22. Tunnel

We’re running past the crowds that are all lined up to get on rides at the fun fair when Hallie points out where we’re heading.

“You can’t be serious,” I quickly cross my arms and dig my heels into the muddy field.
“Come on, Len,” she tugs at my elbow, “don’t be like that, it’ll be fun!”
“For you and Charlie, maybe,” I pout, “I’ll just be sitting on the damn dock and waiting while you two are macking on in there.”
She rolls her eyes and drags me toward The Tunnel of Love.
“Charlie’s bringing a friend,” she giggles. I pull my elbow away from her grip.
“Hallie, no, I refuse to get jumped by another one of Charlie’s horndog friends.”
“Oh come on, they’re not like that!” she begins to whine, “and anyway, Glen isn’t like that, you’ll see.”
I have no idea what that means. All I know is Hallie has terrible judgement and I am being dragged to the least interesting ride at the fair.
Charlie is standing there when we make it to the dock, talking to a tall boy with sandy hair and glasses. Hallie leaps towards Charlie like a boisterous puppy. It’s unbearable to watch them lapping at each other.
The boy smiles at me politely, “Hi, I’m-”
“Glen!” Hallie interrupts, coming up for air from Charlie’s grip, “This is Lenny.”
He looks at me with a curious expression.
“Ha!” Hallie laughs loudly, “Len and Glen! You two are meant to be together!”
Glen blushes violently at her comment, I’m glad I’m not the only one who is finding this to be an ordeal. Charlie pries himself away from Hallie long enough to offer to pay for the tickets, Glen goes with him to pay for mine.
“See?” Hallie says, snuggling up next to me, “He’s different, right?”
She’s got that much right about Glen, he seems shyer than the other knuckleheads she’s dumped on me at parties and trips to the movies.
“So…not so bad, right?” Hallie presses.
“It’s fine, I guess,” I roll my eyes as she squeezes me with an excited hug.
When the boys come back Charlie insists that Glen and I take the first boat. Hallie frowns that they’ll have to wait, completely unaware that this is on purpose.

Glen helps me step into the little boat on the water then steps in next to me.
“Thanks for paying,” I say, not looking at him.
“Oh, sure thing,” he says quietly.
We lurch forward as the ride begins, and Glen's hand falls onto mine. I immediately recoil.
“Sorry, I…I don’t want to do that,” I say quickly.
“That’s okay,” he reassures me, placing his hand in his lap, “Actually, um…”
Glen looks around to see how far away Charlie and Hallie are. They’re standing on the deck, getting a head start on their make-out session.
“I’m gay,” Glen whispers
“Really?” I’ve never met anyone openly gay before. “So why the hell are you here with me?”
Glen gives a shy smile, “When Charlie asked, I’d kind of forgotten about Hallie.”
I laugh as we head into the tunnel, it reverberates loudly into the tunnel. I can’t imagine anyone forgetting about Hallie.
“Sorry,” I say when I finally compose myself, “It must be torture for you to watch that then,” I gesture my head back toward the deck.
It’s dark but I can see the outline of Glen’s shoulders shrugging in response.
“It is what it is,” his voice echoes. Soft lights glow up ahead, and a scene with swans on a lake and animated hearts sitting behind a window appears.
“So, Lenny, that’s a pretty unique name for a girl,” Glen quips.
“It’s Lenora,” I say, watching the hearts jerk back and forth behind the glass as we pass, “Hallie’s the only one who calls me that.”
As the swan scene slips away, Glen says “I like Lenora better. Can I ask-”
“How do I put up with Hallie?” I ask.
“Yes!” Glen sits to face me, “I mean, I know she’s your friend but…I don’t know.”
“No, I understand,” I say. The boat takes a turn around a bend, more soft lights glow in the distance.
“I guess it’s for the same reasons you hang out with Charlie.”
“Oh,” Glen sighs quietly.
“I hate how she is around him. It’s like her brain has gone soft,” I say quietly, acutely aware that Hallie and Charlie are probably in the tunnel now too.
“Charlie too, how can two people bring out the stupidest parts of each other?” Glen asks.
“Love,” I sigh, gesturing at the scene that appears to our right. It’s a big red heart with lights around it and a man and a woman’s silhouette kissing in front of it. Glen laughs.
We sit in comfortable silence for a while as the boat jerks around the final turns of the tunnel.
“I guess one good thing has come out of this,” Glen says as the opening at the end approaches.
“What’s that?” I say, inspecting his vague expression.
“I met someone who is the same as me, well, sort of,” he smiles.
“And we’ll always have The Tunnel of Love,” I tease.
Glen chuckles. “Yes, we will,” he smirks.
When we get back to the dock, Glen gets out first and offers his hand to me when I get out. We stand there waiting while the rest of the fair roars with laughter. Just two people waiting for the person they love to stop kissing someone else in the dark.