In a New York Minute

Chapter One

If the Earth was just a small speck of the galaxy, then New York was the center of the universe. At least, that's the way that Harper always saw it.

The late winter sun rose slowly over Manhattan, casting a gentle glow over the city and bathing the buildings awash in hues of soft golds and pinks and blues. Harper Mitchell was rising just as slowly as the sun, but nowhere near as beautifully. With each twinkle of her phone's alarm attempting to wake her up, Harper would grumble and smack her hand around her bed to find the offending object and turn it off. It didn't matter that she had an alarm set to go off every 5 minutes; she was determined to stay in bed for as long as possible. The bookstore owner had no desire to wake up early after spending all night reading, and despite the sounds of Greenwich Village starting to wake up, she was determined not to get up any sooner than she needed.

Uptown in the Upper West Side, Alex Reynolds had a different mentality about how he needed to start his day. He woke up promptly at 5:30 every morning, never allowing his phone to even consider the possibility of being snoozed. He would spend the first half hour of his day doing a short yoga routine, then jump into the shower and have breakfast. Depending on the day, Alex would either opt to have a bowl of oatmeal with toast or, if he felt like treating himself, a bagel with a heavy schmear of cinnamon brown sugar cream cheese that made Alex force himself to keep from moaning in delight after the first bite. Afterward, he would get started on his day and take the subway to his office settled in between the very slim margin of the theater district and midtown.

As Harper's phone rang out with another twinkling rendition of whatever generic ringtone she picked, she groaned. She started the process of trying to find her phone to snooze it once more before her eyes flew open in alarm.

"Shit," she hissed, sitting up quickly and searching more frantically for her phone. The moment Harper found it, she held her phone close to her face and repeatedly swore under her breath as she leaped out of bed. Why had she decided to tell old Mr. Hawthorne that she would stop by his apartment to take a look at a vintage book he had found for her so early in the morning? Why hadn't she told him to just come visit the bookstore when he could?

It was the allure of having something new, Harper reminded herself. The call of old vintage books was strong for Harper even if she had finally agreed that The Enchanted Inkwell needed to modernize and start selling contemporary fiction and non-fiction. And old Edwin Hawthorne started to like his days early so that he could take his long walks through Central Park. If she didn't catch him now, who knew when he would decide to make his way back down to Greenwich?

Harper took a quick shower, threw her auburn hair up into a bun as she quickly put on her vintage floral-printed dress that she swore brought spring on early every year, grabbed her bag, and practically ran out the door the moment her Doc Martens were laced. She rushed down the stairs from her third floor apartment, through the top floor of The Enchanted Inkwell, and then barreled through the entrance just as Lily, one of Harper's employees and best friends, opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Lily shouted as Harper rushed down the sidewalk. Harper stopped for just a moment, grimacing as she tripped over her own feet as she spun around.

"Going to see Eddie!" she said by way of explanation, turning back around and heading towards the subway as Lily gave her a thumbs up.

Alex's morning was going far more smoothly than Harper's. Then again, he was a man of routine, and he refused to allow that routine to be broken. He would leave his apartment overlooking Central Park, the apartment he managed to purchase at an absolute steal of a price, thank you very much, make his trek to the 110th Street station, wait for far too long, in his humble opinion for the subway, then, regretfully, get off at Times Square. As he walked, he would throw on his headphones and pull up an episode of one of his favorite tech podcasts, the faintest of smiles crossing his lips whenever a funny quip would be made. On his wait as he traveled between 110th Street and 42nd Street, Alex would pull up his queue of saved news articles that he found at breakfast and read.

He would catch up on local politics, find out what had happened overnight in the city, but mostly he would focus on whatever technological advances were being made that he needed to take note of. As a software engineer, Alex's job focused on trying to be ahead of the game and make sure that his team was up-to-date on whatever security flaw that might occur or take note of what threats were incoming. He worked hard to avoid issues before they ever occurred, something that translated into his everyday life. So far it had been going well.

Sometimes, however, Alex would wonder what would happen if his life was a little different. He glanced up from his phone as the train stopped for just a moment to let off passengers and let new ones on, and watched as a couple and their small child boarded. The man let his wife – Alex made sure they both wore wedding rings before assuming – sit down and lifted their curly-haired child to sit on her lap. He stood, holding onto the overhand bar, and looked down admiringly at his wife and child, his stance protective as others loaded. The man let go for just long enough to kiss his wife and press a quick kiss to the top of his child's head before resuming his position. It was a touching sight, Alex had to admit, but it was the last thing on Alex's mind.

He had too much work to do and not enough time to handle a relationship. Maybe someday.

The moment Alex's train arrived at 42nd Street, he was quick to get up, slinging his messenger bag onto his shoulder, but not depositing his phone into his pocket like usual. He was thoroughly engrossed in what he was reading, and like all good New Yorkers, he had become proficient in reading and walking. Did he frown upon people who did it? Of course, but Alex couldn't help himself. There was a new security threat that was being reported that could potentially directly affect the coding for the programs his team worked on, and he wanted to know what they were coming up against.

Depending on the day and how the two looked at it, it was unfortunate that Alex was so engrossed in his phone and that Harper was in a rush. Lost in his podcast and his phone, the cacophony of New York City was drowned out, and as he stepped onto the street, he felt himself being shoved unceremoniously sideways. Alex stumbled and reached out to catch the small form that had smashed into him as best as he could, fumbling to keep his phone in his hand while also trying to save whoever had neglected to watch where they were going.

For the first time in Alex's life, time seemed to stop.

Harper looked up in embarrassment at the man who was holding her far more closely than expected. Her hazel eyes, framed by her favorite octagon-shaped glasses, met his deep brown gaze, and she felt herself flush.

"I'm so sorry," Harper said, not quite wanting to leave the man's arms. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and shook his head.

"It's okay," he said, trying to give Harper what she imagined was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "No harm done, right? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harper said. "Are you?"

"Perfectly fine," the man replied to her.

Harper let out an embarrassed giggle and cleared her throat. She carefully disentangled herself from the man's arms, readjusted her bag that was slung across her body, and gave him a shy wave.

"Sorry again," she said as she went on her way.

Alex remained rooted to the spot as he watched the woman walk away, the loose tendrils of her hair bouncing as she walked. He took in the hem of her dress from underneath her dark wool peacoat and hummed to himself. It reminded him of spring, the soft pastel colors melting together in the way that new flowers seemed to bloom.

To his surprise, the woman turned back around, and when their eyes met once more, she gave him a smile that was equally as shy as her parting wave before quickly turning around, her face turning just as red as her hair.

He remained where he stood, not caring that he was blocking the way until the woman turned the corner. With her out of sight, Alex let out the breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. He didn't move until someone berated him for being in the way, shoulder-checking him as they passed.

With his lips pressed into a thin line, Alex finally started to make his way toward his office in the opposite direction the woman went, leaving the woman and her memory behind.