Page 44 of The Summer of Christmas

“You had just gotten into USC.”

“Early decision. I was so happy.” Ivy looked away as she said it. It seemed so long ago and it was. Nine long years ago. She was caught up in the memory when—

“Ivy? Ivy?” Vera said. Ivy looked quickly at Vera. “I need you and Nick to fill out the background of the shot. You don’t have to skate—you can just hold onto the board if you want. But we need to start the shot now. You ready?”

“Ready,” Ivy said. Even though she wasn’t. And as the camera rolled, Ivy and Nick scooted onto the ice and skated slowly in the background.

In the foreground, Amari and Griffin held hands while they slowly skated. “I’m going to be three thousand miles away. I hate that. But I really want to go to USC,” Amari said.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if you’re three miles away or three thousand miles. I’ll always be there for you,” Griffin said to Amari as they acted out the scene.

“Cut!” Vera screamed. She turned to Drew and the cinematographer. “I think the zoom needs to be slower. Can we practice the dolly move before we bring Amari and Griffin back in?” The camera crew nodded in agreement as they pushed the camera slowly on the dolly.

At the other end of the tiny rink, Nick was staring at Ivy. “Did I really say that?”

“Yes, you did. You said that you’ll always be there for me,” Ivy reminded him.

“Oh.”

“But that didn’t happen.”

“I wonder what would have happened if USC had rejected you and you’d gone to NYU instead. We would have been on the same coast,” Nick said.

“Hmmm. I guess we’ll never know,” Ivy said as she almost lost her balance.

“I never liked the way we ended things,” he admitted.

“That makes two of us,” she said, unable to look him in the eyes.

Nick looked sadly at Ivy. He was about to say something when Vera called out again. “Let’s take it from the top!”

The scene played out again.

“I’ll always be there for you,” Griffin said. Then he grabbed the side of the rink and pulled Amari in for a kiss. A long, beautiful kiss which Ivy remembered only too well. She looked away, saddened by the memory. She couldn’t bear to look at Nick during the kiss. But if she had, she would have noticed a small teardrop from one eye. He was clearly caught up in the emotion too.

“And cut!” Vera yelled. “Let’s take that again, from the top. And wardrobe! Can we try a different hat on Griffin? That pom-pom hat looks too goofy. Not cool enough for Rick.”

Ivy watched as the wardrobe department came scuttling over, holding a black knit cap and a blue knit cap both sans goofy pom-pom. They held them out to Vera. Ivy realized that she had been about to break down and cry. Luckily, the wardrobe department had saved the day for her. Nick was watching her closely.

“I don’t think that pom-pom hat was too goofy. I remember you gave me one like that.”

“And you never wore it,” Ivy teased.

“So maybe it was too goofy.” Nick smiled. “I’m glad we can talk like this. You know?”

“I know. You’re just happy that I’m not trying to kill you,” Ivy said.

“Only in your script.” They were both smiling now. It felt almost normal to her.

“What about we both move forward? Try to be friends?” Nick suggested.

“I’d like to move forward,” she said, still smiling.

Her good mood lasted for five seconds as Nick “moved forward” by walking toward Amari.

“Hey, Nick,” Amari called out. “Look at me, I’m skating.” She flashed a grin as she skated toward Nick and Ivy. Amari pretended to slip on the fake ice and fell into Nick’s arms. Ivy rolled her eyes. Just when she’d thought things were getting better. Rory, the reporter, caught it all, snapping photos of Nick holding Amari in his arms.

Ivy left the ice. She knew she was off her game. Nick had confused her. Flirting, then not flirting. Then finally opening up. Ivy decided that if Nick was moving on, she was moving on too.

“That one is fuming,” Olivia, the hairstylist, said to Ella, the makeup artist, as they put away the hair and makeup materials. “I think she still loves the real guy.”

“I’m thinking she is going to go for Drew,” Ella said. The hair-and-makeup crew always knew all the on-set gossip. “Do you want to bet on it?”

“I think everyone would want to bet on it,” Olivia said. And that was how the Team Nick/Team Drew betting pool was born. As members of the crew learned about it, it would get bigger and bigger with a sizable amount of money in play for the person who would correctly predict who would end with who and when. Was it going to be Drew? Or Nick?

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