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Most vivid amongst the memories of Will's childhood were the community days at the local amusement park in his hometown. Today was one of those days and Will was waiting in line near the front gates with his younger sisters. Each girl was chattering away over some celebrity gossip Will couldn't even pretend to understand but he smiled anyway. He finally had a day off from work and had wanted to spend time with his sisters for a while now.
Slowly the line inched forward as people entered the park. The morning sun, warm and inviting, brightened everyone's mood and excited those aching for a good time. Tom looked back over his shoulder to make sure his mother and older brother were still following him. Working at the park sucked most of the time since the pay wasn't great, the kids never behaved, and the weather was rarely enjoyable; though today Tom was really proud to work there since he could bring family for free to special events.
Even before the three of them unloaded from Joe’s car Tom had been bouncing with energy. This carried on as he rushed through the crowd practically dragging his older brother and their mother along.
"Oi! Tom slow down!" Joe hollered.
Tom hadn't turned around in time and bumped into the person in front of him. He apologized quickly and hurried off toward the employee entrance. Will stood there confused, rubbing his shoulder. He knew that boy but he couldn't remember from where and was pulled from his thoughts when his sister Mikki pulled on his arm letting him know it was their turn to buy tickets.
Once inside the park, Will and his sisters headed toward the pavilion rented out by the girls’ school and set their stuff down. It was spacious but Will knew it would fill up fast just as it had every year previous. Looking around at the surrounding tables Will inhales sharply as he recognizes a figure across the room. The boy visited the children’s museum quite often for their events and Will always spent more time staring at him than he should while getting paid to do everything but that.
Will wondered what his luck was that the same boy would bump into him this morning and he wondered if the boy recognized him too. A tug at his sleeve brought WIll back to reality.
Will’s sister Sami looked at him and said, “If you want to ride that new roller-coaster we should get in line soon.”
Will nodded. He looked back again but the boy and his family were gone.
Tom practically sprinted his way to the pavilion so they could set their stuff down and head off to find some unnecessarily long line to wait in. Joe was still lecturing Tom about not needing to move so fast.
“That’s enough Joseph, “ Mrs. Blake chuckled, “He’s just excited.”
Joe grumbled to himself but said nothing else to Tom who stopped suddenly and looked around. He could have sworn he felt someone staring at him but he saw no one that grabbed his attention. Shaking his head softly he looked at his brother and mother and smiled. Today was going to be a good day. He just knew it.
Throughout the park guests wandered around deciding if riding that last ride was worth it or if they should call it quits and head home. Will, Sami, and Mikki stood in line to ride the Ferris wheel as their last ride of the day, as had been the family tradition for longer than Will could remember. Their day had been a long one filled with fun and sugar highs from too much candyfloss, and now the Schofield girls stood together sleepily in front of Will.
“Next!” called out the ride operator.
He gestured for Will’s sisters to get into the seat and they giggled quietly as they left their brother behind. From the seat of the Ferris wheel the girls could see the boy their brother had been staring at all day. Will smiled at them and waved as the wheel lurched forward and whisked them higher into the sky.
Joe noticed him first. The tall blond haired boy his brother had been eyeing everytime they crossed paths that day. Tom was distracted talking to a coworker operating a neighboring ride and Joe took this as his chance to play matchmaker. Joe leaned over and whispered to his mother his plan. Mrs. Blake had never considered herself to be a meddler by any means, but Tom was so obvious with his feelings that she felt giving him this push just once couldnt hurt.
When the ride operator called for the next pair Joe pushed Tom forward surprising him enough that he gasped. Tom looked up to see the boy he had been crushing on for weeks, ever since he took those bratty kids he babysat to the children’s museum for the first time, and slowly stepped into the cart with the ride operator’s help. Tom looked anywhere but at the man sitting next to him as the ride lurched forward. The first time he had seen Will was at the children's museum’s Paint Palooza and it had left Tom with the unwavering desire to marry the man on the spot.
Joe and his mother were laughing from the ground and Tom could hear them, his face growing redder with each chuckle. As the wheel took them higher neither of them spoke. Their hands brushed against each other lightly and neither boy pulled away. Instead Will plucked up the courage and linked their pinkies together. Tom choked on air. The Ferris wheel stopped at the very top with a view overlooking the town.
“I hope this is okay,” Will hesitated, “I don’t mean to overstep any boundaries you may have.”
Tom nodded hoping Will understood. His heart beat erratically as he tried to settle his nerves. Will gazes at Tom taking in his features under the mixture of natural moonlight and manmade LEDs. Turning his head to the right Tom looked gently up at Will meeting his eyes for the first time. His nerves overcoming him he held Will’s pinky tighter.
“I-I’m Tom. T-Tom Blake.” he stammered out.
“Nice to finally meet you Tom. I’m Will Schofield, but I have a feeling you already knew my name.”
Tom blushed, “Maybe.”
Will laughed quietly and Tom’s heart almost leaped out of his chest at the sound. The feeling of Will’s fingers on his, Will’s laugh, the way he smiled at him, Tom never wanted it to stop. In true Tom fashion the words were out of his mouth before he even realised what he had said, but once he had realized he whined in embarrassment resting his head on the cold metal bar locking him into the seat beside Will. Recovering from the momentary shock, Will took his right hand and placed it on Tom’s cheek guiding him to look at Will.
“I’d love to go out with you,” asserted Will, “I’m free after work on next Tuesday if that works for you?”
Tom’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it. Quickly stuttering out his reply he made a mental note to tell Parry not to expect him for the pickup game that afternoon. Will leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Tom’s forehead as the Ferris wheel began to descend for the final time. Tom was bright red as the ride operator unclipped the bar holding them down in the swinging cart.
Gently stepping down off the ride, Will held Tom steady. Spotting his sisters on a bench near the concession stand he walked with Tom in that direction. Tom could see his brother leaning against the wall as his mother talked to two young girls on the bench beside Joe. Mikki was the first to notice nudging her twin to look at their brother and the other boy walking in their direction. An excited scream rang out as they saw their brother and the shorter boy’s hand intertwined.
Both boys looked embarrassed but neither pulled away. The Schofield sisters shared a smile. They were happy their brother had found someone at last. He worked a lot and always looked so tired and grumpy they were afraid he had scared everyone away and may never be happy. Will was oblivious to this of course; he was too busy wishing for his sister’s happiness in the absence of their parents to worry about himself.
Mrs. Blake wrapped her arms around Will in the warmest hug he had felt in years.
“Welcome to the family my boy. Now Tom probably failed to mention our little family dinners on Sunday nights, so I thought I’d personally extend the invitation to you and your sisters here.”
Joe didn’t even give Will the opportunity to reply before stepping in front of him poking a finger into Will’s chest.
“Don’t go hurting my little brother or I’ll have to hurt you understood.”
Mrs. Blake swats him on the arm, “Joseph Blake you behave now! That is not a bridge we need to cross at this very moment and I’m sure this boy has every intention of treating our Tommy wonderfully.”
“Yes ma’am I do.” Will replied. With that confirmation the two families unknowingly merge into one under the promise of family dinners and tickets to the girls upcoming dance recitals and school events. The linkage of hands broken as the two boys part ways, but the newly acknowledged feelings for each other linking them permanently as one.