remember?”
The park is even more beautiful by night, glowing with thousands of tiny lamps, but it does nothing to lift my mood.
What am I doing here? A million miles from home, from everything familiar, lying to Andy, using Mum’s money. My heart twists. For what? I’ll never find Kitty, not now. This country’s so vast, so busy, so full —she could pass me on the street and I’d never even notice. Andy was right. It was stupid. It was a stupid idea to try to find her. I should never have come, never have left Nana, never lied to Andy …
And now I’ve got eight long empty months of traveling ahead of me when all I want to do is go home and curl up in my own bed.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Andy beams, misinterpreting my sigh as he gazes over at a gleaming ice rink surrounded by glowing stars, the skyscrapers soaring high above.
I watch, hypnotized, as the skaters whiz by, some laughing and giggling as they slip and slide perilously, others gliding lazily by without a care in the world. I envy them.
“Come on then, let’s get your skates on,” Andy says, grabbing my hand and heading over to the queue for skate hire.
“What?” I stare at him. “I can’t! I haven’t skated in ages, not since—”
“You don’t forget.” His eyes linger on mine, and my stomach flutters despite myself, remembering the last time we went ice-skating … our first date. I eye the shimmering surface uncertainly, my cheeks burning in the frosty air, as memories flood my head. Then he smiles that oh-so-familiar smile, his blue eyes sparkling as those dimples overcome all my doubts.
“Come on, Bambi.” He grins, his arm strong and warm around me as we step toward the slippery ice. “I won’t let you fall.”
On the rink it’s impossible to think about anything but staying upright—I cling to Andy as we slip and giggle round the ice till my bum’s bruised from falling, and our sides kill from laughing so much.
Suddenly Andy checks his watch and grabs my hand.
“Quick! We’ve got to hurry!”
“Hurry where?” I laugh. “It’s the city that never sleeps, remember!”
“You’ll see—come on!”
We’ve barely returned our skates before Andy’s dragging me through the streets, racing down block after block, until suddenly we round a corner, and I gasp.
I have never seen so many people. The ocean of bodies floods the streets, sprawling as far as I can see, crammed between the buildings, swaying together harmoniously as music blasts from loudspeakers, their blue Happy New Year top hats bobbing merrily as they dance, hug, cheer and squeal with excitement beneath the towering buildings ablaze with blinking billboards—twinkling and chasing and dazzling all different colors, shapes and pictures, beside the enormous glowing Broadway placards. The atmosphere is electric.
“Just in time.” Andy grins, checking his watch and weaving us deeper into the throng.
Suddenly the music stops and the whole crowd begins to chant: “Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight! Fifty-seven! Fifty-six!”
“We couldn’t miss the ball drop!” Andy laughs, pointing, as there, high above the brightest building, a glowing globe twinkles like a star, sparkling a million different colors and patterns as it slowly sinks toward an enormous ticking countdown.
“Ten! Nine! Eight!” My skin tingles and my heart beats fast as I clutch Andy’s hand.
“Seven! Six!” He squeezes my hand and grins at me.
“Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”
The sky explodes in fireworks—bursting showers of blinding blue, red, green, gold—colorful confetti streaming down all around as the crowd goes crazy, the cheers deafening as everyone leaps up and down, hugging each other, and kissing to the strains of “Auld Lang Syne.”
“Happy New Year!” A complete stranger grabs me in a bear hug and I laugh as a pink-haired woman lands a smacker on Andy’s cheek. He grins at me as the confetti rains between us.
Suddenly “New York, New York” bursts
The park is even more beautiful by night, glowing with thousands of tiny lamps, but it does nothing to lift my mood.
What am I doing here? A million miles from home, from everything familiar, lying to Andy, using Mum’s money. My heart twists. For what? I’ll never find Kitty, not now. This country’s so vast, so busy, so full —she could pass me on the street and I’d never even notice. Andy was right. It was stupid. It was a stupid idea to try to find her. I should never have come, never have left Nana, never lied to Andy …
And now I’ve got eight long empty months of traveling ahead of me when all I want to do is go home and curl up in my own bed.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Andy beams, misinterpreting my sigh as he gazes over at a gleaming ice rink surrounded by glowing stars, the skyscrapers soaring high above.
I watch, hypnotized, as the skaters whiz by, some laughing and giggling as they slip and slide perilously, others gliding lazily by without a care in the world. I envy them.
“Come on then, let’s get your skates on,” Andy says, grabbing my hand and heading over to the queue for skate hire.
“What?” I stare at him. “I can’t! I haven’t skated in ages, not since—”
“You don’t forget.” His eyes linger on mine, and my stomach flutters despite myself, remembering the last time we went ice-skating … our first date. I eye the shimmering surface uncertainly, my cheeks burning in the frosty air, as memories flood my head. Then he smiles that oh-so-familiar smile, his blue eyes sparkling as those dimples overcome all my doubts.
“Come on, Bambi.” He grins, his arm strong and warm around me as we step toward the slippery ice. “I won’t let you fall.”
On the rink it’s impossible to think about anything but staying upright—I cling to Andy as we slip and giggle round the ice till my bum’s bruised from falling, and our sides kill from laughing so much.
Suddenly Andy checks his watch and grabs my hand.
“Quick! We’ve got to hurry!”
“Hurry where?” I laugh. “It’s the city that never sleeps, remember!”
“You’ll see—come on!”
We’ve barely returned our skates before Andy’s dragging me through the streets, racing down block after block, until suddenly we round a corner, and I gasp.
I have never seen so many people. The ocean of bodies floods the streets, sprawling as far as I can see, crammed between the buildings, swaying together harmoniously as music blasts from loudspeakers, their blue Happy New Year top hats bobbing merrily as they dance, hug, cheer and squeal with excitement beneath the towering buildings ablaze with blinking billboards—twinkling and chasing and dazzling all different colors, shapes and pictures, beside the enormous glowing Broadway placards. The atmosphere is electric.
“Just in time.” Andy grins, checking his watch and weaving us deeper into the throng.
Suddenly the music stops and the whole crowd begins to chant: “Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight! Fifty-seven! Fifty-six!”
“We couldn’t miss the ball drop!” Andy laughs, pointing, as there, high above the brightest building, a glowing globe twinkles like a star, sparkling a million different colors and patterns as it slowly sinks toward an enormous ticking countdown.
“Ten! Nine! Eight!” My skin tingles and my heart beats fast as I clutch Andy’s hand.
“Seven! Six!” He squeezes my hand and grins at me.
“Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”
The sky explodes in fireworks—bursting showers of blinding blue, red, green, gold—colorful confetti streaming down all around as the crowd goes crazy, the cheers deafening as everyone leaps up and down, hugging each other, and kissing to the strains of “Auld Lang Syne.”
“Happy New Year!” A complete stranger grabs me in a bear hug and I laugh as a pink-haired woman lands a smacker on Andy’s cheek. He grins at me as the confetti rains between us.
Suddenly “New York, New York” bursts
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