Linda's Story

Cold Air, Warm Hearts

"You know what would be fun this time of year?" She had asked him enthusiastically, gripping to his arm and rising on her toes. Her breath froze in the air, her smile showed her teeth.

Her energy was contagious, "what?" He had answered, expecting her to have an over-idealized romantic date in mind. Something about spaghetti and two certain dogs came to his mind.

"Ice skating!"

"'Scuse me?"

"Ice skating! I haven't been in two years! Come on, Danny, it'll be fun! And afterwards, we can get hot chocolate and snuggle under a blanket, and be all cozy."

He must really love her- otherwise he would've told her no. Danny sighed as he took out a red sweater from the back of his closet.

"You don't even know how to skate," Joe stated the obvious from his spot against the doorframe. "Last time we went, you played the arcade games the entire time. The time before that, you fell on your ass so much, you couldn't sit down for a week."

"That's part of the plan," he pulled his current sweater off and tossed it to the floor.

"To fall on your ass?"

"I suck at ice skating, that's a fact. It's gonna be very obvious I suck, so naturally, Linda's gonna want to hold my hand to keep me from falling. Cause she gets very upset when people hurt, therefore she'd want to prevent it."

Joe opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, realizing there was nothing intelligent to say to that. He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked to his room, making a note of that little trick.

************

Linda sighed as she stared at the three outfits on her bed. Which one to choose? Should she choose the practical outfit of jeans, thick socks, and a chunky sweater? Or should she choose the flirty option of a figure-flattering smaller sweater, one of her shorter skirts, and knee-high socks? Or should she go in between, with the small sweater and jeans? She groaned and grabbed the third option, figuring it was the safest bet.

Ice skating was one of her favorite winter activities. She was glad that the ice rink opened early this year; usually she had to wait till Thanksgiving weekend for it to open. She had to wait an extra week, because the rink was packed to to gills opening weekend. Snow came early this year, so the rink decided to capitalize on that fact.

"I can't wait!" She squealed to herself, pulling her sweater on over her head.  "It's gonna be great!"

**********

"Be careful!" Mary called after her son as he walked out the door for his date. "And don't stay out later than Linda wants to! The girl needs her sleep!"

Danny rolled his eyes as he opened the car door, "yes, Ma!"

"I mean it!"

"Mom." His tone was annoyed. "Her curfew's like 11:30, It's fine! And she's not shy about asking for what she wants."

"Just be careful! And respectful!"

"Bye, Mom!" He slammed the door shut, groaning to himself. Mothers....

Mary sighed as she walked to the den to sit with her husband. She tucked her feet underneath her, linked her arm though his. "He's gonna marry that girl, or my name isn't Mary Reagan."

Frank looked up from the book he had been reading, "you think so?"

"I know so!" She smiled, then turned serious. "Wanna bet?"

**********

Linda smiled widely as Danny parked the car at the rink. They had grabbed a bite to eat beforehand, and with full tummies, they stepped into the rink. She pulled him to the place to rent skates, and they sat down to lace them up.

Linda expertly laced her skates while Danny struggled a little bit. "So when was the last time you went skating?"

"Two years ago."

"Me too. How many times did you fall? I think I feel twice. On my knees."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, it was not a fun few days."

His skates were laced, so they made their way onto the ice. Danny watched his feet and hugged the wall for the first ten minutes. He hoped Linda didn't notice how truly bad he really was.

Linda skated in front of him, going backwards, "you look a little rusty."

"I'm fine," he lied, then nearly slipped. Instinctively, he grabbed the wall and her hand.

She smiled, not saying anything about his bad skating. They skated until Linda declared she wanted hot chocolate. So much to Danny's relief, they were sitting in his car, sipping cocoa.

She was laughing at a joke he had made, when suddenly she put her hand on his arm. "Wait a minute. What time is it?"

"Uh... just after nine."

"We can just make it if we hurry."

"What?"

"To the Stork's Orange Creams store!"

"The where?"

"My favorite chocolate shop in the world! Can we go? Please?"

***********

They were back in the car, the heat almost on full blast, as Linda opened the bag of chocolates. She took out a bite out of the round ball, sighing happily. "Oh, that's the best. Here, taste." She fed him a chocolate, finished hers. "Well?"

He nodded, "it's pretty good."

"Pretty good? Pretty good? They're the best!" She ate another one, smiling happily. "This is great, thanks for bringing me here."

Danny smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss. The bag crinkled in her gloved hands as his tongue snuck past her lips.

She hummed when he pulled away, slowly popping a chocolate in her mouth. She would remember this night for the rest of her life.

*************

~Twenty four years later~

"You are such a liar," Linda crossed her arms as she sat in bed that night.

"I am not!" Danny protested, wondering what she was talking about.

"Yes, you are. Pretending to suck at skating just so I would hold your hand? No, I saw you. You truly sucked. No one could fake being that bad."

"Thanks a lot! All I wanted to do was hold your hand."

"You could've just, you know, asked to hold my hand."

Danny swung an arm around her, pulling her down into his lap. She laughed out loud, powerless to the fingers dancing across her side.

"Danny! Stop it!" She sighed, a few small giggles escaping her mouth as his fingers stalled.

He kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her short hair, "I love you."

"I love you more."

"I love you most." She laid in his lap for some moment filled with comfortable silence before she wondered, "is there more chocolate?"