When I checked the time, I realized it was almost four in the afternoon.
“How? Where did the time go?” I asked.
Cole laughed. “I guess time flies by when you’re with good company.”
“Indeed,” I said and offered him my hand again.
He glanced at it for a moment and then, without hesitation, grabbed it so we could get out of there.
Taxis ended up being a nightmare, and even when we managed to get one, it was stuck in Friday traffic after five minutes.
“Map says if we go through the park we can be there in twenty minutes,” Cole said.
I checked the road ahead. There was no chance we’d be moving in the foreseeable future.
“Let’s do it,” I said, then paid the driver and got out.
We crossed the street and entered Boston Common following the trail in Cole’s phone.
“So… how does it feel to be out of Mayberry Holm for the first time in your life?”
Cole took in a deep breath and looked around him as if studying his surroundings.
“It’s nice. It’s… different.”
“Yeah. You don’t get that kind of traffic in Mayberry.” I chuckled.
“No. Definitely not. But the winter festival was nice. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Really? I didn’t think it was that much better than Mayberry’s Winterberry festival,” I said. “I don’t think our island’s festival has anything to envy.”
Cole stopped and stared at me, and his gray eyes reflected the fairy lights all around us, making them look shiny, wet almost.
“You saidourisland.” He smiled.
“Oh. You noticed that?” I said.
“You think of Mayberry as yours then. Your home?”
I squeezed his hand and brought it to my lips to kiss it.
“I always felt at home in Mayberry since we set foot on the island four years ago. It’s the place where I feel like myself the most. Where I belong. Even more so now.”
Cole’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded very slowly as if digesting what I’d said.
“Even more so now?” he whispered after a few moments.
“Yeah. That’s where… that’s where my heart is now.”
Cole narrowed his eyes and licked his lips, but he seemed confused.
“You, Cole,” I said. “You’re my heart.”
“Oh.” He blinked. “Oh. I… wow. Yeah. Okay.”
I tilted my head and studied him for a moment, and then we both laughed.
“God, I’m so weird, aren’t I?” Cole laughed, hiding his face in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close.
