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Kim laughed as she skated around the rink, her arms outstretched. Tony followed her, and soon they were doing turns around the ice, showing off their limited skills and laughing like schoolchildren. After a while, Kim got a little cocky, and when she completed her spin, she finished it off with a clumsy half-jump.
He clapped his hands in approval. "Excellent!"
Kim pretended to bow. "Now you," she said, moving out of the way.
He skated away. She watched him pick up speed, and then, in an exceptionally graceful move, he jumped up and spun around, landing on one foot.
She clapped her hands, which turned out to be a mistake. She fell down, her rear end hitting the ice with a loud thump.
Tony was by her side in a flash, helping her up. He began to brush the snow off her rear end. Embarrassed, she s
aid, "I'm fine. Really." She pushed him away and proceeded to fall right back onto her rear.
This time, embarrassment gave way to laughter. Kim sat on the ice and threw her head back as she howled with laughter. Smiling himself, Tony helped her up. He stood in front of her, gently holding on to her arms.
"How do you do that?" she asked. "That spinning around thing?"
"Practice. You could do it, too."
"I don't think so," she said, laughing. "It would take a miracle."
She suddenly realized that he wasn't letting go. Nor did she want him to. She glanced up at him.
Both of them stopped smiling as they stared at each other, aware of the electricity between them. "Now it's my turn," Tony said softly, still staring into her eyes.
"For what?" she asked, swallowing.
"Let's see…" he said, thinking. "I'd say you're the opposite of what one would imagine an artist to be. You prefer classical music to, as you called it, 'hip' music, you're a Republican, you're compulsive to the point of driving your friends crazy, and you have trouble dating more than one person at the same time."
"Right, wrong, right, right," she said.
"So we're more alike than you thought Because I, too, like classical music. And I also don't like to date more than one person at a time."
"And are you dating anyone right now?" she heard herself ask.
He shook his head. Kim glanced away, mortified that she had been so forward. And so obvious. She noticed that he hadn't bothered to ask her that question. He may not be dating anyone, but he still wasn't interested in her. He was just being nice. And she had misinterpreted it.
She heard a quiet beeping noise. Tony pulled out a small black beeper and looked at it.
Turning it off, he stuck the beeper back into his belt. "That's the hospital," he said, all trace of humor gone from his face. "We should get back."
Kim stayed with her father until he went to sleep. Before she left she tucked the blankets in around him. He had seemed quite a bit improved from the day before, but he was still groggy and tired.
As she walked down the hall she continued to think about her father. He had asked her several questions about her life, like if she was married, if she had kids. He asked her about her career and seemed happy that she was doing well.
Despite good intentions from both of them, they were still a bit awkward and unsure about each other. So much time had passed since they had last spoken that Kim wondered if they would ever be able to completely heal the broken bond between them.
Leaving thoughts of her father and the hospital behind her, Kim stepped out into the parking lot and saw that white, powdery snow had coated the streets and the cars. It had been so long since she had seen snow that she had forgotten how beautiful it could be. Zipping up her coat as she made her way toward her car, she stopped and glanced around the snow-covered lot. As she rounded the corner of the hospital she saw Tony standing beside his motorcycle, shaking his head…
"Tony?" she called out as she walked over to him.
"Hey, Kim," he greeted her. "Don't say it."
"Say what?"
"What you're thinking. "This guy should know better than to drive a motorcycle in December.'"
"Okay," she agreed, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Can I ask you if you want a ride somewhere?"
