****
Jason drove to Adventure Isle without a plan. He didn't know what to say to Mr. Kelsey. He wasn't quite prepared to admit defeat, but he didn't have much hope for a miracle, either. Some part of him thought that if he saw the park again, he might be struck by fresh inspiration, but deep down inside, he knew what the likely outcome of this meeting was. He didn't want to disappoint the older man, but Mary's—Shayne's—words kept circling in his mind. It was kinder to put the park—and by extension, Mr. Kelsey—out of his misery now, rather than string him along with half-baked promises and pointless hope.
There were fewer cars in the overgrown parking lot on this visit, which made sense as the sun was low on the horizon. Realizing how late it was, he hoped he hadn't made a mistake by driving all the way out to the boonies without at least making a call. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through the contacts, searching for Mr. Kelsey's phone number. The front booth was empty and the gate beneath the half-dark dragon was closed. Jason sighed. He supposed it would serve him right to waste an entire trip out there.
Mr. Kelsey picked up on the third ring. "Adventure Isle!"
"Hi. It's Jason. I hate to just drop in on you, but I'm at the park and—"
"You're here? I'll be right out." The call disconnected, and moments later, the great gate swung open, admitting Jason inside. He shivered with a sense of déjà vu, thinking about the door to his father's den. "Jason! How wonderful it is to see you. Come in, come in."
His first tour through the park had been lackluster; now, it was just depressing to see the half-dead blinking lights and hear the rising and falling music playing for no one. "I was hoping to hear from you."
"I'm sorry, I don't have any good news to report."
Mr. Kelsey's face fell and Jason regretted driving out there more than ever. "No one wants to invest?"
"Not yet." And probably not ever. Was he ready to deliver that final blow? How much time could he spend on this account with his promotion, his entire career, in the balance? "A park like this...it's a difficult sell."
"What would make it an easier sell?"
That was a good question. Location would make a hell of a difference, but there wasn't anything they could do about that. The proximity to the city was helpful—a family could take a day trip—but it would have been better with other tourist attractions, or at least more lodging available. There were bigger, better parks available throughout the region, and most of them more conveniently located with up-to-date attractions.
"At this point...I'm not sure."
Their previous tour did not include Mr. Kelsey's office, but now he led Jason through a door marked PRIVATE and turned on the light. The walls of the office were covered in photographs from the past sixty years—some in black and white, some in color—most of them faded and worn around the edges. The photos marked the history of the park, chronicling the passage of each year, of every new and failing trend, of generation after generation. Jason's eyes roamed over the images until his gaze landed on a familiar face. He crossed the room and stood directly in front of it, staring intently, unable to believe his eyes.
It was his mother. Young, fresh-faced, vibrant, and happy, dressed in yellow pedal pushers and white T-shirt, her red hair pulled back in a bouncy ponytail, her eyes bright and laughing. Jason turned questioning eyes to the older man and tapped lightly on the photo with his knuckle.
"Oh yes, Vivian. She worked here throughout high school, and I hoped she’d want to stick around. Maybe take over for me. But the summer she met her boyfriend, she told me she wouldn’t be coming back. Of course, I couldn’t blame her.” His smile became nostalgic, his eyes looking away, as though he was peering into the past. "Vivian and Damian. That was the last really good summer the park had. Viv worked so hard and Damian loved the place. He drove out to see her every weekend."
Jason blinked, not sure how to process what he just heard. "Damian loved the park?"
"Oh yeah. The rides, the games, the food, everything." Mr. Kelsey laughed. "Maybe that's why I did so well that summer. He couldn't get enough of the place and he insisted on paying for everything, even though Viv would have given him a roll of tickets."
Jason studied the surrounding faces until he found the features he was seeking; younger, more striking—yet more carefree—he found his father riding a dragon on the carousel.
"Mr. Kelsey, did you contact the investing firm?"
"What? Oh no. I wouldn't have ever thought of that. No, no, Damian contacted me and said he would be sending somebody over to discuss my options."
"Have you...met me before, Mr. Kelsey?"
The old man's eye twinkled. "When you were just knee-high to a grasshopper. Your favorite ride was the roller coaster."