As they waited in line for ice cream, Isabel launched into yet another Kate-was-such-a-beautiful-ballerina memory. Suddenly, listening to Nutcracker talk was just too much. “I have to use the bathroom,” Hanna interrupted, stepping out of line. “Just get me a bottled water,” she said, remembering the boot camp pledge she’d signed.
“We’re going to browse around the mall with our cones,” her father called after her. “Look for us in Brookstone, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Hanna answered absently, snaking around the little tables and enormous shopping bags from Saks, Build-A-Bear, and the Apple Store. Her chest felt tight, like she was about to cry. Her dad had bent over backward for her a few days ago, reliving old times, laughing and joking with her like they’d used to. But now that seemed like ancient history. Hadn’t he noticed how much she’d appreciated it?
“Hanna,” a voice called out, and Hanna swung around. Sitting at the little table in the corner, a small bowl of ice cream and a bottle of AminoSpa in front of him, was Vince from Body Tonic. For a moment, Hanna didn’t quite recognize him. He was wearing jeans, a sweater, and heavy brown hiking boots.
“Hey,” Hanna said, instinctively running her hand over her face to make sure there weren’t tears running down her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
“Shopping.” Vince grinned.
“And eating ice cream.” Hanna glanced at the nearly empty bowl, one eyebrow raised.
Vince lifted his hands in surrender. “You got me. Butter pecan is my Achilles’ heel. This place is going to be the death of me.” He motioned for her to take a seat.
“I never thought you would have a food weakness,” Hanna said, settling into a seat opposite him. She gestured to the bunch of shopping bags sitting on the chair next to him. “Did you get everything on your list?”
Vince nodded. “The Toys ‘R’ Us bag has a gift for a kid in the homeless shelter. And the rest of it is for my family. Is that your family over there?” He pointed to Isabel, Kate, and Hanna’s father.
Hanna made a face. “That’s my dad, my stepmom, and . . . Kate.” She’d rather die than refer to Kate as her family.
She looked again at the Toys “R” Us bag on the chair. “It’s nice of you to get a gift for someone at the homeless shelter. Is it the one in Yarmouth?” She remembered Spencer volunteering there in seventh grade, because it would look good on a college application. Only Spencer would be thinking about colleges in junior high.
Vince swigged from his bottle of AminoSpa. “It’s something I do every year. A bunch of us from Body Tonic are going there on Monday to wrap the gifts everyone donated. It’s a really rewarding experience.”
“That’s so sweet.” Vince was sort of like Brad Pitt with his Hurricane Katrina crusade.
Mr. Marin finished paying, and he, Isabel, and Kate wandered outside. Just then a man in a Santa suit sauntered past. He peered into the ice cream shop and smiled lasciviously at Hanna.
Hanna grasped Vince’s hand. “Quick. Pretend you’re my boyfriend.”
“Excuse me?” Vince’s voice cracked.
“Just until Santa goes away.” She nudged her head ever-so-slightly toward the window. Santa was still standing there. She wasn’t sure where his eyes were looking because of the sunglasses, but she had a pretty good idea. “He hit on me a couple of days ago, asking me to sit on his lap. I can’t have him thinking I’m available.”
Vince snickered and clutched Hanna’s hand. Their palms fit together perfectly, and she felt suddenly calm and happy. “Okay, pretend I’ve just said something really funny,” Vince suggested.
“Ha ha!” Hanna fake-laughed, throwing her head back. “You are too cute!” She reached out and touched the tip of his nose.
“No, you’re cute,” Vince said, touching Hanna’s nose back. She wished he meant it and they weren’t just pretending.
They fake-bantered for another few seconds until Santa shrugged and trundled away. “Thank you,” Hanna breathed out.
“No problem,” Vince answered. “You know, a friend of mine works at the Gap here, and she said something about Santa being a real letch, too. It’s becoming a huge problem for the mall. I’m not surprised at all that he hit on you, though.”
Warmth spread across Hanna’s face. She bit her bottom lip and lowered her eyes, pretending to be fascinated with the mosaic pattern in the tabletop. Did that mean Vince thought she was cute?
The milk-shake maker whirred behind the counter. A little girl banged her spoon against her empty dish. Finally, Vince coughed awkwardly. “So I’m happy you decided to stick with boot camp. You’re doing really well.”
Hanna smiled. “I’m happy, too. Though I’m kind of surprised that you paired me up with Dinah.”
Vince frowned. “I thought you two would be perfect together.”
Hanna resisted the urge to snort. Yesterday morning, while Dinah had held Hanna’s legs during sit-ups, she’d whispered, “Just so you know, I can see up your shorts.” To which Hanna responded that Dinah’s dark lipstick made her look like a corpse.
Then, during the partner stretch, Dinah had whined to Vince that Hanna was stretching her incorrectly, finagling it so that Vince would stretch her instead. And during the evening session, Vince had proposed a squat-off for the class, the winner getting a special prize. Determined to win, Hanna had squatted and squatted until her leg muscles felt like they’d oozed out through her knees. One by one, the other class members fell to the ground, groaning. The only other person who kept going, right next to Hanna, was Dinah. Down and up they went. In and out they breathed. “Amazing, girls!” Vince bellowed. “Keep it up!”