Carousel Nights

by Amie Denman

  Guests strolled the midway on the hot July evening. Because most of the park patrons who stayed late were adults and teens, the line for the old-fashioned carousel contained only a handful of people.

  “We can ride twice,” June suggested.

  “Once will probably be enough for me,” Ian said. “We’re just trying to get the flavor.”

  He mounted a painted horse next to June.

  “You could have gotten the flavor a lot closer to New York City. There’s a carousel in Central Park,” she said. “You had to fly into Detroit and rent a car to get here.”

  Cassie took a horse on the other side and shrugged. “Summer vacation. And we get to see you.”

  June suspected there was more to the story. After a few drinks at the hotel lounge, she imagined her friends would try convincing her to give up Starlight Point for an early return to the city. The carousel lurched into action and June and her friends filled a row going up and down on their fancy horses. It was the first time June had been on the carousel in years even though she heard the music all day, every day. It was fun holding on to the shiny pole and getting a cinematic view of the front midway.

  Perhaps it was the lights and the movement that made her heart lurch when she thought of leaving in eight weeks.

  * * *

  MEL SUPERVISED BATH and bedtime, making sure Ross put on clean pajamas and brushed his teeth. He shut out the light in Ross’s room and headed to the small kitchen for a cold beer to keep him company while he mellowed out in front of the television.

  He sunk into a recliner and picked up the remote, hoping he’d recorded his favorite home-renovation series. Before he even found the recorded shows, shrill ringing from the kitchen interrupted him.

  Rats. The stupid cell phone was on the metal table, a table that amplified the noise. If Ross was already asleep, it would wake him. Mel shot out of his recliner and grabbed the phone, silencing the ringer. He didn’t want to answer it, but the caller ID told him it was his right-hand man at the Point. Galway wouldn’t call unless something major was going on.

  “Hello,” he said. Don’t make me put on my shoes and come over there.

  “Sorry to bug you. False fire alarm at the hotel, and the damn thing won’t shut off. I think it’s an electrical spike triggering it. Or something electrical.”

  “That’s too bad. I just took off my shoes and opened a beer,” Mel said.

  “Very funny. My wife will come and sit with Ross so you can get over here. I already called her,” Galway said.

  Mel blew out a breath.

  “As soon as she gets here, I’ll get on the road.”

  Galway lived three blocks from Mel, and this wasn’t the first time his wife, a retired nurse, jumped in to help with Ross when Mel got called to an emergency. Mel’s parents would also help, but he hated to run them over when they were probably side by side in matching recliners watching PBS. Ross probably wouldn’t wake up, and if he did, he knew Mira Galway and liked her.

  Mel pulled on his work boots and laced them. He didn’t bother to change into a Starlight Point maintenance uniform. His loose jeans and T-shirt were good enough to go behind the scenes and check the electrical panel at the hotel. He even skipped the company name tag.

  He switched on the outdoor light for Mira and waited until she was safely in the house and he heard the lock click. Another late night for him. Even if it was a quick fix, he’d stay on scene at the hotel for at least an hour to make sure he’d knocked out whatever was triggering the alarm. Hotel guests outside in their pajamas was not part of the customer service package the Point wanted people to remember.

  At least it was a hot night. He drove straight to the hotel, taking the curves on the Old Road as quickly as he could without compromising the safety of oncoming cars. The lights of the coasters and rides flashed and chased on his right as he rounded the peninsula.

  Parking in the loading dock area, he strode quickly to the control panel room. This had happened before, last year, so he knew where to start. Galway had the panels open, a look of satisfaction on his face.

  “Called you too soon,” he said. “Think I got it—”

  The fire alarm mounted on the wall pierced the room with noise and strobe lights.

  “Maybe not,” Galway shouted.

  Mel opened the battery backup panel and motioned for Galway to shine a light inside. In less than five minutes, Mel found the faulty electrical circuit that triggered the alarm. The system was set up to default to battery in the event of power loss, but a faulty switch wrongly attributed a loss of power to an actual alarm.

  “Got it,” Mel said. He jumpered the switch and the alarm silenced. “Have to make a more permanent fix after we get a new switch, but it should shut this thing up for the night. Hope we have one in maintenance.”

  “I’ll go look,” Galway said. He peered at the switch, took a quick picture with his cell phone and headed for his pickup also parked in the loading zone.

  Mel wandered over to the lobby, original to the century-old hotel. Gleaming hardwood floors, wicker furniture, a carousel horse in the center. Jack, in his usual business suit, stood at the check-in desk talking with the night manager.

  Soothing ruffled feathers among the hotel guests. Not a fun job.

  Mel gave Jack a thumbs-up but didn’t approach the desk. Not wearing a uniform or a name tag, he didn’t have to listen to complaints or officially represent the company tonight. He could hide out on the patio and hold his breath, hoping the alarm was finished for the night. When Galway texted, he’d meet him in the control room and fix the problem for good.

  Guests milled through the doors, some of them in bathrobes and bare feet. The hotel lounge had also been evacuated with the fire alarms, and guests were strolling back in from the beach with glasses of wine and beer in their hands.

  One of the guests was tall with long brown hair. She held a glass of wine and walked so closely with her friends they bumped hips and shoulders as they headed inside.

  Who were those people with June Hamilton? He’d never seen them around Starlight Point. They didn’t look like summer workers. Their clothing and hair was too...flashy and fancy—even the man in the group who had his arm around June.

  Would June take her eyes off her friends long enough to see him as he stood by a pillar just off the lobby?

  Laughing, June set her wineglass on a table for four and sat with her friends. The two women with June were blondes in two shades, very slender and pretty. The man was average height and rail-thin. His tight red jeans were rolled at the ankle and he wore loafers with no socks.

  Mel glanced down at his faded Levi’s and boots. Maybe he should go back to the control room and wait for Galway.

  Just as he resolved to slink through the lobby and hide, June glanced up and saw him. She stopped midsentence and stared, wineglass in hand.

  She crooked a finger and beckoned to him, inviting him to her table.

  Bad idea.

  He did it anyway. As he approached, he noticed June’s friends turning to look at him. They probably wondered who or what June was staring at.

  June stood. “Hi, Mel.”

  “Hello.”

  “I’m guessing you’re here because of the fire alarm,” she said.

  “Almost fixed. Galway went to the shop for a part and then we’ll get it done for good.”

  “Thanks.” She gestured to the other people at the table. “These are my friends Cassie, Macy and Ian.” She pointed them out individually as she said their names and Mel shook hands with each. “They’re from New York City. We became friends working together on Broadway.”

  “You’re all dancers?” Mel asked.

  They nodded.

  “We’re here to drag June back with us,” the man, Ian, said. “She’s burying her talent here.”
>
  Mel turned to June. “You’re leaving?”

  “Of course not,” she said quickly. “I’m staying all summer. Just like I said.”

  It sounded like she was protesting a little too much. Maybe he was just afraid to follow this train of thought. Letting himself get close to June the past few weeks, he’d told himself he still had two months before she left.

  Not if she changed her mind and left early. There was, technically, nothing stopping her.

  “Now that your knee is better,” the blonde to June’s right said, “there’ll be nothing stopping you from getting a great part.”

  June’s face flushed even brighter, uneven spots coloring it, and she gave her friend a look that said shut up.

  She had a knee injury? She’d never mentioned that. The other two people at the table looked surprised, too. What else had June not shared with him? His mind flashed to that painfully thin dancer they’d driven to the hospital. What kind of world was Broadway?

  A world where he obviously didn’t belong.

  “Have a drink with us,” one of the blondes offered. Is she Cassie or Macy? Didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to get to know them. Especially after they bundled June off to Broadway and never looked back.

  “No, thanks,” he said. “I have to get back to work.”

  “You work here?” the other blonde asked.

  Cassie or Macy must not have followed the earlier part of the conversation.

  Mel nodded. “Head of maintenance at Starlight Point.”

  “The whole thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “So that’s how you know June,” Ian said.

  Like he needed to explain to these strangers that he’d actually known June since he was seven. But how much water would that hold when compared to Broadway and the fancy life this trio seemed to represent?

  Mel crossed his arms and tried to paste a friendly expression on his face. “How long are you staying in the area?”

  “We’re staying in this hotel right here two nights,” the other blonde said. “And then we have to get back to our show.”

  “I’ll try to make sure the fire alarm doesn’t disturb you anymore tonight,” Mel said. Even though he wasn’t sure he meant it. “Enjoy your visit. Good night.”

  He turned to walk away.

  “Mel,” June said behind his back. “Are you headed home in a little while?”

  “I hope so. Hour or so.”

  “Would you drop me off at home on your way?”

  He should say yes. She was a friend. More than a friend. And he wanted her to get home safely. But he didn’t have space for drama in his life right now. Did he want to fight the appeal of her friends and her dream from the big city?

  Not tonight. He had a job to do and a son waiting at home.

  “I saw your brother in the lobby,” he said. “He’ll be going your way in a while. I’ll tell him to find you before he leaves.”

  June set down her glass and drew her eyebrows together. She looked like a little girl who wasn’t having a good time at her own birthday party.

  Whatever was going on with June and her friends, Mel reminded himself it was really none of his business, no matter how much he wanted to pull the fire alarm and run away with June while no one was looking.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THE FOURTH OF JULY was an explosion waiting to happen. Weather forecast calling for scorching heat and humidity, presale tickets off the charts and a June flame under his collar had made Mel stand in a tepid shower a long time before putting on his uniform. As the head of maintenance, he could give himself the holiday off, but he never did. Anything could happen with that many people, that degree of heat and that drain on the park’s power systems.

  Last year’s fireworks show had been reduced, saving money but not making much of a dent in the celebration. Mel had carefully avoided taking sides with the Hamiltons over this year’s expenditure. Jack wanted to go big with the fireworks and spend the same kind of money Ford Hamilton used to. Evie wanted to be conservative, as always. He had no idea what June wanted, if she even had a say.

  The Starlight Point fireworks show was a huge draw and a local tradition, with people already staking out their chunk of shoreline over at Bayside Park for a great view across the bay. But a few extra mortars and minutes didn’t mean life or death to Mel. Decisions like that reminded him he was glad he wasn’t in charge.

  From a practical perspective, he could see why June didn’t want to be tethered to Starlight Point.

  But he couldn’t imagine how she could leave.

  Or what he was going to do when she did.

  With an hour to go before the park opened to the flood of July Fourth guests, heat saturated the midway and sent trickles of sweat down Mel’s back.

  In front of the Star Spiral, in a relatively open and quiet part of Starlight Point, June had dreamed up a Fourth of July live show. Summer crew mixed with year-round carpenters had built the stage in sections, waiting until this morning to haul it over and set it up. Throughout the day, June would oversee its decoration while Mel’s electricians set up lights and ran wire for sound. It was an insane plan for an insane day, but Mel had to admit it would be a firecracker of a show.

  The fireworks would be set off right behind the stage, on the beach. He had no doubt the singing and dancing would draw a crowd, and who could argue with fireworks for a grand finale?

  “Busy day,” Jack commented as he leaned against a light post near the temporary stage.

  “Lots of presale, I hear.”

  “Thirty thousand. And I’d guess that’s about half of today’s total.”

  “Hot weather.”

  “But dry. No rain, no storms. Wall-to-wall people and sun.”

  Mel flipped some switches on the temporary breaker box he’d set up on the stage. He shielded his eyes from the morning sun, straining to see which lights came on. Satisfied, he switched them all off and sat on the edge of the stage.

  “We’ll be ready,” he said.

  Jack sat next to him, drinking coffee out of a white paper cup.

  “Too hot for that stuff,” Mel said, leaning back on his elbows and crossing his long legs at the ankles.

  “Yep, but Gus made it for me, so I couldn’t turn it down.”

  “Newlywed,” Mel said, chuckling. “As I recall, July Fourth is some kind of anniversary for you two.”

  “Rumor has it.”

  The rumors had flown like fireworks last year when Jack and Gus finally surrendered to the sparks between them. His invitation to a fireworks viewing on the Star Spiral had spawned plenty of jokes about their long private ride.

  Jack polished off his coffee and crumpled the cup. “You got any special plans for the fireworks tonight? Bringing Ross?”

  Mel shook his head. “Too much chaos here. I’m taking a few hours off this afternoon. Bringing Ross to a picnic at my parents’ house. They’ll take him downtown Bayside to watch the fireworks tonight.”

  “Better view from there anyway,” Jack commented.

  “And it keeps him out of the crowds and traffic. I’ll come back and be on duty tonight. With the heat and thousands of people, you never know what could happen.”

  “Party in the lot afterward?”

  “Why not? Ross is staying the night with my folks, so I have no reason to rush home.”

  Jack leaned back on his elbows, mirroring Mel’s relaxed posture and crossing a long set of legs—just a little longer than Mel’s.

  “Notice how I have carefully avoided grilling you about my sister.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  They exchanged a quick uncomfortable glance.

  “Not sure how things are between you, and I’m not going to ask,” Jack said.

  “Appreciat
e that. I’m not sure what I’d tell you, if I was going to say anything about it.”

  “Glad her friends from the big city didn’t stay long,” Jack commented. “I gather they were disappointed when she refused to go back with them.”

  Mel shrugged. “June can make up her own mind about her future.” Mel watched one of the food vendors shoving a big cart with a bad wheel and made a mental note to have someone fix it later. He turned to Jack. “Did June hurt her knee a while back?”

  Mel knew his best friend well enough to know the look of surprise was genuine. “Not that I know of,” Jack said. “Why?”

  Mel shrugged. “I must have misunderstood something.”

  It was strangely reassuring that June’s own brother didn’t know about it, either. Trusting June with his heart—even a tiny bit of it—was the most dangerous thing Mel had done in a long time. He knew he was playing with fire.

  They were both silent a minute, watching dozens of summer employees scattering around the midway, preparing to take up their posts for a busy day. Mel wondered where Jack stood on the whole issue of June’s leaving. Had he and Evie asked her to stay? What kind of partner could she be from hundreds of miles away? All the Hamiltons were tight, Mel being the only outsider who’d ever been roped into the family circle. But there were still things he wasn’t going to ask.

  “Glad we talked about it.” Jack stood up, towering briefly over his longtime friend. “If you need to know anything, I’d recommend asking Evie. That’s where I get all my information.”

  Jack walked away and Mel turned his attention back to the electrical panel.

  Today’s heat would tax air conditioners all day long. Mel had the prickling fear that some of the older transformers wouldn’t be able to handle the load. Even if only one of them blew, it would cause a massive diversion to the others and they could fall like dominoes.

  “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” he muttered, eyeing the huge lights and speakers on the stage.

  “Why not?” June asked, surprising him by ducking out a hidden entrance on the side of the stage.