane, and you've never so much as seen her face?"

"We've met, we've just not really spent a lot of time talking." Kev replies as I take my last puff. I toss my cigarette butt onto the ground as he adds, "Most of what I know about her is from stories you, Kid, and Scott have told me."

"Ah!" I nod. I grab Kev's right hand with my left one and lace our fingers together. "Makes sense. She's a nice girl, even if she is one of the biggest marks out there."

Man, Paula is great.

"She seems like she's a really sweet gal. As long as she's not trying to collect my sweat for her personal collection, we'll be cool." I can't help but laugh at Kev's joke. I love him so fuckin' much.

When we reach the entrance to the park, it doesn't take me long to spot Paula. She and her daughter are standing off to the side, waiting patiently for us. As soon as Paula and I lock eyes, she bursts into this huge grin.

I can't help but do the same.

"Good morning, Jolene!" Paula greets. "It's nice to see you again, Kevin."

Much to my surprise, Paula is actually relatively calm when speaking to Kev. I mean, she's still marking out hard, but for Paula, she's being really chill.

"Nice to see you, too." Kev waves at Paula and her daughter.

"How're you two today?" I ask Paula, then I turn my attention to her nervous little daughter. She's got to be around seven years old. I give the girl a smile.

Paula waits a minute to see if her daughter will reply, and when she doesn't, Paula gently pats her back. "It's okay, Janice. You can talk to Jolene."

Ah, Janice! Right. That's her name.

"She might look scary, but she's really a nice lady." Kev jokes as he bumps me with his elbow. "She won't hurt you."

I playfully glare at Kev until Janice starts giggling. At that point, I turn around and give her another smile.

"So, how're you today, Janice?" I ask again.

"I'm really excited." Janice grins just like her mother. "We're going to ride all kinds of rides and it's gonna be awesome!" She then jumps into the air, just to showcase how excited she really is. "Best of all," She takes a deep breath, "NO MORE SCHOOL!"

"Janice! Shh. Don't yell like that!" Kev snickers as Paula gently scolds her daughter. Janice looks over at me with a bashful smile, and I give her a little wink.