Casey rolled up to where Andrew was watching the swans in the tiny lagoon. “I’m hungry.” She whispered in his ear, and then felt awful as he foundered and nearly fell trying to turn around on the unfamiliar rollerblades.
He righted himself and smiled sheepishly. “So am I, as a matter of fact. Any suggestions?” Andrew held on tight to the railing as Casey rollerbladed circles behind him.
“How ‘bout the canteen in the middle of the park? The food’s not too bad, and then we don’t have to leave. I’m having fun.” Casey rolled over and stopped only a hair’s breath from Andrew’s heaving chest. She smiled up at him teasingly.
Andrew bent down carefully and dropped a quick kiss on her nose. “Me too. Lead the way.”
Grabbing Andrew’s hand in hers, Casey directed him across the asphalt path to the ocean edge of Stanley Park. Spying the tiny building that housed the canteen she pulled him over to it.
“You go find us a seat and I’ll get the lunch. What would you like?” Andrew asked as he rolled cautiously through the milling crowd and approached the canteen.
“Surprise me.” Casey went in search of a table and found one away from the noise and confusion of the nearby pool.
She sat with her back to the ocean and gazed out over the park. This was one of her favourite places in Vancouver. It was nearly impossible to tell that the city was only a few hundred meters away. The surf crashed against the rocks behind her reminding her that the open sea was at her back. Wild ducks and geese and other assorted waterfowl made their homes in the myriad small ponds and waterways dotted through the park. Beautiful cultivated gardens added unexpected splashes of intense color around every corner. An incredible network of paths, paved and dirt, circled through the park, past beaches and cliffs, sea lions and seagulls, through heavily wooded forests and past perfectly cultivated fields. Benches, dotted throughout the park, lent themselves perfectly as places to sit in the sun and watch bicyclists, rollerbladers, and walkers of every age, size, race, creed and color glide by. Casey could sit here for hours just making up stories about the people she saw.
Andrew rolled carefully over to the table, interrupting her contemplation. With more luck than finesse he managed to avoid a near fatal collision with a hotshot on a mountain bike and sat down across from her.
“Here you are Ma’am, your meal is served.” He passed her what looked like a hot dog covered in chilli and a drink.
“Somehow this doesn’t quite compete with the lunch we had at The Boathouse.” She regarded her hotdog dubiously. Who knew what these were really made of? She closed her mind to the possibilities as she bit cautiously into the juicy sausage. She looked at Andrew in surprise. “This is really good.” She said through the mouthful of meat, chilli and soggy bun. Chewing quickly, she swallowed, and took another bigger bite.
“Are you telling me you’ve never had a chilidog?” He stopped eating to stare at her incredulously.
“Yup, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” She finished her lunch and licked her fingers contentedly. “I’ve lived a very sheltered life.” She mocked. “No, really, I’ve just never been a big fan of hotdogs, until now.” She regarded the remains of Andrew’s lunch speculatively.
“Don’t even think it.” He warned her off. Picking up the last bite he stuffed it into his mouth and washed it down with some of his soda. Grabbing the litter that remained from both their meals, Andrew expertly threw the entire pile into a nearby garbage can.
Casey leaned forward, stretching out her back. She reached across the table and placed her hand in Andrew’s. “I’ve had an incredible time today.” She whispered. She admired the way the breeze blew his hair over his forehead, accentuating the curls.
Andrew pushed the hair back off his forehead. “So have I Casey.” His laugh was husky, “Last night was incredible, you were incredible.” He smiled wolfishly.
Casey blushed.
Unbidden the impending end to their relationship surfaced. She had a sudden urge to know if there would ever be a future for them past the end of the two weeks. But she couldn’t ask, too afraid the answer would not be the one she wanted to hear. And even if it were it wouldn’t help. She knew his lifestyle would never mesh with hers; he was a traveler, she needed roots and permanence. All that was left was to enjoy her time with him, to savour every moment so that in the months and years to come she would remember what it had really been like to love, to love truly and deeply and forever. Casey sat back in shock. She loved Andrew. When had it happened? How?
“Casey? Are you Ok?” Casey snapped back to the present, Andrew was watching her with tender concern in his eyes. “Where did you go? You seemed a million miles away.”
“A ghost was walking over my grave, I guess.” She smiled faintly. “Sorry, did you say something.”
“I wondered if you had plans for tonight?” His sensual lips curved into a smile. “I thought maybe we could pack another picnic dinner and spend the evening at Hunter’s Bay. I’ve moved in there now.” There was promise in his tone. “And to be honest I’m not in the mood to go another round with your cat.” He scowled at the memory.
Casey lowered her gaze and collected her thoughts. “That sounds wonderful.” She came to a decision and smiled. She thought she had loved Scott, and he’d hurt, betrayed and then scared the crap out of her, but those feelings were nothing compared to how she felt about Andrew now. She knew in her heart there was no future. It made their time together so much more precious. She would enjoy the time they had left and at least have those happy memories to sustain her through the long lonely days ahead. Deep inside a small spark of hope refused to be extinguished.
“I’m sure Tigger will appreciate having the place to himself for the night.” She pulled herself from her contemplation of the future and laughed, her voice cracking only slightly. “I’ll get Mikey to stop in to check on him in the morning.”
“Come on, I’ll race you to the pond.” Andrew stood up indicating the duck pond across the field. He foundered slightly as his body readjusted to being on wheels, and waited expectantly for Casey. His denim shorts strained at the seams as his thigh muscles bunched in preparation for the race.
She smiled up at him and slowly untangled herself from the table. She stooped down as if to tie her lace and pushed off.
Andrew stood and watched the back of her purple t-shirt disappear into the crowd. Stunned, it took him a moment to realize what happened. With a yell of “Hey, that’s cheating!” He was hot on her tail.
Casey looked back and grinned. She slowed her pace. It didn’t matter who got to the pond first, the ultimate winner and loser had already been determined by fate.