I’m not sure what drew me there. I had no kids and I wasn’t a babysitter. I guess it was the novelty of having this big carnival relic inside a fast food restaurant. I’ll go ahead and say it: I was at a Burger King. Maureen had been running the merry-go-round a long time. It was passed down to her from her father. I didn’t ask how it ended up here, at the home of the Whopper. But she charged the company for her services, her machine, and that’s how she made her living. It was an attraction. People came from all over the county to see it. There were days when the engine would start to overheat and she’d have to shut it down for a couple hours. I’d go there on the slower days, sit with Maureen and talk about life. She had been engaged before I met her but she broke it off so she could live with her mom and take care of her. She wore a dress shirt and a tie when she worked the merry-go-round. I figured she was trying to cultivate a formal air, of nostalgia and family fun. She was thin and had a nervous energy like she couldn’t wait to get on with something else.
