She wanted to tell someone. Anyone. The world. Maybe the server who looked even more like her father after several glasses of Dom Perignon.
Phoenix was smiling at her, as if words of shared joy were spilling from his lips. Yes, her mother would’ve liked him. Her father, too. Three words floated into her consciousness that startled her with their gravity.I’m in love.
The servers saved her descent into sentimentality with dessert.
Orchid returned to earth and thanked the waiter for the crème brûlée topped with blueberries. He smiled and walked away.
Then, it was just the two of them. Pale light shone down, cocooning Orchid and Phoenix in this moment filled with enough joy for a lifetime.
He pointed a spoon at her custard. “Acceptable?”
She scooped a taste onto her tongue. Sweetness spread. “More than acceptable.” He was asking about the confection. Orchid could only see Phoenix.
Her phone buzzed. She checked the screen. It was Mandy, asking how dinner was. The message caused her to notice the hour and she startled. “I don’t want this night to end but I have to finish packing.”
“I’m your expert at China trips. Don’t forget your adaptors. And your passport! Work visa? A copy of your hotel address in Chinese?”
She groaned. “I have a feeling I’m going to forget half the important stuff.”
“No way am I letting you feel stressed. Let me come up to help.”
What could she say? She didn’t want any more risk to her heart. And she didn’t want to let him go, either. Phoenix had saved her all these months.
He studied the worry on her face.
She tried to unpucker her brow.
“The check’s taken care of; want to go?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to split the bill?” When she saw his face, she quickly added, “Thank you for dinner.”
His expression softened. “No, thankyou.”
“For?”
“For one last night. For forgiving me.”
The evidence of his dad’s wishes had ended in shreds. Tearing up that letter had unified them. “Nothing to forgive.” Bubbly melting away her barriers, she thought about grasping his extended hand.
Was Mandy right? Do childhood travesties earn adult contentment? Maybe. She was more than content.
They walked into the chilled night air. A round moon filled the sky, brighter than the lights of the nearby bodegas. Her view blurred. Everything she’d wanted a few months ago was just ahead of her. The Beijing assignment. Her first trip to China. And this unexpected gift.
Her shoulders relaxed, her body’s confirmation that she could trust Phoenix.
As they walked, he slipped off his blazer. “It’s getting cold,” he said.
She draped it over her shoulders, the oversized jacket reducing her to a child’s proportions.
They walked together, bodies close, Phoenix’s pace in step with hers. Her arm brushed his as they sidestepped uneven pavement and dark puddles. Deep inside her, a barrier continued to drop, like water breaking against the sand.
Emboldened by a dark stretch before the lights of the next block, Orchid turned to face Phoenix. Without thinking it through, she tucked herself into his arms.
He pressed his lips lightly to her hair.
His breath warmed her scalp. Her legs felt like jelly.
He wrapped his arms even more tightly around her. It felt as if their strength, and the power of his caring for her, could carry through anything.
