we need to go to counseling so early in our fakelationship?”
“No amount of counseling can help me to deal with you, Cole, I assure you.” I chuckle and then slowly bring her hand down before slipping my fingers through hers.
“This will ensure that you can’t hit me again, since it’s becoming a habit,” I say looking down at our entwined fingers.
“Really?” Her voice is laced with sarcasm.
“Indeed, and besides real couples hold hands. We should start practicing.”
“Such a committed employee, aren’t you?”
I smile. We walk hand in hand down the street in a comfortable silence. I look ahead and see that the sky has already started to darken. The lights on the buildings all around us are starting to stand out, and the night air is cool and calm.
“So what about you?” Ned asks.
“What about me?” I look at her.
“Well, I don’t know much about you or your family.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where did you grow up?”
“In California but I moved here, to New York five years ago. I stayed with my sister, Layla, for a year before getting my own place.”
“That explains the tan then.”
“Yup.” I chuckle.
“So your sister moved here first?”
“Yeah, her husband, Jamie, got a promotion at a huge law firm ten years ago and so they packed up and left. She loves it. She’s kind of the reason I moved out here; we’re pretty close.”
“That’s nice. How long have they been together?”
“They met in high school. They’ve been together since they were seventeen. So, fifteen years now.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty cool,” I agree.
“Yeah. So, what about your father, does he still live in California?” My jaw twitches at the mention of him.
“He does,” I say in a way that lets her know that I’m not willing to say any more about this.
“When did your mom die?” she asks softly. I don’t talk about my mom with anyone. It was one of the hardest times in my life and I have no intention of re-living it. But I don’t feel that way with Ned. Maybe it’s because of her situation, I know she’ll understand in a way that most people won’t.
“Six years ago. My mom was very adventurous.” I smile at the memory of her. “She always wanted to do things that other people were terrified to do — I admired her for that. She’s the bravest woman that I’ve ever known.”
“She sounds amazing.” Ned breathes, squeezing my hand a little tighter.
“She was. My dad hated that; he was always concerned that something would happen to her, and I guess he was right in the end. She went on a skiing trip with a group of her friends. They accidentally went off course and got lost. Apparently they were trying to get back to the base and my mom thought that she knew the way so the group split up. Some went with my mom and some went the other way. My mom went the right way but she fell along the way and injured her leg. She couldn’t walk. She told them that it would be quicker if they got to the base and brought back help. I knew my mom, she could be very persuasive when she wanted to and so they agreed. But by the time they got back to her she had lost too much blood. She was already dead. She was holding a letter in the palm of her hand.” I take a deep breath because I hate this part of the story. “The letter explained that she knew she was going to die. She knew that her femoral artery was severed, and she didn’t want her friends to wait for her and lose their chance of survival. She told them not to blame themselves and that she did a good job of convincing them she’d be ok. She also left messages in there for my dad, Layla, and myself. She told my dad that he wasn’t to be angry, that she died happy, doing the thing that she wanted to do. She told Layla that it was her job to be strong and hold the family together — to look out for me. And she told me to never give up on my dreams, no matter how impossible, no matter how many
“No amount of counseling can help me to deal with you, Cole, I assure you.” I chuckle and then slowly bring her hand down before slipping my fingers through hers.
“This will ensure that you can’t hit me again, since it’s becoming a habit,” I say looking down at our entwined fingers.
“Really?” Her voice is laced with sarcasm.
“Indeed, and besides real couples hold hands. We should start practicing.”
“Such a committed employee, aren’t you?”
I smile. We walk hand in hand down the street in a comfortable silence. I look ahead and see that the sky has already started to darken. The lights on the buildings all around us are starting to stand out, and the night air is cool and calm.
“So what about you?” Ned asks.
“What about me?” I look at her.
“Well, I don’t know much about you or your family.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where did you grow up?”
“In California but I moved here, to New York five years ago. I stayed with my sister, Layla, for a year before getting my own place.”
“That explains the tan then.”
“Yup.” I chuckle.
“So your sister moved here first?”
“Yeah, her husband, Jamie, got a promotion at a huge law firm ten years ago and so they packed up and left. She loves it. She’s kind of the reason I moved out here; we’re pretty close.”
“That’s nice. How long have they been together?”
“They met in high school. They’ve been together since they were seventeen. So, fifteen years now.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty cool,” I agree.
“Yeah. So, what about your father, does he still live in California?” My jaw twitches at the mention of him.
“He does,” I say in a way that lets her know that I’m not willing to say any more about this.
“When did your mom die?” she asks softly. I don’t talk about my mom with anyone. It was one of the hardest times in my life and I have no intention of re-living it. But I don’t feel that way with Ned. Maybe it’s because of her situation, I know she’ll understand in a way that most people won’t.
“Six years ago. My mom was very adventurous.” I smile at the memory of her. “She always wanted to do things that other people were terrified to do — I admired her for that. She’s the bravest woman that I’ve ever known.”
“She sounds amazing.” Ned breathes, squeezing my hand a little tighter.
“She was. My dad hated that; he was always concerned that something would happen to her, and I guess he was right in the end. She went on a skiing trip with a group of her friends. They accidentally went off course and got lost. Apparently they were trying to get back to the base and my mom thought that she knew the way so the group split up. Some went with my mom and some went the other way. My mom went the right way but she fell along the way and injured her leg. She couldn’t walk. She told them that it would be quicker if they got to the base and brought back help. I knew my mom, she could be very persuasive when she wanted to and so they agreed. But by the time they got back to her she had lost too much blood. She was already dead. She was holding a letter in the palm of her hand.” I take a deep breath because I hate this part of the story. “The letter explained that she knew she was going to die. She knew that her femoral artery was severed, and she didn’t want her friends to wait for her and lose their chance of survival. She told them not to blame themselves and that she did a good job of convincing them she’d be ok. She also left messages in there for my dad, Layla, and myself. She told my dad that he wasn’t to be angry, that she died happy, doing the thing that she wanted to do. She told Layla that it was her job to be strong and hold the family together — to look out for me. And she told me to never give up on my dreams, no matter how impossible, no matter how many
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