Upon a Midnight Clear Read online

  Despite good intentions from both of them, they were still a bit awkward and unsure about each other. So much time had passed since they had last spoken that Kim wondered if they would ever be able to completely heal the broken bond between them.

  Leaving thoughts of her father and the hospital behind her, Kim stepped out into the parking lot and saw that white, powdery snow had coated the streets and the cars. It had been so long since she had seen snow that she had forgotten how beautiful it could be. Zipping up her coat as she made her way toward her car, she stopped and glanced around the snow-covered lot. As she rounded the corner of the hospital she saw Tony standing beside his motorcycle, shaking his head…

  "Tony?" she called out as she walked over to him.

  "Hey, Kim," he greeted her. "Don't say it."

  "Say what?"

  "What you're thinking. "This guy should know better than to drive a motorcycle in December.'"

  "Okay," she agreed, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Can I ask you if you want a ride somewhere?"

  He nodded. "If you give me a ride, then you can say it." She smiled as she led him back toward her car.

  "Whoa," he said, sliding inside. "Now this is a car."

  "Same car he drove when I was in high school"

  "Does it bring back memories of driver's ed.?"

  "Almost." She turned the key in the ignition, causing the engine to spin to life. "Where do you live?" she asked, backing the car out of the space.

  "Not very far from here. Off of State Circle. On Michigan Avenue."

  "Apartment?" she asked, effortlessly steering the car through what must have been at least eight inches of powdery snow.

  "Is that where you'd think I'd live?"

  "Well," she said, smiling, "I would've said yes, but I can tell from the way you asked that you live in a house. Dont you?"

  "Very perceptive, Holmes."

  "Thank you, Dr. Watson… or Hoffman, as the case may be." He smiled at her. A friendly smile, she decided. But not an "interested" smile. She made a left-hand turn onto Michigan Avenue.

  "It's this house up here on the right," he said pointing to a two-story colonial. Nice, but not ostentatious. It was a family house, not the type of house she expected him to have. She thought he'd have something a little flashier, showier.

  "It's nice," she said simply.

  "It's a little big for me right now. I haven't done much with it since I bought it"

  She pulled up in front of his house and stopped. Before he could open the door she blurted out, "About earlier. I'm sorry if I seemed a little… forward."

  He put his hand on the door handle and hesitated. "What? I was just about to apologize to you."

  "For what?" she asked, surprised.

  "Well, I… I damned near kissed you on the ice."

  "You did?" she asked hopefully.

  "I, well, do you…" He hesitated for a split second. "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or tea? Actually, I could use your opinion on something. A couple of holiday decorations I bought for the yard."

  Kim checked her watch, playing it cool.

  "And I'd also like you to meet Geena."

  "Geena? "

  "My dog."

  Kim nodded. Of course. His dog. "Um, sure," she said, turning off the car. As soon as she stepped outside she realized that she was going to have to walk through quite a bit of unshoveled snow. Her little flats—or what was left of them—would be finished off. Oh, well, she thought. All for a good cause.

  Kim followed Tony to the house, trying to step into the imprints of his shoes. When he opened the door a golden retriever stood in front of them, wagging her tail in greeting.

  "Hey, sweetie," Tony said, bending down to greet his pet. "This is Kim."

  Kim leaned over and patted the dog. "She's adorable."

  "Thank you," Tony said, glancing at Kim's feet. "Your shoes are soaked," he said.

  "It's no problem," she said, stomping her feet on the welcome mat.

  "Give them to me," he said, adding, "I'll put them in the furnace room to dry."

  She slipped off her shoes.

  "And your socks," he said.

  "My socks?"

  He nodded.

  She slipped off her socks and handed them to him, trying to ignore the chipped red nail polish on her toes.

  He headed toward the furnace room with Geena following behind. As Kim listened to Tony gabbing amiably to Geena, she wandered into the room across from her and turned on the light. The large room was empty with the exception of a black leather couch placed in front of the fireplace.

  "Like what I've done with it?" he said from behind her. She turned around. He was holding a pair of thick wool socks.

  "Impressive."

  "Here are some socks for you to wear while your shoes dry."

  "Thank you." She took the socks and smiled. "Where's Geena?"

  "She's outside. She seems a little tired. I pay the kids in the neighborhood to come over and play with her during the day. She tells me it's been a rough one. I think they wore her out"

  Kim smiled. "So what did you want my opinion on?"

  "These," he said, heading toward the room across from them. He turned on the light. The dining room was empty with the exception of-an inexpensive-looking giant plastic Santa and snowman. Instead of appearing cheery, the Santa had an eerie, almost jack-o-lantern grin. And the snowman's eyes were painted so haphazardly, they appeared crossed.

  All in all, they were two of the ugliest, not to mention scariest, Christmas decorations Kim had ever seen. She glanced at Tony. So much for his art appreciation.

  Tony was looking at her intently, waiting for her opinion.

  "Nice," she said, trying to sound sincere as she bent over to slip on the socks.

  "Do you think they look good together? Or should I put one in the front and one in the back?"

  God forbid they be together. One was bad enough. "Ah, one in the front, one in the back."

  "Done!" he said just as the teakettle whistled. She finished pulling on her socks and followed him into the kitchen.

  "What kind of tea do you like?"

  "Um…" she said, staring at the wallpaper. She guessed that it had been installed by the previous owners. It was bright yellow with clusters of fruit all over.

  "I've got Cinnamon Apple… and Cinnamon Apple. I also have some beer if you're interested."

  "Cinnamon Apple sounds great."

  She glanced at him as he pulled the tea bags out.

  He handed her a cup of tea and then opened the back door, letting Geena back in. Geena walked into the room, gave them both a sniff, and then went to her bed and lay down. "What did I tell you," he said. "She's bushed. C'mon," he said, nodding for Kim to follow him. "Let's go back to the other room. I'll start a fire."

  A fire? A fire was almost synonymous with romance. "I really can't stay that long," she said as she followed him back into the living room.

  "It'll take a minute. If you're going to be indoors in the winter, you should have a fire."

  She sat down on the couch and watched as he crumpled up some newspapers. "How long have you lived here?" she asked, looking around at the empty walls.

  "I don't know. Five years or so."

  "And you don’t have any furniture?"

  He nodded behind him. "I have a couch. Doesn't that qualify?"

  "You know what they say about guys that don't have furniture," she said, sitting on the couch.

  "I have a feeling I'm going to find out."

  "No couch, no commitment."

  "I have a couch," he repeated, lighting the fire.

  "Well, you get the drift. Men who can't commit to furniture are certainly not going to be able to commit to a relationship."

  He stood up and tilted his head, looking at her curiously. "I've got to admit I've never heard that before."

  She shrugged her shoulders as she daintily sipped her tea.

  "Just for your information," he said, lean