Chapter 19 - Winter hit Chicago with brutal force.
Snow piled against the windows. The city slowed down to a frozen crawl.
Mark came over on a Sunday to help me winterize the apartment windows. He was standing on a step stool, applying plastic film, while Clara built a tower out of blocks on the rug.
"You don't have to do this," I said, handing him the tape.
"I know," he said, not looking away from his work. "I like doing it."
He finished the window and stepped down. He was close. Close enough that I could smell the cold air clinging to his sweater, mixed with cedar and soap.
He looked at me. The silence in the room shifted, growing heavy and thick.
"Lucy," he said quietly.
He didn't step back. He didn't make a joke.
He reached out and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my jaw. Warm. Steady.
My breath caught.
I didn't pull away.
For a long moment, we just stood there. The snow fell outside. Clara knocked over her blocks with a crash.
Mark smiled, his hand dropping slowly.
"I'm not in a rush," he said. "Take all the time you need."
May you like
He went back to the windows. I stood there, feeling the ghost of his touch on my skin, realizing that my heart was beating fast.
Not in panic. In hope.
