Meet Me At Rockefeller Center

by

MERRYANGEL

DISCLAIMER: Story mine, Characters mine.

As I looked up at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree all lit up for the holidays, I thought back to the first time SHE came into my life.

Shayla Conners was a magnificent creature to behold. Her long dark auburn hair shimmered with the lights from the Christmas tree which was just lit for the start of the holiday season. I was getting ready to hit the ice rink for a few hours of skating fun.

Like a starlet making her first big entrance, Shayla seemed to be walking in slow-motion. My eyes never left her face. Our eyes met and it was like instant chemistry between us. Or at least that's what I felt.

She was hanging around a large group of tough-looking women. They intimidated the heck out of me. But I was a very determined woman, myself. I went on the ice and started skating.

I had never been very good at it so I stumbled around a lot. I was on my tenth lap around the rink when she finally joined the crowd on the ice. She was as graceful as she was beautiful. Her sleek body seemed to glide on the ice like a swan in water. She went to the center of the rink where all the other great skaters seemed to migrate.

It was Christmas so there were quite a few skaters on the ice. Her friends weren't as good as she so they joined the bigger crowd in the outer ring. I kept my eyes on her while I skated by and would race around until I could get back to her end of the rink.

I guess I was concentrating on her so much that I missed her friends building a wall in front of me. I slammed right into the tallest and toughest looking of the group. They picked me up off the icy floor and pushed me forward, causing me to stumble again. As I turned to get up, the toughest one said,"Look, kid, she's off limits. Eyes off. You got me?"

I looked at her as the others picked me up again and nodded my head. The SHE glided over, stopping right in front of me. Addressing only me she said,"Hi. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I answered, as I started to skate off.

She grabbed my arm. "Hey, wait a minute." She pulled me to a stop next to her. "Come with me." We skated around a couple laps before she spoke again. "I'm sorry for what they were doing to you back there. They each have tried to get me to date but I just couldn't. I think they believe if no one else is interested or if they can make me think no one else is interested in me then I will go out with one of them finally."

Her grin told me that she was just kidding but I had to laugh at the long explanation. It just seemed so farfetched.

"It's okay. Really. I'm fine, but could you tell your goons to lay off? I'm already a terrible skater and I don't need to be pushed around. I fall enough on my own." I grinned back at her and heard the most wonderful sound in the world. She laughed at my joke.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?"

"Is that a come-on? Or are you just trying to be nice?" I asked.

"No, I mean it. I noticed you the minute you walked in the door," she told me.

"Yeah, because I'm just the most beautiful person you've ever seen, right?" I asked. Now you may be wondering why I would say that but to tell the truth, I wasn't a beauty, natural or otherwise. So, my self-esteem over the years had been worn down. I was a tad over my best weight limit and she was a slender goddess. So, what would someone like her see in me, right? Well, I asked myself that question for a while until I finally got the nerve to ask her. But I digress. Her answer to my previous question would live in my heart for the rest of my life.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To yourself and some people you may not be a great beauty but to me your beauty shines from your very skin. You have a look and an inner beauty that just calls to me."

"Whoa. Really?"

"Yeah. So, how about going out with me sometime?" she asked as she took my hand and we skated the rest of the evening together.

"Hey, what's going on?" she called, pulling me from my musings.

"Just thinking about when we met. Are you ready to skate?" I asked as she took my hand and we skated our anniversary away alone at Rockefeller Center. The note on my hotel desk this morning read: Meet Me At Rockefeller Center.

This had been our tradition for the last fifteen years. We'd get a suite and she would make all the arrangements. She and I married in California but vacation in New York at Christmas time. Our place became Rockefeller Center.

THE END.

 

Story by: MERRYANGEL
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