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 said, "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?"
He nodded. "If you give me a ride, then you can say it." She smiled as she led him back toward her car.
"Whoa," he said, sliding inside. "Now this is a car."
"Same car he drove when I was in high school"
"Does it bring back memories of driver's ed.?"
"Almost." She turned the key in the ignition, causing the engine to spin to life. "Where do you live?" she asked, backing the car out of the space.
"Not very far from here. Off of State Circle. On Michigan Avenue."
"Apartment?" she asked, effortlessly steering the car through what must have been at least eight inches of powdery snow.
"Is that where you'd think I'd live?" "Well," she said, smiling, "I would've said yes, but I can tell from the way you asked that you live in a house. Dont you?"
"Very perceptive, Holmes."
"Thank you, Dr. Watson... or Hoffman, as the case may be." He smiled at her. A friendly smile, she decided. But not an "interested" smile. She made a left-hand turn onto Michigan Avenue.
"It's this house up here on the right," he said pointing to a two-story colonial. Nice, but not ostentatious. It was a family house, not the type of house she expected him to have. She thought he'd have something a little flashier, showier.
"It's nice," she said simply.
"It's a little big for me right now. I haven't done much with it since I bought it"
She pulled up in front of his house and stopped. Before he could open the door she blurted out, "About earlier. I'm sorry if I seemed a little... forward."
He put his hand on the door handle and hesitated. "What? I was just about to apologize to you."
"For what?" she asked, surprised.
"Well, I... I damned near kissed you on the ice."
"You did?" she asked hopefully. "I, well, do you..." He hesitated for a split second. "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or tea? Actually, I could use your opinion on something. A couple of holiday decorations I bought for the yard."