Page 8 of When Fate Breaks
“That would be perfect,” I stammer. “If you just text me the details, I can book your flight–”
“That’s okay,” Blake says, cutting me off.
My eyebrows pinch together. “What? Why? Will your company cover it?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’ll send you my itinerary once I get it booked.”
“Alright,” I say, not sure what else there is to say. “...Talk to you soon?”
“Yeah, see you soon.”
See you soon.
“Thank you, Blake. This really…means a lot to me.”
“Of course. I’m happy to help out an old friend.”
An old friend.
“Goodnight, Evangeline.”
“Goodnight, Blake.”
2
NINETEEN YEARS AGO
Bright light hits my eyes at the same time the brisk winter New York City air bites my nose and cheeks.
“Steph, you hold on to Annie’s hand, you understand?” my mom says as we step out of the Subway tunnel and make our way to the crosswalk’s edge.
“Iaaam!” Steph calls back, squeezing my half-frozen fingers even tighter in her tiny hand. “You told me ten times already, Mommy!”
Steph may only be four, but she already has the sass of a teenager. I hide my chuckle as we make our way across 81st Street, still heavily decorated with Christmas decorations and bustling with thousands of tourists.
“How on Earth are we going to find them?” Mom asks Dad.
“Kyle said they’d be on the Great Lawn as close to our stop as they could get,” Dad replies. “And that we wouldn’t be able to miss them, whatever that means.”
We reach Central Park, making our way down the path towards the Great Lawn. It’s just before noon on New Year’s Eve.
My family had planned to have a quiet winter break at home in Ramer this year, but– between my mom’s long desire to get out of town and Kyle Di Fazio’s spontaneity– all it took was one phone call the week before Christmas between my dad and his best friend for us to find ourselves booking a last minute quick trip to New York City for the New Year’s holiday.
The Di Fazios were making the five hour drive from Lake Placid to spend the evening in Times Square and to grab a quick breakfast with us the next morning before catching our flight back to Alabama. My parents own the only hardware store in our town back home, meaning we can’t ever leave it closed for too long. For this reason, all of our family trips are always rushed and frantic; but they are definitely memorable.
We barely step foot on the grass before three blurs of neon pink catch our eyes.
“Oh, Lord,” my dad says, shaking his head, breaking out in laughter.
Kyle Di Fazio turns, making eye contact with us, holding his arms out and pointing towards his beanie, alook, it worked!grin lighting up his face.
He and Emily make their way towards us and I lean to the side, peering around them to see the third pink beanie staying behind. Blake is totally oblivious, lying on his stomach, his nose buried in a book, an open bottle of Dr. Pepper on the ground next to him. He’s gripping a pencil in his left hand, writing something inside of the book, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration the same way it did three years ago in the bathroom.
“Hey, brother!” Kyle says, his blue-green eyes that are nearly identical to Blake’s shining. He gives Dad one of those handshakes that turns into a hug that men do before greeting Mom, giving her a peck on the cheek. “I knew you’d see us!”
“Yeah, so will every apartment owner above the fifth story in the Upper West and East Sides,” Dad jokes. “Maybe avoid the sidewalks. Wouldn’t want to cause an accident.”
“Oh, shut it,” Kyle shoots back. Him and Dad quickly spur off into their own conversation as Emily takes a step towards us, rolling her eyes dramatically. “All his idea, Heidi, I swear,” she says smiling, leaning in to give us all hugs. “How was the flight?”
