“You just—you make things easier.” Maybe that was silly, but true was true.
“Thanks, I’d like to take credit, but everything is easier with two people, pretty.” Mari sat next to her while the staff tucked the crutches into a little net by the door.
“Maybe.” But she knew better. It wasn’t more people. It was Mari.
“Okay, lovebirds. It’s a beautiful clear day. Make sure you look down and find downtown Summit Springs. Have fun!” The staff closed the doors and after a little lurch, they were moving.
“Oh… Oh, my god, Mari!” She grabbed Marissa’s hand and held on, her heart racing with the sudden height.
Marissa laughed and put an arm around her. “You’re not afraid of heights are you?”
“Of course not!” Goddess, this was high. Like really high. She held onto Mari’s hand, though, even if she wasn’t scared.
“Good.” Mari held on too, leaning close. “It’s so beautiful. Look at the view…the snow is sparkling.”
“It’s like a carpet of diamonds.” And she felt like that was a good omen, like the Ten of Pentacles in the future.
Mari kissed her cheek. “We’re lucky to get all of this special treatment. When I agreed to come out alone, I thought that would be it. Alone.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t.” Bekka couldn’t believe that someone wanted to hurt Mari, but she was also glad that she had this chance to try again.
She was tickled that Mari had filled out the entry form, which seemed so unlike her lover.
Fate.
The tram swayed, and she held on tight.
“Windy up here, huh? Look, you can see people skiing. They’re so tiny.”
“Uh-huh.” Windy? More like gusty. Big gusty. Huge. “They make it look so easy.”
“It’s not easy and you need to stop—”
The gondola lurched just after it rolled over a support tower and they halted abruptly, literally swinging in the wind.
“Mari!” Her heart stopped. It just stopped. This wasn’t going to work for her. At all.
Marissa squeezed her hand tight. “No worries. These things stop all the time. They’re probably loading the next—”
They started to move and then jerked to stillness abruptly again.
“It’s fine. Totally normal.” Mari’s voice was calm but that grip on her hands hadn’t let up.
“Y-yeah? You think?” She wasn’t sure she could even fake calm. Not right now.
“I’m sure this happens a lot. We’ll just sit tight and breathe. It’ll start up again in a minute.”
A voice came through a speaker in the wall of the gondola car, but it was staticky and broken up. “Interruption in service…wind…engineers are restoring…back shortly.”
Mari snorted. “God, that’s almost worse than the subway speakers.”
Bekka felt her stomach drop through her body and slam on the floor. She forced out a whispered. “Are we going to be stuck up here?”
“No.” Mari turned to her and looked at her hard, right into her eyes. “No, we’re not going to be stuck. It’s okay. It’s scary right now, but we’re fine. We’re going to be fine.”
“Right.” She was fine. Mari was fine. They were fine. “We’re so having shots after this.”
“Yes. Several. God, I wish I had some weed.” Mari peered up at the sky. “So…who do you…like, who’s your higher power? Maybe put in a good word? That might make you feel better.”