Chapter 2
It was almost three hours into their drive and Dizzy had secretly watched both of Ana’s movies. She now was asleep, and Dizzy’s mom sat in silence. Dizzy looked out the window and watched the rows of trees in the fields next to the freeway running alongside the car. Dizzy felt bad his mom had no one to talk to, so he took off his headphones.
“Don’t the rows of trees look like sprinter’s legs running next to us?” Dizzy asked.
“I’ve never thought of it like that,” his mom replied as she looked out the window at the trees. “Yeah, I guess they do.”
Michelle had been on several dates since the divorce, but not once had she introduced her date to Dizzy and Ana. She and Steve were now serious enough for this important step. She was extremely nervous when she told him that she wanted him to meet her kids, not knowing what his reaction would be. She expected a response anywhere from pure excitement to him running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. What she didn’t expect was for him to offer to pay for her and her kids to go on vacation to Disneyland so they could meet each other in the best possible setting.
She wanted Steve to like Dizzy and Ana, but she REALLY wanted Dizzy and Ana to like Steve. She knew Ana would be her normal, sweet self and was nothing to worry about. What worried her was how Dizzy was going to respond to meeting Steve and his son Travis.
“Steve has told me a lot about his son Travis,” Michelle said, breaking another long silence. “He is your age and from what Steve tells me, you two have a lot in common. I really do think you two are going to get along great.”
Michelle’s cell phone started ringing, and Dizzy laughed as it took her 25 seconds to get her Bluetooth earpiece into her ear. By the time it was in, the ringing had stopped. Dizzy’s mom was never comfortable with technology, so just the fact that she owned a Bluetooth headset made her feel like she was from the future. She and Steve had gone shopping at an electronics store a few days earlier to get her some items for the trip, and she was still trying to get used to the new technology. The phone started ringing again, and with her earpiece finally installed, she pressed the button and answered.
“THIS IS MICHELLE….HELLO?...YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I’M ON MY BLUETEETH THING!”
She was screaming into the headset, apparently trying to deafen whoever had called her. Ana awoke instantly and dropped the Mickey Mouse doll she was using as her pillow. Dizzy reached over and picked the stuffed animal up and set it back in his sister’s arms.
“It’s called Bluetooth mom,” Dizzy corrected. “Not Blueteeth.”
Michelle put her hand over her ear piece and turned back to Dizzy.
“Same thing.”
It was Steve calling to see how the drive had been so far. He had wanted to pay for the three of them to fly down to Anaheim with him and his son, but Michelle refused. He was already paying for the hotel, tickets to the park, and their meals. Michelle told him that was more than enough and insisted on driving to Anaheim. Steve explained to her that they had just landed and were waiting for their luggage. He was going to drop off Travis at the hotel and attend to some business in Los Angeles before Dizzy’s family arrived.
“What do you have to do in L.A.?” Michelle asked.
“Just have a few things I need to get signed downtown,” Steve said. “Nothing major. I will be back at the hotel before you guys get here. I promise.”
“You better be,” Michelle replied. “You know how I feel about people breaking promises.”
“I haven’t broken one yet, have I?” Steve answered.
She giggled, they exchanged their goodbyes, and nearly 15 presses of the buttons on her headset later, their call ended.
The family made a quick pit stop for lunch, gas, and a bathroom break at a small truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Dizzy and Ana looked at the pre made sandwiches on display in the glass case in disgust.
“When were these sandwiches made?” Dizzy asked his mom. “I think that one on the end is older than Ana.”
“I've never eaten something older than me,” Ana said excitedly. “Can I try it?”
“Let's just skip the sandwiches,” Michelle said. “You two grab a few bags of chips and something to drink.”
“Chips for lunch?” Ana asked. “This vacation is awesome!”
They bought their snacks, hit the restroom, filled up the gas tank, and were back on the road south to Anaheim.
Ana had been watching the mileage markers count down the remaining miles to Los Angeles. Like most kids her age, places like Disneyland, Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Anaheim all meant the same thing. As the miles to Los Angeles counted down, Ana’s excitement grew.
“Only twenty more miles!” Ana exclaimed. Their van was just outside of Los Angeles, and Ana was already looking out the window, hoping to catch sight of Matterhorn Mountain or some other tall Disneyland landmark.
“We still have quite a ways to go sweetie,” her mom said. “Anaheim is south of L.A. We still have about an hour until we get to our hotel. Even longer if traffic is bad.”
Ana’s excitement deflated as she pulled The Lion King out of her DVD case, slid it into the player, and smashed her headphones down over her curly blond hair.
Ana was an active and friendly six-year-old girl. She loved Barbies, hula-hoops, and jump ropes. She played soccer and basketball, but spent more time talking to her friends on the other team than worrying where the ball was. She also idolized her older brother, which is to be expected ever since he saved her life.
The Walker family lived near a small reservoir and every morning during the summer, Dizzy and Ana would head to the shore right after breakfast. They would skip rocks, go fishing, and swim. One summer, when Dizzy was thirteen and Ana was three, they were exploring the hill just past the reservoir and found an old canoe. Someone had thrown it into the tall weeds and forgotten about it. The paint was peeling and the wood looked rotted. Inside the canoe were two old oars.
“Looks like fun,” Dizzy said. “Want to go for a ride?”
Ana laughed and Dizzy pushed the canoe down the hill and onto the shore. He flipped it over to check for any holes, and was satisfied the boat wouldn’t take on any water. He dug his feet into the shore and pushed the canoe into the reservoir. He waded into the water, holding the canoe steady so Ana could climb in. They both got on board and Dizzy began paddling with the oars. Ana sat in the front of the boat, and looked out over the water.
As they rowed further away from the shore, Ana thought she saw and a fish and stood up. The canoe started rocking, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the water. Ana didn’t know how to swim and began to sink. Dizzy screamed and dove in after her. He kicked to propel himself deeper and reached with both arms, but felt nothing. The water was dark and murky and he couldn’t see anything. His heart was racing and his lungs burned. He continued to kick and reached out one last time and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her close to him, wrapped his arms around her and kicked back toward the surface. They both emerged, gasping for air. Dizzy continued to kick and paddle toward the canoe until Ana was close enough to hold on to the side. He boosted her up and in, and slowly climbed in himself.
“I’m so sorry Ana,” Dizzy said, trying to catch his breath. “This was such a stupid idea. You almost drowned.”
Ana was lying on the bottom of the canoe, crying and taking heavy breaths.
“You just relax Ana. I’ll get us back to shore.”
Dizzy rowed slowly back to shore. When they were close enough, Dizzy climbed out of the boat and stood up in the water. He leaned into the canoe and bent down to pick up Ana. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
“Thanks Dizzy,” she said quietly. “You’re my hero.”
That was the last time Ana was in any body of water that was bigger than a bathtub. She never learned how to swim and was terrified of boats. Dizzy held himself completely responsible and swore to himself that he
would do anything to keep his sister safe and happy from then on.
As the opening lines of “Circle of Life” began to play, Ana motioned to Dizzy to take off his headphones.
“Want to play?” she asked smiling.
For years, Dizzy was the only babysitter that Ana would ever allow to watch her. When their parents both had to work or on the rare occasion they went out to dinner together, Dizzy was put in charge. Since their parents’ divorce, they had become even closer. Dizzy made sure she was ready for school every morning, walked her to and from school, and sat with her while she did her homework. After homework was done, he would try to get her to sit and watch a basketball game or an episode of The Simpsons with him, but she only wanted to watch her movies.
She had a regular rotation of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast and watched little else. By the time Ana was five she was reciting most of the dialogue along with the mermaid, lion, genie, and candlestick. Over time, she and Dizzy developed a game to see who could recite the most lines without making a mistake. If someone misspoke or forgot a line, the other person immediately would take over and continue the scene. Whoever was able to hold on and say the final line of the movie would be the winner.
“Sure, but you have to do all the songs,” Dizzy replied. He knew Ana’s favorite part was getting to sing the songs, and since he wasn’t going to let down his “too cool for Disney” persona, he wouldn’t be caught dead singing “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.”
“...Life’s not fair, is it? You see I, well I, shall never be king...” Ana began, quoting the villain Scar. The game continued back and forth for about an hour. Dizzy and Ana were enjoying the movie and didn’t notice the van was slowing down, heading toward the off ramp.
“Hey guys,” Michelle said, looking at them through her rear view mirror. “See anything interesting out of the window?”
Ana’s head bolted sideways to look out the window, hoping to see something, anything that meant they finally arrived. She alternated looking out her window and Dizzy’s, back and forth.
“Stop, you are making me dizzy,” Dizzy said.
“You’re always dizzy, Dizzy,” Ana replied. It was her favorite joke, poking fun at her brother’s nickname. “What side is it on? I don’t see anything! WHERE IS IT?”
Through the trees the white of Matterhorn Mountain could be seen, and as Ana pushed her face against the window, the famous Monorail Train suddenly appeared on the track running parallel to their van.
“WE’RE HERE!” she screamed. “Disneyland! I’m so excited! What ride are we going on first?”
“No rides yet,” Michelle said. “Remember, we have to meet Steve and Travis at the hotel. Then get checked in and drop off our luggage.”
Ana let out a depressed groan. Being this close to Disneyland and having to drive away from it felt like torture.
“Don’t worry Ana, we will be there soon,” Dizzy said comfortingly.
The combination of seeing the Monorail, glimpses of the park, and his little sister’s excitement had sent his heart racing. His friends weren’t with him and he no longer cared about keeping his cool. He was literally steps away from his favorite place in the world and he couldn’t wait to go through the turnstile and get back inside the park.
Dizzy joined in as Ana started singing “Zippity Doo Dah.” They looked out the back window to see the Disneyland landmarks shrinking behind them. As they drove further away from Disneyland toward their hotel, Dizzy turned back around in his seat and saw his mom holding a small digital video camera.
“Isn’t this thing great?” Michelle said excitedly, pointing the camcorder toward Dizzy over her shoulder. Dizzy froze in the middle of the song, his mouth hung open. “Steve got it for us. I am going to record our whole trip and put it up on the YouTubes.”
Dizzy stared blankly at the camera. So much for not having to act cool this trip, he thought to himself.
“It’s YouTube,” he said. “Not YouTubes.”
“Same thing,” Michelle said. “Now keep singing! This will be the opening credits for our family movie!”
Ana and her mom continued singing as they pulled up to their hotel, while Dizzy tried his best to turn himself invisible in the backseat.
“Plenty of sunshine heading my way. Zippity doo dah, zippity aye!”