Waterbound

1925

"They selling coffee, if you—" Fabrizio began.

"That sounds wonderful," she replied, not even waiting for him to finish. "I'm completely frozen all the way through."

They helped each other to their feet and, tightly holding hands, carefully made their way off the ice. Fabrizio paid for two coffees and a small bag of still warm ginger cakes from a small cart that sat nearby and brought them to the bench where they had earlier left their shoes.

He watched in amusement as Lelia struggled to grip her coffee with her mittens. "You need help?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll manage." The cup began to slip from her hands but Fabrizio reached out and caught it.

"Where you get them?" He asked.

"I made them."

"They look like socks."

Lelia suddenly looked sheepish. "When I made them, I forgot the thumbs so I had to go back and add those in later," she admitted. "It didn't really work out like I thought it would."

"I like them," Fabrizio replied. "They remind me of you."

"Ugly and impractical?"

"No," he said. "Different. Unique. Rara."

It seemed as though Lelia was at a loss for words for a moment. She looked down at her mittens and a small smile spread across her face. "Well." She pulled them off and reached for her coffee. "I'll just have to drink it quickly before my hands freeze." But just as she brought it to her mouth, it flew out of her hand in a shower of snow."

A peal of laughter led to the same child from earlier.

"Hold these, please." Lelia dumped her mittens in Fabrizio's lap. Standing, she took a step forward but the blade of one of her skates caught in the snow and she fell on her face.

Without hesitation, Fabrizio grabbed a ginger cake and hurled it at the child, hitting him square in the face and earning several displeased looks from everyone around. He reached down to help Lelia back to her feet.

She laughed as she brushed the snow from her coat. "I forgot I was wearing skates." She looked at the people who were still glaring in their direction. "I think we should probably go."

"Probably good idea."

They quickly replaced their skates with their own shoes and Lelia, pulling on her mittens once again, wrapped a hand around his arm.

"Hungry? Fabrizio asked as they left the park. It was far too early for lunch but he wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

Lelia looked up at him and smiled. "Starving."

~~~

Kate found herself in the midst of kneading dough when Vera showed up unannounced at her door. She had tried to hint that it wasn't a great time—her pregnancy left her exhausted. But Vera ignored the hints and, instead, trailed her back into the kitchen.

Despite her irritation, Kate prepared Vera a cup of tea, who then wasted no time launching into a discussion about her upcoming wedding. "So, obviously, Wally's insisting on the church for the ceremony which isn't my preference," she began as she settled herself at the kitchen table. "But I put my food down at the reception. That has to be at the Early Bird."

"Naturally," Kate replied automatically, only half paying attention.

"And for my bouquet, I'm thinking lilies. Hundreds of lilies and those long ferns that trail all the way to the ground. What did you have?"