blew a stream of fog above my head.
“My ears are about to fall off. Red didn’t leave enough hair to keep the warmth in.”
Claire and Liv came around the corner, dressed in peacoats that touched their knees, swaddled in hats and scarves, impeccably cheerful as if they had been conjured from a winter postcard. They saw us waiting and began a dainty run toward us, their ice skates in their hands. We stood with our roses behind our backs and watched every step of their approach, our excitement melting away the long wait just as they had planned.
Liv leapt into my arms and kissed me.
“You smell wonderful,” she said.
“It’s the barbershop.” The rose magically appeared.
“Oh, Sam. It’s beautiful.”
Emery had already revealed his rose to Claire and he looked at me with his eyebrows dancing up and down.
“Where on earth did you get this?” Liv asked. “There’s not a rose garden in bloom.”
“Trade secrets,” I said. “I can’t tell you.”
“Impressive.”
“You haven’t seen me glide across the ice yet.”
She looked at my feet. “You haven’t any skates.”
“That’s why it’ll be so inspiring.”
Emery and I followed the girls around the lake. They slid effortlessly over the ice on blades while we flailed off balance in our shoes. After I found the groove in a low center of gravity, I put my hands behind my back and pressed forward on rubber soles like a speed skater. Emery spent most of his time bear-walking on all fours or twirling on an upended turtleback. Eventually, he took to running up to the lake at full speed and sliding across on his knees.
Liv took my hands in hers and skated backward in front of me.
“You are an athlete.”
“Just enough to make you think so,” I said. “You’ve done this before.”
“Since I was a little girl. My father bought me a pair of skates and we had a pond in our backyard. We used to spend hours skating around until dark, and then dad would build a big fire and read aloud to me from storybooks.”
“As far as I’m concerned you’re an expert.”
“I tried volleyball in high school. I was devastated when I learned skating wasn’t a school sport. What did you play?”
“Football and wrestling.”
“I could have guessed. Were you any good?”
“I was okay.”
She pried at me with a smirk. “It’s hard to believe you weren’t an all-state player. Did you letter in football?”
“Letter? That’s hardly a gauge for skill. They hand out letters to anyone who plays.”
“And what did your brother play?”
“Football and baseball.”
“Not wrestling?”
“He was too tall for it. So was I, but I wanted to try it anyway. Disastrous results. I was the worst on the team. I couldn’t get under the squat of the other wrestlers.”
“But you’re so strong.”
“Wrestling is all about leverage. If you can get leverage, you can beat anybody.”
“Why didn’t you try baseball like your brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t interest you?”
“Baseball is a great game. I love it. I was good at it growing up, but I wanted to try something else. My brother was always better than me at everything.”
“You’re living in his shadow.”
“Still,” I said.
“When will I meet him?”
“Maybe sometime later.”
I don’t know why I didn’t tell her. My nearest guess was because I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me. I was afraid that type of sympathy might change the way she approached me. I heard Myles’s words about small lies ringing in my ear, but I packed them away in a small box and shoved them into the corner of my head. I might deal with that when the time came.
“You’re a mystery to me,” she said. “I always follow my instinct about people. I have a way of understanding them completely by first impressions.”
“That’s quite a claim.”
“Well, it’s true, and I always go with my gut. It never
“My ears are about to fall off. Red didn’t leave enough hair to keep the warmth in.”
Claire and Liv came around the corner, dressed in peacoats that touched their knees, swaddled in hats and scarves, impeccably cheerful as if they had been conjured from a winter postcard. They saw us waiting and began a dainty run toward us, their ice skates in their hands. We stood with our roses behind our backs and watched every step of their approach, our excitement melting away the long wait just as they had planned.
Liv leapt into my arms and kissed me.
“You smell wonderful,” she said.
“It’s the barbershop.” The rose magically appeared.
“Oh, Sam. It’s beautiful.”
Emery had already revealed his rose to Claire and he looked at me with his eyebrows dancing up and down.
“Where on earth did you get this?” Liv asked. “There’s not a rose garden in bloom.”
“Trade secrets,” I said. “I can’t tell you.”
“Impressive.”
“You haven’t seen me glide across the ice yet.”
She looked at my feet. “You haven’t any skates.”
“That’s why it’ll be so inspiring.”
Emery and I followed the girls around the lake. They slid effortlessly over the ice on blades while we flailed off balance in our shoes. After I found the groove in a low center of gravity, I put my hands behind my back and pressed forward on rubber soles like a speed skater. Emery spent most of his time bear-walking on all fours or twirling on an upended turtleback. Eventually, he took to running up to the lake at full speed and sliding across on his knees.
Liv took my hands in hers and skated backward in front of me.
“You are an athlete.”
“Just enough to make you think so,” I said. “You’ve done this before.”
“Since I was a little girl. My father bought me a pair of skates and we had a pond in our backyard. We used to spend hours skating around until dark, and then dad would build a big fire and read aloud to me from storybooks.”
“As far as I’m concerned you’re an expert.”
“I tried volleyball in high school. I was devastated when I learned skating wasn’t a school sport. What did you play?”
“Football and wrestling.”
“I could have guessed. Were you any good?”
“I was okay.”
She pried at me with a smirk. “It’s hard to believe you weren’t an all-state player. Did you letter in football?”
“Letter? That’s hardly a gauge for skill. They hand out letters to anyone who plays.”
“And what did your brother play?”
“Football and baseball.”
“Not wrestling?”
“He was too tall for it. So was I, but I wanted to try it anyway. Disastrous results. I was the worst on the team. I couldn’t get under the squat of the other wrestlers.”
“But you’re so strong.”
“Wrestling is all about leverage. If you can get leverage, you can beat anybody.”
“Why didn’t you try baseball like your brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t interest you?”
“Baseball is a great game. I love it. I was good at it growing up, but I wanted to try something else. My brother was always better than me at everything.”
“You’re living in his shadow.”
“Still,” I said.
“When will I meet him?”
“Maybe sometime later.”
I don’t know why I didn’t tell her. My nearest guess was because I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me. I was afraid that type of sympathy might change the way she approached me. I heard Myles’s words about small lies ringing in my ear, but I packed them away in a small box and shoved them into the corner of my head. I might deal with that when the time came.
“You’re a mystery to me,” she said. “I always follow my instinct about people. I have a way of understanding them completely by first impressions.”
“That’s quite a claim.”
“Well, it’s true, and I always go with my gut. It never
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