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"Oh! I have an idea of where we can go," Cassidy said, tapping a rhythm out on the steering wheel with one hand as he steered with the other. He was smiling to himself.
"Where?"
"I think maybe I’ll keep it a surprise," Cassidy said.
Oh, great, surprises, my favorite thing. I love not being able to prepare myself for what’s coming and what will be expected of me there.
But having already asked for one change of plans, River didn’t feel they could ask for another, so they leaned back and let Cassidy ferry them where he would.
"Oh no, it’s closed!"
Cassidy had brought them to Circles, an ice-skating rink that had been the backdrop to many birthday parties in River’s childhood, as well as a Prom afterparty that they’d excused themself from for the same reasons they’d eschewed Prom itself. They hadn’t been in years but they could conjure the particular smell of popcorn, bleach, and ozone that hung in the air strong enough to pervade their clothes for hours after visiting.
The handwritten sign on the door beneath the CLOSED said Gone Fishing. River assumed it was a joke, but you never knew.
Cassidy looked deflated. He’d hinted at a combination of foods that they wanted to procure for their date, but Smith’s had been out of two things he needed. Now his improvisational date idea had let him down as well.
"God, I’m sorry, River. I really wanted to show you a good time. I should’ve planned better."
He slumped against the truck.
"Hey, no. Cassidy, I’m the one who asked to change your plans. I should’ve just done what you wanted."
They stood beside Cassidy’s truck, shivering. Cassidy grabbed them by the shoulders, and River started. But Cassidy was looking into their eyes intently.
"I didn’t care that it be dinner," he said. "I wanted to get to know you. Not drag you to the grocery store and an abandoned building."
Could it be that Cassidy was as nervous as River? That Cassidy wanted to impress them?
Um, duuuuuh, if he’s worth anything! River heard Mikal’s voice saying.
"I want to get to know you too," River said. "Actually, I know a place we could skate. Well, in our shoes."
Cassidy’s eyes lit up.
"Great!"
He handed River the keys to the truck and got into the passenger seat.
"Oh, sorry, do you drive?" he asked.
River slid into the driver’s seat.
"I do. But are you sure you want me to drive your car? Truck, I mean."
"Sure." Cassidy shrugged. "Easier if you know where we’re going. I’m bad with directions."
Unsure, River turned the key in the ignition. That made sense, kind of.
River drove with the care of someone who wouldn’t be able to pay for any damage they inflicted, which meant they didn’t talk much until they pulled into the parking lot of their old school.
"It’s behind that copse of trees."
Cassidy grinned, then took off through the snow in their nice leather ankle boots like a big kid.
"Oh, I see it!"
Cassidy’s voice drifted back as they quickly outpaced River. Running in snow was even worse than running in not snow, and they approached at a walk.
Cody Lake had frozen over by the middle of November since River was a kid, except for the last two years. As climate change wreaked havoc globally, a delay of two weeks had been added to the lake’s freeze date.
Cassidy reached the ice.
"Hey, wait!" River yelled, but Cassidy didn’t seem to hear.
They ran, then, heart screaming with instant fear. They grabbed Cassidy by the arm when he was five steps out onto the ice and dragged him back to shore.
"It’s might not be safe," River gasped.
Cassidy’s eyes were wide.
"You gotta test it."
"Okay." Cassidy looked sheepish. "Of course. Thanks."
"Fuck, you scared me," River said, blowing out the anxiety and bending over at the waist, relief flooding through them.
"Sorry, I, uh. I just got scared.”
It had been the weekend after Thanksgiving, and all River had wanted to do was follow Adam and Marina as far from the house as they could get. Their father had gone hunting with a buddy and tried to take Adam with them. When Adam had demurred, their father had turned to River.
Seven was the age he’d begun hunting with his own father and brothers, he’d said. River should join them.
The panic that the invitation catalyzed was an unconscious, gut-deep one, that prompted River to run after Marina when she left the house, caring nothing for what they were running toward, so long as they were running away from the kill.
Adam had veered off somewhere, but River had followed his sister to the edge of the pond. She stood, looking out over the ice, smoking a cigarette and sipping from a metal flask shaped like a smiley face. River imagined that the liquid inside the smile would taste like the sparkling apple juice their mom served at holidays. Her cheeks were flushed.
