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From there it was a series of rides and games, with Dennis challenging Billy every step of the way until we got to the rollercoaster. The cars only sat two across, so Dennis took Billy with him, and I slid into the seats behind them.
Starting at the first plunge, Billy screamed the whole time, but he kept his hands up in the air, mimicking Dennis.
When we got off, I was the weak-kneed one Dennis had to help.
“I want to go again,” Billy announced.
He modified that as soon as he noticed Dennis’s stern glance. “Can I please go again?”
Dennis checked his watch. “Maybe after lunch.”
He offered me his hand, and with interlaced fingers, I strode to lunch linked to my man, Billy’s new idol.
Billy turned up his nose at the suggestion of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and we settled on Pier Burger. Leave it to Billy to insist on lunch at a burger joint and then order a hot dog, but that was his prerogative.
I went for the chicken sandwich, and Dennis was the only one of us to order their signature Pier Burger.
“How old are you, Billy?” Dennis asked.
Billy sipped his Coke. “I’ll be eight in October.”
“October, huh. Let me see…” Dennis rubbed his chin for a moment. “I guess that makes you old enough then.”
“Old enough for what?”
“For a grown-up name.”
“What’s a grown-up name?”
Dennis poked the straw in his shake. “Let me guess. Your full name is William?”
Billy nodded and sucked on his drink.
“Billy is a kid’s name. I think you’re ready to be called Bill, unless you like William better.”
Billy looked at his cup and turned it. “Mommy calls me William when she’s mad.”
“Then it should be Bill, unless you like Will better. That’s another choice.”
Our number was announced, and Dennis got up to retrieve the tray with our food. He returned and set the tray in the middle of the table.
“Have you decided?”
Billy shrugged.
“A man needs to know how to make decisions. Maybe you’re not ready for this yet.”
“I am too.”
“Then which will it be?”
Billy straightened up. “Bill.”
Dennis offered his hand across the table. “Pleasure to meet you, Bill. My name’s Dennis.”
Billy shook his hand with the widest smile I’d seen on him in a long time.
“What was your kid’s name?” he asked.
