I don’t know what I had expected at Comic-Con, but an endless sea of vendors and people dressed up as superheroes, TV characters, and other famous personalities wasn’t it. Sure, Dayton had warned me, but this was more than I expected and was a little intimidating. It was like the first time I went to Vegas. My mom had referred to it as Disney World for adults, and she hadn’t been wrong. Vegas was larger than life, and I had a hard time grasping everything that was going on.

Comic-Con felt the same way. As I pushed through the entrance, my eyes had to be wide, and I knew my jaw fell open a time or two as I was swept into a fantasy world, far, far away. I scanned the room for Dayton, but what were the chances I’d find him amongst the masses—if he was even here at this moment at all? The hum of voices and the smell of stale book pages filled the massive arena that held the convention. To my left was the whole team from The Incredibles. Mom, Dad, and the kids, too. To my right stood Superman and Supergirl. I couldn’t help smiling at the sweet looks on their faces as they stood arm-in-arm, sneaking glances at each other. Up ahead, down the first aisle walked many more characters I didn’t recognize.

I wasn’t a huge fantasy or comic book follower, but I loved Spider-Man. Ever since I was a small child, I remembered looking forward to Saturday mornings with Dad. It was always impossible to get alone time with either of my parents, since they both worked a lot and had to split their time between six of us children in the house. For me, Iris, and Ivory, alone time was tougher. Being triplets, we were always together–except Saturday mornings.

I was born with two left feet, so Mom would take Iris and Ivory to dance classes while Dad and I would sit in front of the TV, watching Spider-Man and eating a bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch together. Dad had seen all the episodes before, but he never spoiled the plot twist for me. Those days were some of my favorite childhood memories. Pushing through the crowd, I turned down an aisle of authors displaying various fantasy books when a giant banner of Spider-Man caught my attention over a few rows. I weaved myself in that direction, maneuvering around a bare-chested man covered in green body paint. I made it over a row, but got stuck behind a row of at least six people dressed as multi-color space rangers. This was impossible! I spun around, jetting forward, but plowed smack into someone else. My heart raced, but when I looked up to see a familiar face, the world slowed down and I smiled.

“Dayton?”

“Ivy. I saw you from over there,” He pointed many aisles away. “I’m happy you came.” The smile on his face was awkwardly large, compared to his slender frame, yet charming in its own way.

“I’m glad I bumped into you. I thought I’d be able to stop in, find what I wanted, and leave, but I’m a little overwhelmed.” My eyes focused on his red t-shirt with a giant yellow lightning bolt in the center. “Fan of The Flash?”

He laughed. “Here I thought the only superhero you knew was Spider-Man.”

“Okay, you got me. I might have watched a few superhero TV shows from time to time.”

“I’m impressed. I wonder how much more you know.” His smile reappeared, but it was much less awkward this time. “Are you here to check out the Spider-Man items?” Dayton motioned to the giant banner.

“Yeah, but I can’t seem to get there. I didn’t expect this place to be so crowded.”

“You came on opening night. Everyone has to get here before all the good stuff is gone. Here, follow me.”

After giving a grateful nod, Dayton weaved through the crowd. He kept checking over his shoulder to make sure I was following. I stayed close—but not close enough. A woman dressed as a character from an X-Men movie cut me off, separating Dayton and I.

It was like Dayton could tell I had fallen behind, because before I could call his name, he reached a hand around the woman for me. As someone else bumped into me, I took his hand. He pulled me through a gap and kept me close beside him as we transversed the maze of people to the giant Spider-Man banner. I knew he only took my hand as a friendly gesture, but I felt a tingling in my core like I had in middle-school when I would accidentally bump hands with my crush while grabbing a piece of chalk or lunch tray.

When we stopped in a less crowded area, I let go of Dayton’s hand and he shoved his in his jeans’ pockets.

“So, what brought you here?” I asked, feeling the need to make small talk.

“Nothing in particular…just the whole environment.” He looked around with his wide, blue eyes partially hidden behind the light reflections in his glasses. “When I’m here, I feel…happy. It brings back memories of my childhood when life was much simpler. Plus, I was hoping to run into a few people I knew.” He nodded towards me and smiled.

I laughed. “With this many people around, you’re bound to know someone.” As the words left my lips, I realized how dense I was. Dayton had hoped to run into me. I looked away, hiding the warmth that flooded my cheeks.

We stepped in front of a row of folding tables lined end-to-end, filled with various superhero memorabilia. Dayton pointed to a glass display cabinet behind the exhibitor where a Spider-Man action figure sat. From where I stood, it appeared to match the one I got my father.

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“Looks just like the one you showed me earlier this week,” Dayton said.

“Yeah, and I need another one. That’s why I’m here.”

“Another one? Why?”

“It’s a long story.” I flagged over the exhibitor who was dressed as Spider-Man and taking care of a whole line of other customers. When I was sure he saw me, I shoved my hand in my pocket.

“It looks like we have some time,” Dayton said. “Want to start with that long story now?”

“I guess it’s not long. It’s just that the action figure I purchased went missing.”

“Went missing? Like stolen or just misplaced?”

I stared at the Spider-Man in the case. “Yeah, I’m not sure. I had it one moment, and the next it was gone. My entire family was at my house when it disappeared, and I don’t want to believe someone took it, but I’m out of choices.”

Spider-Man approached us from behind the counter. “What can I help you with?”

“Could you tell us how much that costs?” Dayton motioned to the action figure.

“It’s a steal,” Spider-Man said from beneath his mask. “Only fifteen hundred.”

Fifteen hundred dollars?

I choked on my saliva. Dayton looked my way, and I’m sure my eyes bulged. “Um…thanks, but it’s not in my price range.” I turned away, almost embarrassed I was curious how much it cost. I should have known.

Dayton was right beside me. “We can negotiate. We may get twenty percent or more off.”

“Even if we get it for fifty percent off, that’s not enough.” I pushed through the crowd, getting as far from that table as possible.

“There might be more here for a better price,” Dayton said, fighting for his spot next to me.

“No, that’s about what they cost.” A big burly guy with a wizard hat stepped in front of me, and I couldn’t stop in time. I smacked my nose right into his bicep. I stopped, spinning around and looking into Dayton’s eyes. “I was lucky with the one I found. I think I’m going to head home.” I scanned the crowd, but couldn’t find a path out. My chest constricted, and I couldn’t get enough air.

“Already?” Dayton asked. “Have you seen the Disney section yet? The tribute to Star Wars?”

I shook my head, trying to locate the door, but it was too far away. “This was only going to be a quick stop before dinner.”

“Well, they have dinner here, too. Wanna share an enormous donut from the Simpsons’ stand? I have one every year.”

“Is the food area less crowded than this?” Another costumed woman backed up, pushing me a step closer to Dayton. I stared at the lightning bolt on his chest. “If you get me out of here, I’ll share a giant donut.” I looked up to see his smile, and I could suddenly breathe again. “I mean, I’d be foolish to pass up a donut.”

“Deal.” Dayton held out his hand for me to take.

I eagerly latched on.

“Great.” Dayton’s warm fingers wrapped around mine, and he led me towards one of the walls of the arena. “Here’s a trick: it’s easier to get around on the path along the perimeter. The aisles get crowded.”

“I can see that,” I said, holding tightly onto his hand.

“One of my favorite things to do here is to have a snack and simply watch who passes by. I start tallying who the favorite superhero is for the year. I think Wonder Woman may win this year, which is sad because it’s mostly men at this show.”

I laughed as I looked around. “There sure are a lot of men dressed up as the Princess of the Amazon.”

Dayton stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. “I thought you just watched Marvel shows?”

“What? Wonder Woman’s not Marvel? I thought all characters were dreamed up by them.”

Dayton laughed and shook his head.

“That wasn’t a joke,” I teased.

That awkward smile appeared on Dayton’s mouth as he turned and led me to the back of the building by the food. Right before the Simpsons’ donut stand, Dayton stopped, waiting for a small parade of superheroes to pass. I bumped into him, then righted myself by putting my free hand against his chest.

His eyes glanced at my hand on him, and my cheeks heated again. I had overstepped my boundaries, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt.

I had been alone for too long. My Dream Droid couldn’t come fast enough. “Oh, sorry.” I dropped my hand and took a half-step back.

“For what?” He asked with a knowing smile before taking my hand again and leading me to an empty table at the food court.

The rest of the evening was fun, when I wasn’t depressed about the cost of a replacement gift for my dad. I found myself smiling and talking all about our Christmas traditions with Dayton. He told me some traditions his family used to have, which made my family’s Parade of Presents seem mild. Like their long-line of gag gifts. One year, his aunt got a vase from his cousin…and it was filled with rabbit poop! My family didn’t go that far.

“So, why’d you stop with the gag gifts?” I asked after laughing at some of his examples. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“It stopped after Mom and Dad passed away.”

The fun I was having came crashing down. I had forgotten that he said his parents were gone. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“You don’t have to be. It was twenty years ago or so already. They died in a car crash when I was still a teenager. My aunt and uncle took me in, but they ended up getting a divorce a few years before I graduated college. All the Christmas festivities stopped at that point.”

“Well, I have enough stories to keep you busy all night! Like last year, my mom got this light up sweater...” And just like that, the fun we were having returned.

After our second pink-frosted donut, Dayton guided me across the arena. The crowds were thinning as it was getting late already. It must have taken us a while to eat our donuts, but we did a lot of chatting. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot.

“Well, I’ll see you in a few days. We have another meeting on Monday,” Dayton said.

Yes. Monday. One more step to my perfect companion. “I can hardly wait.”

Dayton gave me a smile that disappeared when he shook my hand in a business-like fashion.

Lying in bed that night with Sharky’s head across my stomach, my day replayed in my head: the giant donuts Dayton and I shared, us giving up on counting all the Wonder Women at the convention and switching to only tallying cross-dressing Wonder Women, and the happiness that had consumed me.

Maybe I was missing a friend in my life. Sure, I had my siblings and the rest of my family, but a friend held different interests that opened a person’s eyes up to new experiences.

My thoughts switched to the fifteen-hundred dollars they wanted for the Spider-Man toy. That was a lot of money. What if whoever took my gift figured out what it was worth and sold it? Or, even worse, what if the comic book store realized they made a mistake and took it back?

I was exhausted, and those thoughts were absurd, but perhaps they weren’t that far-fetched. I had read about such things in the newspaper from time to time.

But I didn’t want to think about that—not so near to Christmas.

I pushed Sharky off my stomach, rolled onto my side, and fell fast asleep.