ʺI wasnʹt playing hard to get or trying to make you want me/ Beth replied.
Chase laughed, as if she had meant to be humorous. ʺI think itʹs strange — girls dancing with girls, girls skating with girls, waiting for guys to notice them.ʺ
ʺSometimes,ʺ Ivy said, ʺtheyʹre just skating and dancing.” He turned to her, his gray eyes glittering.
ʺRarely.ʺ He reached for Bethʹs hand and Ivy watched them skate off, Beth keeping her head turned slightly away. While outwardly compliant; Beth wasnʹt connecting — not with Chase or me. Ivy thought. The difference was, Chase was so egotistical, he didnʹt realize it.
She exited the ice, wishing she had brought her own car and could drive home.
The rink had a concession area with wooden tables and chairs painted in bright orange and blue. Photos of hockey teams lined the walls. Sitting down, Ivy reached for her phone to see if Guy had called. ʺTired?ʺ Dhanya asked.
Disappointed that there was no message, Ivy glanced up at Dhanya and Max, who had followed her off the ice. ʺJust taking a break.ʺ
ʺHow about an ice cream?ʺ Max suggested. ʺMy treat.ʺ Ivy didnʹt want any, but she acquiesced, willing to let him score whatever points he could with Dhanya as a ʺthoughtfulʺ guy.
While they were ordering, Chase, Beth, and Will joined them, so they pushed together two tables and arranged chairs around them. Bryan and Kelsey were the last to leave the ice, staging a rather dramatic conversation — perhaps an argument — in the middle of the rink, which left both of them with flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
Like Suzanne and Gregory, Ivy thought, as they approached the concession stand. She told herself that it was simply the way some guys and girls played the romance game, but sometimes she felt as if she would never escape the memories of last summer.
The eight of them had just sat down with their ice cream cones when Ivyʹs phone rang. Will turned to Ivy as if surprised. Of course, he knew the ring tones of her friends, her mother, Andrew, and Philip, just as she knew the ringtones of his friends and his father. It was one more example of how intertwined their lives had become, that he knew this ring was different. Still, she prickled at the way he looked at her, as if no one should be calling her except the people that he had pre‐approved.
Walking a short distance away from the others, she put the phone to her ear.
ʺHello?ʺ ʺHey. Itʹs me.ʺ ʺHey.ʺ
ʺWhoever that is,ʺ Guy added quickly. Ivy laughed and sat down on a chair at another table. ʺHow was work?ʺ
ʺHard. And fun. Guess what, Iʹve got wheels!ʺ ʺYou do?ʺ Ivy chased a dribble from her ice cream cone, catching it with her tongue. ʺKip has loaned me an old motorbike. So whatʹre you doing?ʺ Guy asked. ʺThat doesnʹt sound like classical music in the background.ʺ
ʺNo. If s disco — good to skate to, I guess.ʺ Ivy told him about the rink and free passes. ʺWant to come over?ʺ There was a moment of silence. ʺWhoʹs with you?ʺ he asked.
ʺSome people you havenʹt met.ʺ Ivy crunched on her cone. ʺBeth, Max, Bryan, and Chase. And Kelsey and Dhanya, who you might remember from the hospital solarium. And Will. Iʹd love to see you, Guy.ʺ
ʺI donʹt think Will would love to.ʺ Ivy glanced over her shoulder. Will and Beth were watching her, and Ivy assumed they had guessed who was calling her. She could ignore their stares and hostility, but it wasnʹt fair to subject Guy to it.
ʺTomorrow then,ʺ she said. They talked a minute more before she returned to the table.
ʺI can guess who that was,ʺ Kelsey teased. Ivy popped the tip of her cone in her mouth. ʺThe gorgeous amnesiac.ʺ
ʺThe guy they fished out of the ocean?ʺ Bryan asked, his interest piqued.
ʺIn Chatham, right?ʺ Max added. ʺWhat was his name?ʺ
ʺHe still doesnʹt remember,ʺ Ivy said. ʺHe calls himself Guy.ʺ
ʺHow original,ʺ Chase remarked. ʺI just donʹt see how anybody can remain un-known for so long,ʺ Bryan said. ʺDid you Google him?ʺ Chase leaned forward, ʺUsing what search word?ʺ
ʺI tried Missing Persons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island,ʺ Will told them.
Ivy looked at him with surprise. ʺAnd I assume the police and hospital did the same. I checked again yesterday, but there are still no matches.ʺ
ʺWhy didnʹt you try the FBIʹs Most Wanted List!ʺ Ivy exclaimed. ʺI did. Of course, you have to be already convicted for mat.ʺ Ivy turned away. ʺI checked with a friend of my fatherʹs in New York, a criminal defense attorney.ʺ
Ivy swung back. “l canʹt believe you did that!ʺ Will continued calmly: ʺHe said that there are major turf battles and little communication between law enforcement officials from one town to the next and across state borders. Unless a person is running a major drug ring or part of a terrorist group, he could be on the lam or a suspect in a crime, and someone just ten miles away wouldnʹt be the wiser.ʺ
It took all of Ivyʹs effort not to blow up at him in front of the others. ʺThank you for such a thorough investigation, Will.ʺ She crumpled the coneʹs tissue wrapper, and rising, tossed it in a trash can before heading back to the ice.
She had skated half a lap when Bryan caught up with her.
ʺContrary to popular opinion, you have a temper,ʺ he said, grinning at her.
ʺEveryone has a point at which they lose their cool,ʺ Ivy replied.
ʺAbsolutely,ʺ he agreed. ʺItʹs one of the interesting things you learn when getting to know a person, the point at which they break. You donʹt break easily,” he added. Ivy kept skating. ʺIs that because you have extreme self‐control or because you naively believe that people arenʹt sticking it to you?ʺ
ʺAre those the only two reasons you see for not losing your temper?ʺ
He skated in front of her, turning to face her, skating backward. ʺYou know another one?ʺ ʺYes. You donʹt want to hurt the other person/ʹ ʺOh, that..ʺ He smiled at her. ʺDance with me, Ivy!ʺ
He slipped around behind her and skated close, his movements precisely matching hers. He faced her again, then turned her so that she skated backward.
Like a good dancer, Bryan had both the strength and skill to know how to lean and turn his partner, making it seem easy. Skating with him was fun and Ivy smiled.
Tiring of their dance, Bryan played a pretend game of hockey, rushing ahead, stopping on a dime, spinning back and circling Ivy as close as another skater could without actually touching. He skated backward, then charged her, as if he had a hockey puck, feinting to the left and the right. Ivy grinned and figured she was supposed to keep on skating — that he counted on her to hold a straight and steady line as he weaved and dodged about her. But once he faked so well she couldnʹt help it: She veered suddenly and they collided.
ʺWhoa!ʺ He grabbed her to keep her from falling and they spun around, Bryan laughing and holding her tightly. When they stopped spinning, he didnʹt let go, not right away. Ivy extracted herself from his arms and saw Kelsey watching them.
ʺLet’s just skate,ʺ Ivy said quietly to Bryan. ʺI think youʹve won this round with Kelsey.ʺ Bryan pulled her hand through the crook of his arm and skated in an easy rhythm with her. ʺAnd do you think that is all that I was trying to do — get to Kelsey?ʺ
ʺYes.ʺ
ʺOkay, Iʹll play along with you on that. I can pretend that I am madly in love with Kelsey and see no other girl but Kelsey, not even a girl with incredible hair and green eyes that a guy would never forget.ʺ When Ivy didnʹt respond, he turned to her. ʺI fake pretty well, you know.ʺ ʺI know.ʺ
ʺYou saw how well I could feint to the left and right. I can do that in more than hockey.”
ʺYes, and you saw what happens when you fake too convincingly. Not all collisions end well.ʺ
Bryanʹs eyes gleamed, and he threw back his head and laughed. ʺYou have no idea,ʺ he said, then skated off.