Postcards, pencils, mugs. None of those things would cut it. But then he saw exactly what he was looking for: a snow globe with King Kong inside climbing the Empire State Building, overlooking bumper-to-bumper taxis and the Statue of Liberty glued to the top of the clear plastic dome. Around the bottom was theI Love NYlogo with the heart symbol replaced with an apple. Oh, yes. This was a winner. He grabbed the globe, and, keeping it carefully out of Jane’s sight, wandered over to the other side of the newsstand.
He sent her another text.I got this in the bag, Schoonenburg.
A minute passed. Jane sauntered up, her hands held behind her back. “Ready to be humiliated?”
“I’malwaysready to be humiliated.” With a flourish, he presented his snow globe.
Her brows shot up and her eyes pulled wide. “Wow. That is... horrible.”
Miguel grinned. “I know.”
Jane sighed. “A good try.” She held up a Statue of Liberty bobble head.
“That’s it?” He tsked. “A little cheesy, but not cheesy enough.”
She held up her right index finger and very slowly pressed a button at the base of the statue. An ear-grating rendition of “New York, New York” echoed out of Lady Liberty. Jane flicked the statue’s crown, and the head bobbled to the beat of the music.
Miguel set his pathetic snow globe on a nearby shelf and stepped closer to Jane. “At least I didn’t go down without a fight.” He tapped the bobble head, setting it wobbling faster.
She grooved a little to the ongoing music.
Miguel laughed; he couldn’t help himself. “I believe I owe you a drink. What’s your poison?”
She jerked her head in the direction of the newsstand refrigerator. “Apple juice?” Her mom was an alcoholic. To Jane, “having a drink” always meant soda or juice. Mamá had always made sure to have Dr. Pepper for Jane at every family gathering.
“Apple juice it is.”
He grabbed a bottle, and they walked together to the cash register. Jane moved to set the Statue of Liberty bobble head back on a shelf.
“Wait,” he said. “That, too.”
She was surprised, but didn’t argue. She set it on the counter beside the juice bottle. “I didn’t realize you liked this so much,” she said with a smile.
“It’s a souvenir of my first trip to New York.” He paid then handed the juice to Jane. “I’ll put it on my coffee table and tell everyone who comes over thatyoupicked it out.”
She bumped him with her shoulder. “Don’t you dare.”
“Sorry, Jane. It’s already decided. Nothing you can do about it.”
They ambled back toward the gate, weaving around people. More and more flights were being delayed, and the airport was getting crowded. “Looks like you might need that U-shaped travel pillow after all,” Miguel said. “We could be camping out here tonight.”
She smiled at him. He’d always loved her smile. Seeing it again gave him hope that there might still be something between them. Friendship, at least.
“It’s good to see you again,” he said. He held his breath, waiting for her to turn on him.
She hesitated only a moment. “You too, Miguel.”
Chapter Five
Being with Miguel had once been as easy as breathing. She’d almost forgotten how nice that was. The past twenty minutes, laughing with him at the newsstand and now sitting in a quieter corner of the gate area, just chatting, had reminded her forcefully just how much she enjoyed his company.
“After all the Funyuns and Oreos, I really shouldn’t still be hungry.” Jane made the declaration as she took another handful of Miguel’s trail mix. “My only excuse is that I missed dinner.”
“Works for me.” He tossed back a handful as well. “Besides, we met over a bag of trail mix, so this isn’t new territory for us.”
“Trail mix and flag football.” She settled more comfortably into the corner between the wall and the booth bench. “It doesn’t get more romantic than that, does it?”
“At least I knew right off how competitive you were. The first thing you said to me was, ‘Well, this should be an easy win.’”
