Ginette looked at Pete like he was crazy and shook her head and turned and started to go again. And had barely taken one more step when Pete said almost triumphantly, “And closer!”

Ginette stopped. And turned to Pete, who still had a goofy grin on his face.

And she tried to understand what he was saying. But couldn’t.

Part puzzled, part hurt, and mostly annoyed, she started to leave again.

But when she had taken just one more step away from him, Pete called out, “And closer.”

Ginette stopped. And turned to Pete again.

And shook her head and shrugged again, completely at a loss.

And then continued on her way on the path out of Skyview Park, which was taking her west alongside the Road to Nowhere.

And with every step she took, Pete called to her, eagerly explaining that she was getting “closer and closer and closer and closer…” to him. Which made Ginette walk faster and faster and faster and faster, because she really didn’t want to hear that anymore, especially when the fact was, she was getting farther and farther and farther and farther away from him.

It wasn’t long before all Pete could see of Ginette was her silhouette against the pool of light from her flashlight. It was getting smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller the farther away she got. And it started dropping out of sight as she descended the little hill that the observatory was on.

And then it disappeared.

And Pete was alone.

And his goofy smile faded.

And he started to panic a little. Because this was not quite how he had planned for the evening to go. He didn’t know exactly how he had planned for it to go—but this was definitely not it.

He suddenly didn’t like his theory very much. Because—while it was true that Ginette was getting closer and closer and closer to him with every step she took, it was also true that she was getting farther and farther and farther away from him.

Oh, no.

What had he done?

He had just experienced one of the greatest things he would ever experience. And now … well, it seemed he had ruined it.

He wanted to get up and go after the girl he loved.

But he couldn’t move. Because that strange lightness he had been feeling had been replaced by darkness—and a painful heaviness. It made him feel like he had a brick of osmium, the densest naturally occurring element, in his gut.

And he was scared and confused.

And embarrassed.

So he just sat. On the bench. Alone. Trying to figure out what to do.

And Ginette walked.

2

Ginette made her way west along the path from the observatory at Skyview Park, which ran parallel to the Road to Nowhere, until the path and the road merged.

As she walked, she wondered why she was leaving Pete behind.

A few minutes ago, she had told Pete she loved him.

And—it took him a while—but Pete eventually told her that he loved her, too.