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5
Nina heldher camera in one hand and blew into her other one as she made her way through Prospect Park. A fresh blanket of snow had covered the ground while she slept, and she knew the city’s kids would be enjoying it in full force. It was one of her favorite ways to spend her days off from the gallery, her long walks through the city meditative as she let her eyes wander, looking for subjects that might be willing to let her take theirpicture.
Her mind often wandered too. That morning it was no surprise they turned to Liam. It had been a week since Judith’s show, a week since Liam had stood inches away, smiling down at her with the unique brand of humor and warmth she remembered so well. She wondered if the memory of their breakup was still painful for him, if he’d been hiding it behind his good-natured facade or if he’d somehow made peace with it as shehad.
She shook her head. It didn’t matter. Liam was in the past, like Jack. She’d made the mistake of revisiting the past before, of thinking she could rewrite the ending to an already complete story, and it had been nothing but an exercise in pain andfutility.
She breathed in the cold air. Winter in the city was both harder and more satisfying than it had been in Larchmont. There the weather hardly mattered, her car ferrying her from one climate-controlled environment to another. In the city she had to engage with the weather. She had to walk to the subway and trudge blocks to get from one place to the other, but there was something natural about it, and she’d learned not to dwell on the discomfort, to focus instead on just being in herbody.
She stuck to the path and said a silent prayer of thanks to the city workers who had labored overnight and in the early hours of the morning to clear the sidewalks. The snowfall had been light, not more than a couple of inches, but the city’s children still saw cause for celebration, the park turned into a wonderland of snowball fights and snow angels and attempted snowman-making. Parents stood by in parkas and wool hats, hands wrapped around cups of coffee or hot cocoa, chatting with each other while the kids shrieked andlaughed.
Nina passed the mob trying to sled on Lookout Hill and continued along the path toward the open field known as Nethermead. The farther she got into the park, the less crowded it became, isolated groups of parents with their children replacing the crowd on the sleddinghill.
Her gaze caught on a bundle of pink rolling in the snow while a tall woman in a green parka laughed, her words unintelligible from a distance. Nina slowed her steps as the child got to her feet, a stream of copper hair snaking across each shoulder from the opening of the hat on hercoat.
I can’t wear pink, Nina! I’m aredhead.
The words had come from Karen when they’d been shopping at Bloomies. At the time, Nina had laughed, but hearing the pure joy in the little girl’s laughter as she played in the snow, oblivious to the supposed fashion rules that came with being a redhead, brought it tomind.
Nina crossed the field, the woman looking over as it became obvious Nina was heading for them. There was a question in her eyes before Ninaspoke.
“Hi!” Nina said. “I couldn’t help noticing how much the little one is enjoying thesnow.”
The woman smiled. She was a bit younger than Nina, with the same red hair as her daughter and perfect poreless skin. “She’d be out here all day if I could standit.”
Nina held out her hand. “I’mNina.”
“Meredith.” She turned to the little girl. “And this isLucy.”
Nina waved at the little girl. “Hi, Lucy.” She turned back to Meredith. “I wondered if you’d be willing to let me take a couple pictures of Lucy playing in the snow.” She hurried to continue. She’d found out the hard way this was the trickiest moment in the exchange. “I’m an amateur photographer, and my specialty is candid portraiture of children. I’m actually a manager at the Stockholm Gallery.” She handed Meredith one of her business cards from the gallery. “I have a standard release form in my bag promising not to use the photos anywhere without your permission, and of course, I’d be happy to give you some free professional-gradecopies.”
“I think I’ve walked by this gallery,” Meredith said, looking at thecard.
“It’s small, but I like to think we pack a punch,” Ninasaid.
“Do you show your workthere?”
“God no!” Nina laughed. “Would you believe I wasn’t even interested in photography when I started working there two yearsago?”
The woman looked intrigued. “What made you decide to give it atry?”
“A friend of mine left me her camera.” Nina hesitated. “It seemed like a good way to be close toher.”
“What made you decide…” The woman seemed to struggle to find the rightwords.
“To take pictures of kids?” Ninasaid.
Meredith grinned. “Yeah.”
“I’m not sure, and you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I didn’t even realize how weird it was to ask people if I could take pictures of their kids, probably because I don’t havechildren.”
Meredith laughed. “Oh,no.”
“Let’s just say the early days of my hobby were… interesting. And a little scary,” Ninasaid.
“I take it that accounts for the releaseforms?”
“And the business cards,” Nina said. “I hadn’t even thought to use the gallery as a way to give me streetcred.”
