APH - Of Pasta and Amusement Parks

It was a sunny summer day that saw Ludwig Beilschmidt and his girlfriend Feliciana Vargas on a date at an amusement park.

She was a ball of energy, racing from one sight to the next, as excited as a child.

Ludwig followed after her, content in watching her obvious enjoyment. He always loved to see her smile.

She had been smiling a lot that day.

She had ridden all of the kiddy rides. She had dragged him on the merry-go-round. She had insisted on trying her hand at the games.

Feli had even managed to find a place to eat lunch that served pasta. He shook his head fondly. She would eat pasta for every meal if she could.

A cheerful Italian voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Ve~ We should ride that one, Luddy!"

Ludwig looked. And looked. And looked some more. His girlfriend who was terrified of the tiniest things wanted to ride that? The biggest roller coaster in the park?

Warning bells went off in his head. This was not a good idea. In fact, it was a very bad idea.

Half an hour later, Feliciana scrambled into the seat and excitedly pulled the harness down over her. Her German boyfriend stepped in after her, secured his own safety harness, and checked that hers was on correctly.

As the rest of the riders got situated, Feli babbled in Ludwig's ear.

"Ooh... This is going to be-a so much fun!"

"Do you like roller coasters?"

"Ve~ We should get some pasta after this!"

"We're up awfully high, aren't we, Luddy?"

Eventually, everybody had boarded the car, and the ride started.

Almost immediately, Feliciana began to panic.

"This is too fast!"

"We're up too high!"

"I'm going to fall out!"

"We'll fly off of the rails!"

"I can't die! I'm a-"

Here Ludwig cut her off. "Look at me. You are not going to die. Thousands of people ride these rides, and they all get off just fine. You'll be fine."

He continued to reassure the terrified Italian until the ride ended. Then, he carried his trembling girlfriend to the cafe where they had eaten lunch.

As he watched pasta visibly brighten Feli's spirit, he smiled.

There was no one quite like his girlfriend, and he wouldn't have her any other way.