Incredible Times

Chapter 7

After our allotted half an hour has passed, we head back to the car to find the repairman waiting for us. He spends about twenty minutes changing the flat tire, and Bob and I watch him work from a close distance. We thank him for coming out on such a busy Friday night, and soon we are on the road again.

I know as well as Bob that it's way too late to make it to the music festival. So, with unspoken agreement, Bob navigates the car back to the apartment complex.

Traffic finally lets up once we reach the residential sector of the city, and I'm almost disappointed. The crazy amount of cars has slowed us down, but talking with Bob as he holds my hand has made the long ride worth it. Now that we we're only five minutes away from my apartment, I feel a pang of sadness at the thought of calling it a night.

Bob parks the car in a nearby lot, and we walk the rest of the way to the brick building, hand-in-hand. He leads me up the stairs until we stop in front of my door.

"I really had a great time tonight, Bob. Thanks for everything," I tell him as he pulls me into a hug.

He smiles and says, "So did I."

He loosens his hold on my waist a little bit and leans down to kiss me. My arms snake their way around Bob's neck.

When he pulls away, Bob asks, "I'll see you soon?"

I nod in earnest, my eyes still closed. He takes my hands from the back of his neck and holds them, his hands almost covering mine entirely. He gives me one last kiss, and I watch as he makes his way back down the narrow hallway.

That night, I fall asleep peacefully, my lips still tingling, and my heart overflowing with affection.

________________________________________________________________________________

I resume my hero work promptly the morning after my date with Bob, but nothing too interesting happens for several days. Before I know it, the day of the ASA celebration has arrived, and I'm not looking forward to it.

"You'll be fine," Carla tells me over the phone a few hours before the party. She has just asked how I'm feeling. My response, to say the least, was negative.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be okay," I reply half-heartedly. "You all have done a terrific job of planning this, but I guess you can't really control nerves."

My words don't reflect the thoughts racing in my head. Tonight will be the first time I've seen Mr. Incredible since he rushed in to save the day, and my stomach is filled with dread. The way I see it, things will inevitably end in a contest between he and I.

"Exactly. I'll see you in a few hours then." Carla hangs up.

Half an hour before the party is scheduled to begin, I meet the car that is supposed to escort me to the venue, dressed in my supersuit. A few people reach out to me as I step into the car, and I give them polite waves to appease them.

The car stops in front of a building that stretches several stories high. The building is made of marble, and modern statues line the path that leads to the front door. I gape at the beauty of the glittering marble, as well as the well-kept gardens that make up the lot.

The grandness of the interior is no less than that of the exterior. I find myself in a large ballroom of sorts. The white walls are bright, but are heavily contrasted with the black marble floor. Scattered about the room are black and white high-top tables, covered in various hors d'oeuvres. A bar sits in one corner, its countertop the same material as the floor. At the back of the room are two curving staircases, both made of white marble. The two staircases meet in the middle to create an elevated platform, where there is a podium facing the crowd. Above the platform on the wall is a monstrous screen, where an automatic slideshow rolls through pictures of the woman of the hour: me.