“But what about his other dog? Didn’t you say he had two? What’s to become of that dog?” Anna pulled away from Steven and took two steps forward, but Vronsky put his hand on her arm and gently stopped her.

“No, don’t. I’ll go make sure his other dog is taken care of. Can you make sure my mother gets home for me?”

Anna met Vronsky’s eyes and immense relief flooded through her. “You will? That’s so sweet of you. Of course, we’ll take your mom home.”

Geneviève remained silent during the exchange, proud of her son for stepping up to do the right thing, but aware that he was far more concerned with doing the right thing for the beautiful girl’s sake than the dog’s.

Vronsky’s mother had boasted a great deal about her son’s accomplishments (romantic and otherwise) on the train, so Anna was already impressed, but this move was above and beyond. What kind of sixteen-year-old boy possessed the type of heroic goodwill she’d just witnessed? It was like her pain had become his as well. In that moment she felt as though his crystal blue eyes had seen her secret self, which was ridiculous because how could such a thing be possible when they had only just met?

VII

Dustin had no problem picking out Kimmie from the swirling mass of skaters at Wollman Rink. She was wearing a deep purple faux fur jacket with matching earmuffs, and even though her knee was not 100 percent, she was still the best skater on the ice. She moved with such grace and ease, Dustin couldn’t take his eyes off her and was embarrassed to discover he had been holding his breath while he watched. He walked to the railing, unsure of how to get her attention, finally deciding he’d call out the next time she skated by. But three times she whooshed past, and three times he was unable to speak as he stared at her beautiful face. Eventually two middle school boys in hockey skates playing tag crashed into a few novices and a little boy belly-flopped onto the ice, landing so hard that he spun a full 720 degrees in his navy Patagonia snowsuit directly into Kimmie’s path.

“Kimmie, watch out!” Dustin’s voice was so urgent that several people, Kimmie included, looked his way. In one bunny hop movement, Kimmie made a full stop an inch from the fallen boy. She bent over and helped the little guy to his feet and delivered him back to his parents. As Dustin watched this small kindness, he felt a pressure in his chest that made him wonder if there were any known cases of teenagers dropping dead of heart attacks.