Page 41 of Ticket to You

The rest of the afternoon drags on. I can only take so many pictures of Mila before they all start blurring together in my head, an amorphous blob of gold.

Eventually, I turn my focus to the kids, digging for any standout quotes to use in the article. They tell me Mila is “fun and playful,” but I haven’t noticed. I don’t doubt them. She’s probably great, but my mind is already running on overdrive thinking about Ophelia.

During my last interview with the oldest in the group, Mila saunters over to Ophelia. They’re close enough for me to hear snippets of their conversation.

“So, are you two going to be busy tonight?” Mila asks Ophelia.

“I’m not sure what Adam has planned.”

“Would you mind if I steal him for a few hours? I would like to take him to dinner to thank him for everything.”

No.I don’t want to spend any more time away from Ophelia.

For a while, Ophelia doesn’t answer, so Mila continues. “Unless you two are…”

“No–no, we’re not…We’re not anything,” Ophelia says, her voice flat. “We’re just coworkers.”

Oof.She’s being honest, but the reminder stings.

Soon Mila is back at my side, buzzing with renewed vigor. “Adam, the kids have been begging to see who can reach the top of the wall first between you and me.”

Though I try to protest, the kids chant and cheer me on. Clearly, they won’t bring us back to the cable car station until I give in. Soon, I’m standing at the base of the wall beside Mila, both of us harnessed and anchored to the top of the forty-foot face on the mountainside.

“Drei…zwei…eins!” the kids shout.

Mila climbs right onto the wall, but I look back to Ophelia before I go, offering her a half-smile, half-grimace.

Like spiders, we move up the rock. I go as fast as I can, knowing that the sooner I top out, the sooner I can go back down to Ophelia. Mila keeps up with me, laughing along her way. We reach the top of the wall at the same time, and Mila kicks over to me, suspended by her rope. She pulls me into a hug. I keep both hands on the wall.

After we descend the wall, Mila turns to Ophelia. “Your turn.”

Ophelia laughs, looking between Mila and me in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”

Mila hands her a harness. “Not at all.

Ophelia scoffs awkwardly. “I’m not good with heights.”

“What’s the number one rule?” Mila asks the kids in a singsong voice.

They all shout back a German phrase in unison.

Mila claps her hands. “Come on, Ophelia. You can do it…Do it…Do it…”

The kids join the chant, pounding their fists in the air, “DO IT!”

Knowing Ophelia will be miserable up there, I almost tell Mila to let it go, but Ophelia snatches the harness and steps into it before I have the chance. Ophelia pulls the harness up over her hips, and I move my hands to her waist, securing the harness slowly. If Ophelia does slip, I want to be sure she’s safe, so I double-check every bit of the harness, jostling Ophelia’s body with each crank of the straps. I’ve been imagining what it would be like to touch Ophelia again, but this isn’t the setting I had in mind.

“You don’t have to do this,” I whisper hoarsely in her ear.

She lifts her chin in determination and puts a helmet on.

Suddenly overly paranoid, I check the harness yet again. I lift up on the back loop to make sure the main belt won’t move. Then, I slid two fingers between the top of the harness and Ophelia’s waist, checking the tightness. Finally, I repeat the same movement, this time between the top of her thighs and the leg loops.

Her body trembles under my hands, probably with nerves, and she jumps back, heading straight to the wall. “I’m sure it’s secure enough, Adam.”

I furrow my brow and tie myself to the other end of the rope behind Ophelia. “I’ve got you.”

Mila walks to Ophelia’s side and points out a path marked with green tape on the far side of the wall. “That is the easiest route. Use your legs, not your arms.”

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