Cracked Ice ~ Part 9.75

"CRACKED ICE” by Leora Tozer © 2013 - Part 9.75 

Ten in the evening and I should be heading for bed. I slip on my coat and shoes. I still felt a bit jangled up from the office, so I decided it’s time for a walk. 

I slipped out the front door and closed it carefully behind me. I walked down the sidewalk, listening to my heels clipping on the cement. The sky was clear, with the moon shining brightly on the sidewalk. 

I walked fast and was several blocks from the boarding house. I wasn’t looking out at the street, just focused on the sidewalk ahead and my thoughts. 

The sky opened up and rain poured down. The air was warm enough, so it didn’t feel cold at first. I felt stress ease from my shoulders as the rain drops fell on me. 

The rain got heavier and I realized I wasn’t sure how far from the house I was. I needed to turn around. My shirt and skirt were starting to feel heavy from the water soaking into them. I turned around and saw a two-toned 1931 Caddy Roadster slowly driving next to me. 

It stopped and the passenger window opened up a crack. 

“Benson, hop in.”

I opened the car door and slid in. “You realize your car’s going to get soaking wet from me.” I felt a bit self-conscious. Certainly Art noticed the soaked cotton shirt clinging to me. 

As I shut the door, Art handed me a beach towel and smiled, “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.” 

“Why do you have a towel in your car?” 

Art turned the car around and answered, “I’m always ready, in case I want to go for a swim.” 

I looked puzzled, “What about a bathing suit?” 

Art smiled, “We always have bathing suits under our clothes, don’t we?” 

As we talked, I noticed he drove past the boarding house. “Hey, aren’t you going to take me home?” 

“If you’re out walking in the rain at 10:30 at night, you don’t want to go home,” Art answered. 

“Not necessarily. Perhaps the walk and the rain helped me enough so I could get some sleep,” I said. 

My slightly nervous hands gave me away. “Do you want to go home?” Art asked. 

I looked at him, studying his profile as he drove, “No, I don’t.” 

“So, where to?” 

“If you want, we could drive around and talk. I should go home after a bit.” Yes, I felt a certain kinship to Art and definitely find him attractive. Yet, I was too keyed up after giving Henry a massage, and thought it best to be by myself tonight. 

Art thought a moment, “How about if we drive around and talk tonight? And if you promise me something.” 

“Depends upon what you want me to promise,” I replied. 

“Will you go with me to explore a new nightclub tomorrow night?” Art asked. 

“I don’t see anything wrong that,” I replied, “As long as we can keep that between us.” I thought Leo would be bugging me much more if he heard that Art took me out. 

“No problem,” Art said. The particular club that he wanted to check out wasn’t the type of place he would mention to his brothers anyways. 

As we drove around town and chatted the rain stopped. Fortunately, my mind was distracted and I felt relaxed. 

“Do you want to get a Mile High?” Art asked. 

“Wait…a what?” I responded. 

“Oh, you’ll see; we’re almost there,” Art answered. 

A few blocks later, he pulled the car to a lighted ice cream stand with a large “Mile High” cone. The place seemed very busy for such a late hour. We each ordered an ice cream cone and spent time eating our ice cream and people watching from his car. 

We didn’t really talk much; it seemed we were both listening to the chatter of other people’s conversations. Sometimes when hearing other people’s snippets of conversation, I can imagine what their back-story is, or what happens after the conversation. 

Art leaned back into his seat and watched the people milling around the ice cream stand. This wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. He realized he’s been hanging around too much with actresses and chorus girls, who tend to chatter to fill up the silence. 

He shifted in his seat and watched Leora lick her ice cream cone. She seemed lost in thought, watching the people and listening to the activity around the car. He touched her shoulder, “How’s the ice cream?” 

“It’s delectable,” Leora stated. She couldn’t remember ice cream ever tasting this fresh. Her lips were starting to feel numb from the cold ice cream. 

“So, time to take you home?” Art said. Leora nodded yes. 

Due to the night air and eating so much ice cream, Leora started shivering slightly. Art backed out of the parking space and turned out into the road. He noticed her shivering and draped his right arm around her shoulders. 

Leora felt warm from this small gesture. She occasionally glanced at him while he drove her home. He pulled up to the boarding house. She reached for the door and he said, “Wait.” 

“Yes?” Leora asked. 

“One small hug to warm you up,” Art said. 

“Of course,” Leora replied. His arms wrapped around her shoulders so quickly, and she hugged him back. She quietly said, “Thank you for the outing and the ice cream.” 

“Don’t forget, tomorrow we’ll explore another night spot,” Art smiled. Leora smiled back and slipped out of the car. 

She walked down the sidewalk to the house, turned around mid-way and waved to Art. He waved back, then drove away.