Page 61 of Christmas Cove

“Mom!” America scolded. “What did he want?”

“Now, don’t be mad...”

That warning alone was enough to make America’s heart rate skyrocket. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. Just...I called him and asked him to come over,” her mom said.

“Why would you do that?” America paced in front of the door.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t. And we wanted to meet him properly.”

“Please tell me you didn’t embarrass me.” America shuddered to think what her parents could have said to the man.

“Of course not. But we told him that you needed to speak with him,” Dad said.

“Where is he now?” America scanned the space.

“He said you would know where to find him.”

America suspected. “What if I’d been gone for hours? He was just going to wait all day?”

“I don’t know. I’m not a miracle worker,” her dad said and cracked open a bottle of red wine. She looked at him questioningly and pointed at her watch face. He shrugged. “What? I like wine with lunch now. Anyway, the point is, he’s here, somewhere, and so are you. All you need to do is talk to him before he finds out from someone else that you’re moving here.”

America bundled up again and walked to the door as if her feet were making the decisions for her now.

Her mother added, “Tell him how you really feel, and the rest will work out.”

It was the second time she had heard that same advice in the last hour. Perhaps it was a God-wink, or simply sage wisdom from people that had lived a bit more life than she had so far. With a heart full of sense, she headed for the gravel path that led down to the dock.

The closer she came to the old dock, the more fog rolled in. The midday sun scattered pockets of light through the fog, and visibility shifted from about twenty feet to near zero at random intervals. Having spent time there already, America had learned to take steps along the path with confidence, as the material was unforgiving with its slick and movable surface. Even so, she walked as fast as felt safe.

The path gave way to the gray boards and splintered handrail of the defunct dock where she fully expected to see Leo come into sight. But the dock was empty. She walked all the way to the end and shouted his name into the empty cove. The sound echoed in the abyss, and she hollered again.

America looked over the rail on both sides and searched the visible shoreline. Illuminated by a pocket of sunlight, the silhouette of a man appeared on the old, pebbled shore. A charred crater surrounded by a circle of larger stones lay to his right. It was where they had shared an evening beside a roaring bonfire.

She hurried off the dock and ran towards him. “Leo,” she shouted. “I’m coming.”

Leo turned around, lit by a sliver of sunlight, a half grin pulled at one side of his face, but he remained in place where he stood. Unlike the previous night when they met on the icy roadside by chance, he had moved towards her, seriously close to her.

“My parents told me you were waiting for me,” America said as she approached.

“They said you needed to talk.”

She slowed and put her hands out to him. He took her hands, and they stood face to face. He didn’t look mad, just really tired. His eyes tilted down at the sides and his lips were thin and chalky.

“Where to start,” she mumbled and looked down at her feet to make certain they hadn’t gotten an idea to escape. With feet planted on firm ground, she steeled her nerve.The truth. “I need to apologize to you. Really apologize. That’s why I’m here.”

“That’s not necessary, America—”

“It is. Now let me finish.” She waited for him to nod, and he threw in a soft grin. “That night we were here. I promised you something that I had no right to do.”

“About keeping the Christmas traditions alive? That was harmless,” he said.

“No. Well, yes, I did say that. But I’m talking about the promise I made with my heart. You opened up to me and trusted me. I broke that trust, and the promise of what we were building together, and for that, I’m sorry.”

“You think we were building something?” he asked and pulled her hands a little closer. His eyes turned up at the sides a little.

“Yes?” she said without hesitation.

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