“Really? Kids are getting phones at this age?”
“It’s bad,” Brody says. “Anyway, Hannah’s mother promised to take her to this place and ditched her about five times this winter. It’s the last weekend they’re open, and I walked in on her doing a Google search for the restaurant. There’s no website, so she thought it was already closed down for the season and started tearing up. Honestly, I didn’t think my kid ever cried. You can imagine it broke my damn heart.”
It just broke mine too. Poor thing. “Well, I’m glad we’re going to this unknown location of a restaurant.”
“It’s actually pretty incredible from what I’ve heard, but I’d rather you see it for yourself. My explanation probably won’t do the place much justice.”
“I like this side of you, Brody.”
“Shh, she can still hear you through those things. She turns into a T-Rex if anyone says anything nice to me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind tonight. I won’t say anything nice. Easy.”
“You look gorgeous, by the way. Way more than just beautiful,” he whispers. “And I want to hold your hand, but I think something bad would happen.” Brody nudges his head toward the back seat.
Holding hands is very symptomatic of a relationship. He jumped into this feet first with me and didn’t have a clue how hard it’s going to be for me to get over this pivotal peak in my life.
“Is this a date?” I ask him.
Brody swallows hard before opening his mouth to respond. “It’s whatever you want it to be. I figure if we are going to spend time together, hopefully, maybe, you should know what it’s like to be around me with Hannah because it isn’t always this sugary sweet.” I assume he’s trying to say things are normally hellish between them. I was more of a Daddy’s girl and didn’t give him a whole lot of trouble, but my parents didn’t get divorced. I don’t know what kind of effect it’s had over Hannah. I’m not sure I’d want to be in her shoes.
“You think you’re going to scare me away tonight, so you want to take things one step at a time?” I laugh because it’s an interesting approach to dating, but not the worst idea. I might be anti-kids, and this would never work out. On the contrary, I say I don’t want kids because I don’t think I’ll ever end up with any. I do want a family. I’ve even dreamed of a picket fence like Melody has, but I’m a realist. My dream slipped away when I took the blame for causing someone’s life to be held in a purgatory of a useless body.
“Without sounding like a pig. I’ve scared my fair share off over the last few years. A divorce is hard enough to accept, but a kid who hates the world is the perfect formula for a single life for at least another eight years.”
“Why me?” I ask. “What’s different about me?”
“Everything.”
14
It takesa lot to shock me these days, but as we pull into a parking lot, the sight of glowing lights pulls me forward from my seat, wondering what I’m seeing.
Brody squeezes my car in between two trucks who are both over the line. Carefully, I step out, trying not to smash my door into the other vehicle … even though the urge to dent their door is great.
As we walk down a lit path as the landscape unfolds before us, Hannah is smiling, which is rare from what I’ve seen. I wonder how she found out about this place. I’ve seen nothing like it before. “It’s like a castle made from ice?”
“Yes,” Hannah says with a note of happiness. “It’s supposed to be incredible inside. My friend went two months ago.”
“Well, now it’s our turn,” I tell her. “Plus, we’ll take lots of pictures so you can hang onto them after and keep them as memories.”
Hannah twists her lips to the side and shrugs with a nod of her head. “Yeah, that would be cool.”
Upon entering, there are walls of ice lit up with varying shades of blue. There’s a hostess stand made from bricks of ice and an entire setup of chairs and tables. It almost looks like the Northern Lights within the confines of this ice cave. It’s so beautiful, I hardly notice the frigid temperatures.
There are intricate carvings along the walls, and I can’t imagine how long it must have taken someone to create all of this by hand. I take my camera from my backpack and snap a couple of shots, completely caught up in the beauty. Brody’s hand rests on my shoulder. “Our table is ready. Do you want to meet us over there?”
I pull the camera away from my face and run my fingers across the etched lines on the wall. “No, I’m all set.” Settling the camera back in my bag, I turn toward Brody, finding a sweet smile across his face. With all the facial hair, I hadn’t had the right moment to see the details of the lower part of his face. He has dimples and a square chin; his face is more defined than it was when we were younger. “You really love what you do, huh?”
“It allows me to have the life I want,” I tell him. Alone with the amazing wonders of the world. It’s the best part of my life.
The tables have metal placemat settings, and there are metal lined areas to sit. Hannah’s gaze has been wandering around the restaurant with a look of amazement. It’s the happiest I’ve seen her, and Brody is watching with a look of love swimming within his eyes. “Can I go look at those sculptures?” Hannah asks.
“Go for it,” Brody tells her.
The moment Hannah stands up from the table, Brody’s hand rests on my lap. “Is this uncomfortable?” The two of us have been far quieter than usual. It highlights the fact of our banter taking up most of our conversations.
“I’m not uncomfortable.”
