Marshal glanced at the torn stickers on my skates featuring popular bands from the nineties. His brown eyes were crinkled in laughter, and I hoped his eyebrows would grow in soon. “There’s not much to do when the tourists leave. You should see what else I’m good at.”

I smiled when I imagined what one had to do to keep occupied when snowed in. Leave him alone, Rachel. He’s not looking, and neither are you.

“So now that you’ve got the job, you’re going to move down here?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm.” He was smiling, too, when he looked up from the boards. “I’ve got a guy who’s been looking to buy the business, so it’s only a matter of finding a price we both like.”

I bobbed my head. “What about your house?”

Marshal shrugged. “I rent. Next trip up there, I’ll bring everything back. Providing it’s not out on the front lawn or burned.”

Remembering what my mom had said about him coming off a psycho girlfriend, I winced. “Sorry. Debbie?” I guessed, remembering her.

He was silent as we took the turn, both of us going foot-over-foot to zoom past a couple dressed up as Raggedy Ann and Andy. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” he said when we straightened. “We’d been together for a long time, but the last two years have been a slow-motion crash.”

“Oh.” The speakers were thundering out loud, fast rock, and I glanced at the clock.

“She wants a trophy husband, and apparently I’m not moving fast enough,” he said, with only the faintest hint of bitterness in his voice. “Not to mention she forgot I wasn’t working for money to impress people but to go back for my master’s. I thought I loved her.” Again he shrugged, leaving his shoulders hunched slightly. “Maybe I loved the idea of having her beside me. The same things weren’t important to us anymore, and it just…died.”

I was glad his expression held more regret than anger. “And what’s important to you?” I asked.

Marshal thought while we maneuvered around Darth Vader, who was struggling to keep from hitting the wall with his helmet blocking his vision. “Success at work. Having fun doing it. Caring for someone and supporting their interests because you like to see them happy. Having them care about and support yours simply because they want to see you happy.”