“What is it?” he asked.
“Look,” she said, nodding toward the empty parking lot. “We're the only ones here. I'm pretty sure it's closed.”
Ethan smiled. “Oh yeah, it's closed. It actually doesn't open up for another week.”
“If it's closed, then we can't get it,” she whispered. “What will we do? The kids are so excited. Maybe we can find another pool somewhere.”
“It's actually a good thing that it's closed,” he said.
“How so?” Laura asked, not understanding. Closed was bad.
“Because,” he said, taking her hand. “If it weren't closed, then I wouldn't be able to do this. Come with me.”
Ethan took Laura in his right hand and Dallas in his left. Ivy held onto Laura as they approached the gate. As soon as they got close to the main entrance, a young man in khakis and a blue polo shirt stepped out to greet them.
“Good morning, Mr. White,” the man said with a friendly smile.
“Good morning,” Ethan replied. “Is everything ready?”
Laura's jaw hit the sidewalk.
No way, she thought. Did he do what I think he did? Did he rent out Water World for us, before anybody else could get in?
She glanced past the employee, noticing that none of the rides were moving. There wasn't anybody else there at all.
“We have everything set up for you as requested,” the man said. “I'll go ahead and notify everyone that you're here. We aren't full
y staffed today, as you can imagine, but please let me know whenever there's a ride you'd like to try, and I'll make sure that someone is there to start it. We do have lifeguards on duty. The park is all yours today. Please let me know if there's anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable.”
Ethan glanced at the kids who were ready to jump up and down with excitement. “I think we're ready.”
“In that case, please follow me,” the man said, then turned around to lead the group through the turnstiles. He walked for a few feet and then stopped. “Oh, and Mr. White, the wave pool with the adjustments you requested is just around the corner there. Just go past the funnel cake kiosk, and it's on the right. You can't miss it. It's all ready to go, just like you requested. Hope you enjoy it.”
“We most definitely will.” Ethan squeezed Laura's hand.
She stood next to him with an expression of pure joy mixed with a little bit of shock. If she had learned anything about billionaires, it was that they could afford anything they wanted. This was beyond amazing. Water World was one of the most popular parks in the entire state, and he'd somehow managed to get them to open early and have it stocked with employees to run the rides. It must have cost him a small fortune, and he did it all for Laura and the kids. She felt all warm and fuzzy.
“So, if I heard that guy correctly, we have this entire park to ourselves,” Laura said, facing Ethan. “Did I hear that right, or am I going crazy?”
“You heard it right,” Ethan said. “It's all ours for today. No lines on the rides, no screaming kids, just the four of us hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.”
She didn't know what to say. She was overwhelmed with happiness, and tears of joy made their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks.
“Sorry,” she said, wiping the tears away. “I don't mean to cry. I just can't believe how sweet you are. You're way too good to us. You know that?”
“Not true,” he said. “I can never be good enough. That's a fact.”
“Laura, can we go on the water slides?” Ivy asked, her face beaming with excitement. “I want to go on the dinosaur one!”
“Of course, Ivy,” Laura told her. “We can go on any ride we want. Ethan made it so that we won't have to wait in any lines. The whole park is ours for the day. Can you believe that?”
Ivy seemed confused at first, and so did Dallas. She stared at Laura and then back to Ethan.
“Wait, so we're the only ones who are allowed in here all day?” Ivy asked.
Ethan nodded. “Yeah, kiddo. It's just us. We can do whatever we want. Also, I heard through the grapevine, that in about an hour or so we'll be getting some ice cream. It could just be a rumor, but I'd like to believe it's true.”
The two kids got so excited they started skipping across the sidewalk and whooping. From where Laura stood, it seemed that they were happier than they had been in almost two years.