Surviving Charming

Here it comes

Phil knocks on the cottage door, waiting for Hannah to answer. She opens it with a big smile on her face, " Hi, I'm ready to go." Phil smiles back and hands her a chocolate bar that's her favorite flavor. " Thanks. Where are we going ?" She slips it into her purse. " To dinner at this new place that just opened, called The Captain's Call, and then to the boardwalk." Hannah reaches behind the door to grab her hoodie, they walk down the steps, and he opens to car door for her to get in. They take a short drive around town as he shows her some of the sites, before pulling into the parking space for the restaurant. Sitting at a table that overlooks the water, the dining room is dimly lit and there is  a single candle in the middle of their table. Starting off with salads, he orders a beer while she opts for lemon water since she isn't old enough to drink.

"What are your plans for college? What do you have in mind to study ?" Phil asks. Hannah looks back at Phil after looking out the window at the ocean. "Business management. I own half of a company back in California, so I want to learn more about the ins and outs of it." "Oh, what kind of business ?" Phil starts eating his salad. She hesitates, " Oh, umm production, small, low budget films. A few friends needed help with financial assistance and the book keeping, so that's what I do. I can work from home and that helps me have more free time raising Gracie." Phil nods, "Oh, cool. What kind of movies?" Hannah hesitates again, not realizing she may be asked these types of questions from anyone who's not familiar with Cara Cara and the Sons. " Oh, whatever people have in mind. I don't deal with that part, I sit in the office most of the time or I work in my kitchen, handling the payroll and stuff....What about you ?"

Hoping to revert the conversation back to himself, he starts talking about his childhood, his dad, his friends, how he wants to be a chef and open his own restaurant. Their main courses come, he is having the steak while she ordered shrimp, and they share a dessert. After using the restroom and double checking that she had mints in her bag, they head out to the boardwalk. Playing some arcade games, they have some silly photos done in the photo booth, she buys a shirt for Gracie and he buys them ice cream. She says "Come on, I want to ride some rides." Bumper cars, roller coasters, and a log flume. It's getting late and he suggests their last ride be on the Ferris wheel. It's light up and glowing. After a few times the ride circles around, it stops with them sitting near the very top.

"It's so pretty up here." Hannah gushes, as she takes photos with her phone. Phil looks at her " Yea it is. I was wondering if I could take you out again. Maybe to a movie, your choice." Hannah sits back and smiles, " Yea, I'd like that." Phil starts pointing out different buildings and things he did when he was a kid. They people watch, and decide to stay on for another ride around. The breeze is picking up, and Hannah stands after the rides stops to put her hoodie on and ties her hair up. Sitting back down, Phil turns to her and leans in closer. Feeling brave, she leans into him and let's him kiss her. And not sure if it's the movement of the ride or the seafood, but she jerks her head back, pushes him against the seat, jumps up, leans over the railing, and ends up throwing up. A lot. All over whoever was standing under their ride.

With people screaming, and others laughing at her expense, she gets very embarrassed and sits back down after she feels like she is done vomiting. Looking over at Phil, who looks like he is about to vomit after seeing her do it, her cheeks burn up and she croaks, " I think I need to go." He just nods, wide eyed, not moving. After they get off the ride, he does offer her his water bottle to flush her mouth out, but didn't want to touch it after that even to throw it away for her. The ride back to his mom's was quiet and awkward. Hannah picks up a sleeping Gracie and he does drop them off at the cottage, offering to carry Gracie in but Hannah declines, telling him not to worry about it, so he stays in the car. She chokes out a thank you and shuts the car door, then goes into the cottage. After laying Gracie down, Hannah takes a fast shower and brushes her teeth. Still feeling yucky but awake, she sits on the sofa and flips through the channels on the tv before settling on a medical drama.

Thinking to herself, she texts Phil I'm sorry about our date. Probably ruined it for whoever it landed on as well. Ten minutes later, Phil texts her back It's cool. After that short response, she didn't bother to respond. Trying to figure out what happened, she went through what she ate all day. She usually didn't get sick, and the dinner was delicious, even the ice cream was fine. Maybe it was all the roller coasters that shook her up too much. Either way, that was super embarrassing. And funny. The screams from the people below them and his face, she laughed until she had tears streaming down her face. Ok, I'm officially losing it, she thought. Noticing the time, she shuts off the tv and heads to bed. Tomorrow, she's heading to  Disney with Gracie and she needs to be up early to pack.