“You’re not old.” He winked, and duckwalking over to the ice, he took three or four quick steps, speeding into the turn. He jumped, rotating in the air, and started skating backward while accelerating even faster, flying beneath the tree on the far side of the rink. He spun again, speeding forward into the next curve, one hand nearly at the ice, then flew past her. Almost automatically, she retrieved her iPhone from her pocket. She waited until he was beneath the tree and snapped off a couple of photos; on the next lap, she shot video.
A few minutes later, after the session ended and Mark was in the changing area, she took a peek at the photos and found herself thinking about the shot she’d taken of Bryce on the ladder. Just as she’d done back then, she’d seemed to capture the essence of the young man she’d come to know. Like Bryce, Mark had also become strangely important to her in a relatively short period. And yet, as she’d had to with Bryce, she knew she’d eventually have to say goodbye to Mark as well, which suddenly made her ache in a way that eclipsed the physical pain lurking in her bones.
*
Once they were back on solid ground, she texted the pictures and video to Mark and they had a stranger snap an additional shot of the two of them with the tree in the background. Mark immediately began fiddling with the phone, no doubt forwarding the images.
“Abigail?” Maggie asked.
“And my parents.”
“I’m sure they’re missing you this Christmas.”
“I think they’re having the time of their lives.”
She pointed to the restaurant adjacent to the rink. “Is it okay with you if we swing by the Sea Grill? I think I’d like a hot tea at the bar.”
“Whatever you’d like.”
She hooked her arm through Mark’s and walked slowly to the glass-enclosed restaurant. She told the bartender what she wanted and Mark ordered the same thing. When the teapot was placed before her, she poured some of the tea into her cup.
“You’re an excellent skater.”
“Thanks. Abigail and I go sometimes.”
“Did she like the photo you texted?”
“She replied with three heart emojis, which I take as a yes. But I’ve been wondering…”
When he paused, she finished for him. “About the story?”
“Do you still have the necklace that Bryce gave you?”
Instead of answering, Maggie reached behind her neck and unhooked the clasp before sliding the necklace off. She handed it to him, watching as he carefully took it. He stared at the front before flipping it over and examining the engraving on the back.
“It’s so delicate.”
“I can’t think of a day I haven’t worn it.”
“And the chain never broke?”
“I’m pretty careful with it. I don’t sleep with it on or shower with it. But other than that, it’s part of my everyday ensemble.”
“And whenever you put it on, you remember that night?”
“I remember that night all the time. Bryce wasn’t just my first love. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved.”
“The kite was pretty cool,” Mark conceded. “I’ve done the campfire-and-s’mores thing with Abigail—at the lake, not at the ocean—but I’ve never heard of a kite strung with Christmas lights. I wonder if I could build one.”
“These days, you can probably Google it, or maybe even order one.”
Mark appeared contemplative as he stared into his own cup of tea. “I’m glad you had a night like that with Bryce,” he said. “I think everyone deserves at least one perfect evening.”
“I think so, too.”
“But you do understand you were falling for him all along, right? It didn’t start when the storm rolled in. It started on the ferry, when you first saw him in that olive-green jacket.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you didn’t walk away and you clearly could have. And when your aunt asked if Bryce could be your tutor, you agreed pretty quickly.”
“I needed help in school!”
“If you say so,” he said with a grin.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said, changing the subject. “You took me skating, but is there anything you really want to do now that we’re here in Midtown?”
He swished the tea around in his cup. “You’ll probably think it’s silly. Since you’ve been living here so long, I mean.”
“What is it?”
“I want to see some of the department stores’ window displays on Fifth Avenue—the ones that are all decorated for Christmas? Abigail told me it was something I have to do. And in an hour and a half, there will be a choir performing outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.”