to pay for her entry fee and skate rental.
No!I yell
jumping in front of her.
I got this. Please.
My idea. My treat.
Absolutely not.
Lyric pushes back in front of me
and hands over a wad of cash.
I’ll pay for it on my own.
And you can pay for your own.
It keeps things easy.
Then she stomps ahead
to a set of benches
to suit up.
I don’t know what it says about the tone of tonight
or the way things are going
but the moment
Lyric and I step out onto the rink together
the speakers start to blare
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!
And all my expectations for the evening
sink into the depths of my stomach.
With Lyric’s camera and tripod setup
outside one end of the rink
we attempt to skate, hand in hand
toward it, like we’re a couple
on a cute date
enjoying ourselves
but while I’m at least able to
maintain a steady, albeit moderate pace over the ice
