Addi & Lane

Lane slowed down as he approached the red stoplight, coming to a halt. The brakes of his dad’s old red Chevy pickup truck squeaked.

“I’m so excited, we haven’t been ice skating in forever!” Addi said, radiating enthusiasm from the passenger’s seat.

“You’re right, we haven’t.” Running his left hand through his strawberry blond hair, Lane took a deep breath and held it. The last time he was on this pond was six years ago. He was eleven, chasing after his older brothers through the woods beyond this intersection, trying to keep up. He followed Ryan and Andrew out to the edge of the frozen pond, but lost track of which way they turned. Lane continued straight, right out onto the ice. He heard his name and looked over his shoulder, continuing forward. They yelled at him to stop, begged him to turn around and at first, Lane thought it was part of the game.

But then he heard it. The first crack.

His legs stopped running, but his shoes carried him a few more feet across the slippery ice.

Then he heard the second crack.

Throwing his arms out to balance on the slick surface, he began to change directions, heading back to the edge of the pond. He felt like an animated character in a cartoon; his legs moving beneath him, but he wasn’t actually going anywhere. As he shifted his weight, he felt the ice give way beneath him. The freezing water was an immediate shock, squeezing all the air out of his lungs, tightening every muscle in his body, slapping him across the face in every direction. Lane could only see black beyond his closed eyelids. When his head bobbed above the water, he saw both Ryan and Andrew on their bellies about fifteen feet away across the ice, waving their arms. He knew it wasn’t safe for them to come any further, not even to help their little brother, but Lane was terrified he couldn’t get out of the freezing water on his own.

Despite the heat blasting in the truck, Lane shivered. Remembering that day was the worst, and it would creep up on him sometimes. He hadn’t been back on the pond since then, even though his brothers tried to tell him it was just too early in the season, and the pond wasn’t frozen solid yet. But now, the thing he cared about the most was sitting next to him in his dad’s old red Chevy pickup truck, a ray of sunshine in the dead of winter, wanting to go ice skating. Addi had a special place in Lane’s heart since they were five years old. Last summer, he noticed her looking at him differently; she would tilt her head to the side as if seeing him for the first time. All in one year he had surpassed six feet tall, got his braces off, and was less of a string bean as his muscles finally began to show, embracing the manual labor he did on the farm. It seemed she finally saw him as someone other than the dorky farm boy down the road. Addi was the best thing in his life, and he wasn’t gonna miss out on ice skating with her, no matter how terrified he was.

“Laney?” Addi shook him from his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Light’s green.” Addi pointed to the stoplight.

“Oh, right,” Lane laughed, accelerating through the intersection.

“Are you okay?” she asked with concern. “You’re really quiet…don’t seem quite like yourself.” Lane maneuvered the truck down the road and pulled off to the side, next to the shallowest part of the pond. He turned off the engine and scratched his head.

“I guess I’m a little nervous,” he began.

“To go ice skating with me?” Addi asked.

“Well…not exactly.” He paused. “To go out on the ice.” He looked over at her dimly lit face and waited a moment.

“You haven’t been back here since then?” she asked with surprise. Lane shook his head slowly. He heard her voice catch as she began to shift their plan. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” She paused, swallowing hard. “We can totally skip this! We can go to a movie instead! Or get some hot chocolate?” she suggested excitedly. He smiled and looked through the windshield, out into the night. It had begun to snow large, fluffy flurries.

“The last time I went ice skating was with you.”

“When my arm was in a cast?” Addi said with surprise.

“Yeah. We were nine, I think.”

“You were nine, I was eight,” Addi pointed out.

“You always have to remind me of that,” Lane chuckled. He paused and took a breath. “Will you show me?”

“Show you? How to ice skate?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course I will!” Addi replied with a wide smile, jumping out of her seat and climbing out of the truck. “Let’s go!” She slammed the door and skipped to the back of the truck. “Come on!” she yelled when Lane didn’t immediately move. Laughing, he got out and grabbed their skates. He followed Addi to the large log situated at the edge of the frozen pond where everyone would leave their shoes while they were out on the ice. He had barely removed his boots when Addi stood, skates tied, patiently waiting.

“Go ahead,” Lane encouraged, smiling.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’ll wait for you.” She put on her pink mittens, rubbing her hands together.

“Get some of that energy out ‘cuz you know I’m not gonna go that fast,” Lane pointed out.

“Okay,” she squealed breathlessly, taking off to glide around the pond. Lane tied the laces of his left skate without looking, instead watching Addi with admiration. With one leg lifted behind her, she effortlessly maneuvered in a circle on one skate. The snow flurries swirled around her, looking like a scene from a snow globe. Listening intently, he didn’t hear any cracking noises. Lane breathed a heavy sigh of relief, telling the knot in his stomach to relax.

“You’ve gotten better!” Lane complimented, finishing up the laces on his right skate and standing up. He gently pushed off the log, away from the safety of the bank.

“Thank you!” she called out. Standing nervously, Lane inhaled sharply, wobbling a bit. “I would hope so, I’m not eight years old anymore,” she pointed out. You definitely are not, he thought. He threw his arms out to steady himself but it seemed to make it worse. Suddenly his skates slipped out from under him and he landed on his butt on the ice. Ow. He could tell Addi was trying not to smile as she glided over to him.

“It’s okay,” Lane stated. Addi offered both of her hands to help him up. He grunted as she hoisted him to his feet. “You can laugh at me.” She shook her head.

“Nope, I’m not gonna laugh! So, first thing,” she began. “Try avoid doing that starfish thing. You know, where your arms and legs are all spread out?” Addi dropped his hands and waved her arms around to demonstrate. “You’ll fall immediately.”

“Okay,” Lane nodded. He stood up straighter but before he knew it, his arms flailed again as his balance threatened to leave him.

“Here,” Addi held out her hands for him to grab, maneuvering directly in front so they were face to face. He took both her hands in his, gripping her soft mittens tightly, his heart pounding in his ears. Breaking eye contact, Lane looked down at their skates. She was skating backward, slowly pulling him along.

“How can you skate backwards when I can’t even skate forwards?” Lane wanted to know. Smiling, he looked at her. The flurries fell around them, swirling faster with bursts of wind.

“Just pump your legs out, right and then left. And to go backwards, you kinda do the opposite.” Lane stared down at his skates, watching them travel across the shiny frozen pond.

“Who taught you how to skate?”

“Ms. Rylynn. When I was in her class, there were a few of us that didn’t really know how to ice skate. So, she met us out here on a Saturday and showed us how.” Lane watched as Addi dropped his hands and expertly whipped back around to his side so they were facing the same direction. He slowed down since she was no longer pulling him.

“Man, she didn’t do that with my class,” Lane pouted. Addi laughed, skating in a circle around him.

“That’s because my class was better!”

“I’m sure you’re right about that. Being the youngest Garrison kid, my fate was sealed,” Lane laughed, craning his neck to follow her as she literally skated circles around him. Addi grabbed his hand again.

“Right then left, right then left,” she demonstrated slowly for Lane to follow. “Bend your knees, it lowers your center of gravity making it easier to balance.” Slowly separating his legs from the safety of each other, he did as Addi instructed.

“Oh, that does work,” he laughed, keeping his knees bent and pumping his legs.

“See! You’re doing great!” Lane felt his chest swell with pride. He thought he was pretty coordinated, but his fear of falling through the ice again kept him from really learning how to skate. The two of them slowly maneuvered in a large circle around the pond.

“I never thought I’d be out here again,” Lane said thoughtfully.

“That was a terrible thing that happened to you,” Addi said, quietly clearing her throat. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.” Lane sighed. “Thank you for helping me get past it. That’s why I wanted to go ice skating with you.”

“It was?” Lane could see the shock on Addi’s face.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t make fun of me for bein’ afraid.”

“You’re right,” Addi nodded, squeezing his fingers tightly. “I wouldn’t do that.” Lane noticed how soft her pink mitten felt in his hand.

“I know,” Lane nodded. “That’s why I love you.” Addi stopped skating, causing Lane to turn in front of her.

“You love me?” she whispered with surprise. Lane shut his eyes tightly, realizing he’d just let his biggest secret slip out.

“What I meant to say,” he began, clearing his throat and standing up straighter. His weight shifted backward and out of reflex he threw his arms out like a starfish again, trying to keep from falling but nearly punching Addi in the face. A second later, he was flat on his back on the frozen pond. He stared up at the night sky as Addi’s face came into view, peering at him cautiously.

“Are you okay?” she asked with concern. He got the wind knocked out of him, but Lane was more focused on how hot his face felt, like it was on fire. He was embarrassed and nervous and didn’t want to screw up the best thing in his life. He was worried if he told Addi the truth, he’d scare her away. But, he was even more terrified that if he tried to backtrack and make up some excuse, he’d hurt her feelings and make it worse.

"Who am I kiddin'?" he said, sitting up slowly. “I love you. I’ve loved you always, since we were five.” Lane took a deep breath and looked up at her. “I didn’t mean for it to slip out like that, and please don’t feel like you have to say nothin’ back to me.” Watching her face, Lane tried to gauge her reaction. “You make me a better man, and I like who I am when I’m with you.” He paused, tugging at his collar. “Is it hot out here?” Addi laughed, kneeling down next to where he sat on the ice. She leaned in, kissing him softly. Lane could feel her lips smile against his own.

“I love you, too,” Addi grinned. Lane could hardly believe his whole world just got better, his heart exploding with love and excitement.