by Jenny Lee
Anna, embarrassed by the praise, quickly corrected her. “I’m not showing them myself, my handlers Lee Ann and Ali will be doing the honors. But it’s true, I’m a girl who prefers the company of animals to people.” Vronsky studied her face while she spoke, barely registering her words. She was truly the most stunning girl he had ever seen, a perfect blend of Eurasian beauty: almond eyes and sleek shiny dark hair combined with high cheekbones and a perfect WASPy ski-slope nose.
The conversation ended abruptly as a commotion erupted outside of the train. There was suddenly lots of shouting and people running by their window.
“Wait here, let me see what’s going on,” Vronsky said. Anna nodded, stepping toward Vronsky’s mother and helping her sit back down.
He returned a few minutes later followed by Steven, reporting it was safe for them to leave now. Anna asked what was going on, but both boys exchanged looks and remained silent. Anna demanded, “Tell me; I want to know.”
Vronsky gravely explained that a homeless man was the source of the uproar. The man had two dogs and was insisting that one of them had jumped out of his arms onto the tracks and was hit by the train. Anna gasped at the news. “Our train? Oh god, is it true?”
Her eyes were already welling up when Vronsky, compelled to be honest with Anna despite her reaction, confirmed the ugly truth. “I’m afraid so.”
“That’s so awful!” Anna cried, not bothering to wipe away her tears. She felt a roiling in her stomach. This is a bad omen, she thought. The four of them were on the platform heading to the escalator when Anna turned to see two police officers on the scene, one of them placing the still howling homeless man in handcuffs. Anna stopped walking. “Why are they arresting him?”
Steven explained that the homeless man had shoved the train conductor during the commotion. He then put his arm around his sister trying to usher her onto the escalator, but she refused to move.
“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.
Kimmie skated straight to him with an expression he couldn’t read, so he quickly pulled off his own hat, reasoning that perhaps she didn’t recognize him. He gave her a friendly wave. Kimmie smiled and waved back, stopping in front of him with a dramatic flourish, the shavings of her braking blades hitting the low guardrail.
“Hey, Dustin. Are you here to skate?” she asked.
“I suck at skating. Shitty ankles,” he replied. “I’m here for you.” His words jumbled out faster than he wanted, and he winced. “Not here for you in a creepy stalker way, or anything.”
“I didn’t think so. You seem too serious to be a stalker and too nice to be a creeper.”
“I would think stalker sorts are actually very serious,” he replied, still unable to control his words around her. “But I’m not one … yet.”
She laughed at this, cocking her head in surprise at his dryly delivered wit. “So now that you have my attention, whatever will you do with it?” she asked, flushing with embarrassment because what she’d meant as a joke came out sounding far flirtier than she’d intended.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be cryptic. Steven sent me. Steven, your sister’s—”
She frowned, interrupting him. “I know what Steven you’re talking about.”
“Yes, of course you do.” This was going quickly from bad to worse.
“And what news do you bring from the scoundrel that is Steven from the House of K.?” she asked, straight-faced.
“Uhhh…” Dustin hesitated.
Kimmie laughed at his confusion. “Don’t tell me you’re the one guy who hasn’t watched Game of Thrones?”
Dustin smiled with relief. “Oh no, I’m a fanboy. I’ve read all the books.”
“Me, too,” she admitted, even though her mother once advised her that boys don’t always like girls who read books. “Seriously, what does the dickhead have to say?”
Of course, Kimmie had already heard the news from her sister, which meant Steven had sent him on a ridiculous mission with the sole purpose of getting him some face time with Kimmie.
“You know?” he asked, wanting to verify what he suspected to be true.
“I do. Lolly texted me all about ‘Brad.’ She’s okay, isn’t she? I told her I’d come and get her, but she said no.”
“I didn’t see her myself. But I’m sure she’s fine, or rather as good as can be expected. Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved, but Steven asked me to come, as a favor. The rink’s on my way home.” Even though he knew he’d said enough, Dustin kept going anyway. “I’m Steven’s homework tutor. We were friends when we were little because of our moms,” he added, helping her connect the dots on why a guy like him would be friends with Steven.
“I know,” she said simply, which made Dustin wonder whether she knew because she had specifically inquired about him after they had met, or whether this was news she had learned from Lolly in everyday conversation. If Tasha and Stephanie, the two chatty girls from the party, had taught him anything, it was that teenage girls seemed to talk about anything and everything with one another. Chatting was like breathing for them.
“You’re shivering,” he said.
“Only because I stopped to talk to you. Don’t worry, I’m used to the cold. I like it.”
“Can I buy you a hot chocolate at Serendipity?” He had no idea where his boldness was coming from.
Kimmie looked confused. “Steven sent you to take me to get hot chocolate?”
“No. He sent me to ask you if you would cover for your sister with your parents tonight. She’s going to be home late.” He felt immediate relief now that his mission was over and done with. “I’m the one asking if you want to have hot ch
ocolate with me. Or a frozen hot chocolate, since you like the cold.”
Kimmie studied Dustin’s face for a few seconds, then checked her phone pretending to look at the time. When she saw she had no new texts, she looked up and smiled. “Sure, why not? But you should know I’m a feminist so I’m going to have to pay for myself.”
“Cool. I’m a feminist, too, so I’ll let you pay for mine.”
Kimmie surprised herself by laughing out loud again. But no one was more surprised at Dustin’s wit and charm than he was.
VIII
After they dropped off Vronsky’s mother at 834 Fifth Avenue, Steven joined his sister in the backseat of the Uber Select. Anna had been very quiet during the entire journey so far and he knew she was still thinking of the poor dog who had been hit by the train. And while this was true, Anna’s thoughts were also on the handsome boy who was at this moment rescuing another helpless dog. Is he a dog lover, like me?
Steven grabbed his sister’s hand and squeezed it, and as if he knew what she was thinking, he said, “Hey, thanks for coming to this dog’s rescue, too.”
They were crossing Central Park and the snow was still falling, faster and thicker than before. “Perhaps we’ll have a snow day?” she said, pretending she had been thinking of the weather.
“Dude, I’d fucking kill for one,” he responded, checking his phone to see if there was any news yet. “Sorry, I know you don’t like it when I call you ‘dude.’”
Anna heard something in her brother’s voice that made her realize it was time to deal with his massive screw-up. She pushed all thoughts of dead dogs and blue-eyed heroes from her mind and turned toward her brother in the dark of the backseat. This was not the first time she had come to his rescue, and she knew it was far from the last. She had been covering for him since they were little kids. “Okay, I’m ready,” Anna said. “Tell me everything.”
And Steven did. He told her how he met “Brad,” whose real name was Marcella, a seventeen-year-old public-school girl from the South Bronx who had approached him at the Union Square Starbucks a few days before Christmas on a dare from her friends. “She walked right up to me, smacked me in the chest with the back of her hand, and said, ‘Gimme twenty bucks.’ When I asked her why me, she said I looked rich and bored. Then she…” He trailed off.
“I need to know everything Steven, just tell me. I’m not a baby.”
Steven continued, “She told me I looked like I had BDE.” He paused and then finished. “You know, Big Dick Energy.”
“I knew that,” Anna lied, but then let out a small laugh. “Okay, I didn’t. But she really just walked up and said that when she didn’t even know you?” Anna tried to picture herself ever doing such a thing, but it seemed impossible.
“Marcella gives zero fucks. She’ll say anything to anyone.”
Anna’s eyes widened at her brother’s admiring tone, but she didn’t say anything. Steven went on to say he gave Marcella a twenty to buy coffee for her friends but found himself asking her if she wanted to grab dinner. She accepted on the spot, abandoning her friends, and the two of them ended up at Joe’s Pizza where he watched in awe as she ate half an order of garlic knots and two slices of pizza, finished the end of his calzone, and washed it all down with a large pink lemonade. “And she did it without once talking about carbs, calories, the evils of refined sugar, or apologizing for her large appetite. It was baller AF!” Steven explained he was further entranced with Marcella because she seemed so much freer than any girl he had ever met before. She wasn’t polite or perfectly dressed. She laughed at all his jokes and kept telling him he was funny for a rich dickhead.
“Lolly thinks you’re funny, too,” Anna reminded him.
Steven agreed, but he couldn’t help but point out that Lolly often refrained from laughing at his dirtier and meaner jokes, always calling him out when he said something in poor taste. “I keep telling her since I’m half a minority I’m allowed to say off-color things.” Anna swatted her brother even though she had heard him say this type of thing plenty of times as well.
“See, you do it, too. You can’t help but correct me, but here’s the thing. I’m just talkin’ shit. I’m not racist, so what’s the big deal? Comedians do it all the time. I know I said Marcella seemed so free, but maybe it’s me. Maybe what I liked about her was she allowed me to feel free. Don’t you just want to be yourself sometimes, Anna? Flaws and all?”
Though Anna did understand her brother’s feelings, she also didn’t want to encourage his way of thinking at this moment. She knew this was a reaction to how hard their father was on him, all this talk of wanting to be free. Their father kept her on a short leash, too, but with her it seemed overprotective and endearing, almost. With Steven, it was different somehow. Steven never talked about it with her, though she often wished he would. So now she stayed silent and motioned for him to continue, because it was clear he had more on his mind.
“I’m so fucking tired of everyone having to be so PC all the time,” Steven said. “Why does everyone get offended over every little thing these days? I’m eighteen, why can’t I just have a little fun when I want to? I didn’t ask to be born into privilege.”
It was here that Anna spoke up, reminding her brother that having fun had never once been his problem, though she conceded it was certainly difficult to deal with the high expectations placed upon them by their parents. And since Steven was the only son, which in Korean culture meant that the responsibility to step up and take care of the family would fall on his shoulders when he was older, Anna knew he had the tougher road. “I know you’re upset, and I know it sucks for you, how Dad can be so tough.… But we’re getting off track, Steven. Can you finish telling me about the girl?”
Steven told her that after pizza, they had gone to Ace Bar in Alphabet City and played arcade games. Marcella’s cousin was the bartender there and let them drink. At the end of the night, Marcella dragged him into the girls’ restroom, took him into a stall, and …
Anna nodded. “I’m pretty sure I can guess what happened next.”
Her brother was totally hooked after that, and he’d been seeing her in secret now for the last two months or so.
“But do you have feelings for Marcella?” she pressed. “Not sexual ones, I mean, but real ones. You know, like heartfelt feelings.”
“Anna, I barely know the girl. She’s sexy and DTF. I love Lolly. But sometimes … well, you know how boring it can get when you’ve been in a relationship for a while.”
“Actually I don’t know,” she replied, looking out the window. “Don’t look for sympathy from me. I’ve been with Alexander double the time you’ve been with Lolly.”
“Exactly my point! You two must know what I mean, or at least he must.”
There were so many things that annoyed her about her brother’s statement, she barely knew where to begin. “Are you implying Alexander cheats on me?” Anna asked, going straight for it.
“No, in fact, I’m sure he doesn’t. Your bf is much too good of a person, whereas I’m a tremendous shitbag.”
Anna was aware their mother often tortured her brother with comparisons to her seemingly perfect boyfriend. “I know this sucks. But stop deflecting. If you say you love Lolly, then why cheat?” she asked, knowing her brother didn’t have an answer. She was willing to wager her brother rarely knew why it was he did most of the things he did.
“I don’t know,” he replied as if on cue.
Anna knew this was the best she was going to get from him now and moved on. She asked Steven whether this was the first time he had cheated on Lolly, and after a long silence he said it wasn’t. She fired him a look of sisterly disapproval. “Are you sure you want to stay with Lolly? Because plenty of guys in this town stay single and hook up with a new girl every weekend. Maybe that would suit you more. Honestly, you don’t seem ready to be a boyfriend. Like, at all.”
“I know that’s what it seems like. But that’s how I know I love Lolly, because I want to be her boyfrie
nd. She’s good like you. And no one’s sweeter. She also keeps me reined in, which you know I need. She makes me want to try harder to be better myself. Marcella means nothing to me. Though she had this dope tongue ring…”
“Ew. Enough about her. Steven, you’ve got to end it.” Anna loved her brother, but she didn’t like him as a person in this moment. She knew that boys were very different from girls, but hearing her brother talk made her feel the gap between the sexes was much wider than she’d ever imagined.
“I know. I will. And the tongue ring wasn’t a reference to anything lewd, it was something I saw because she laughed a lot. You know, because she thought—”
“Steven, you’re funny! Everyone thinks so; why do you always hyper-focus on this fact?” Anna said in an exasperated tone.
“Because it’s my thing, Anna! I’m not perfect like you, and I’m certainly not better than perfect like your fucking boyfriend, okay?” Steven rarely raised his voice to his sister and he felt immediately ashamed at doing so. But Anna just didn’t get it. Steven’s dad had impossibly high standards when it came to him, and it wasn’t fair. He’d never told Anna, but on more than one occasion their father had commanded he come to his study, where he lectured him about how hard he had worked to get their family where they were. As an immigrant, Edward said he worked four times as hard to be seen as equal to a Caucasian. It was true that he had been born into wealth the same way Steven had, but Edward’s Korean father sent him to America to be educated. He was shipped off to an East Coast boarding school when he was only ten years old. Children of any race and upbringing can be cruel, but entitled white children were often especially cruel. His classmates were not welcoming in the slightest. So he had to fight hard to earn their respect, working with a speech tutor to lose his accent until he spoke perfect English, exceling at sports, and making sure he ranked at the top of his class when it came to academics. The only way he was able to garner the attention of girls in his school was by careful calculations on his part.
