On an Edge of Glass

but it’s not the only thing that I care about if that’s what you’re getting at.”
                  The bait is too tempting.  “So, what else do you care about then?”
                  “Ha!”  He squints his eyes and chews on his bottom lip.  Dark hair falls across his forehead.  Distracted, he brushes it away.  “Let’s see…  I care about recycling, and unrest in the Middle East, and about the desperate plight of the polar bears, and that libraries and mechanical pencil sharpeners are disappearing, and about winning at Scrabble.  I care about my little brothers and my mom and…” he darts a quick look at me, “about my friends.”
                  I tip my chin forward.  Our footsteps are in sync.  “Okay, that was a pretty good answer.”
                  “I always aim for pretty good ,” he asserts seriously.  “And you Elizabeth Glass?  What do you care about?”
                  “I care that you don’t ever call me that again!”  I slap his arm playfully.               
    “Fair enough!”  Ben laughs as he skips back to dodge me.  “But, at least answer the question.”
    I shake my head and sigh , loud and breathy.  “I guess that I care about getting into Columbia Law and joining my parent’s firm one day.  I want them to be proud of me.”
                  The moment that I’ve said it, I wish that my answer was better.  I wish that I had said that I, too, care about polar bears, and pencil sharpeners, and about deforestation in South America, and about the sanity of the people that walk around the planet thinking that the mullet is still a reasonable hairstyle, and about calzones not being at all the same as pizza.
    I realize that w e’ve stopped walking and we’re standing still on the sidewalk looking at each other.
    “I’m sure that they’d be proud of you no matter w hat.  You’re an amazing person.”  He frowns.  “Is Columbia really that important?”
    “I guess that you could say that Columbia is the culmination of all of my planning.  It’s something that I’ve been working toward for as long as I can remember.”
    “But, it can’t be the only thing that matters to you.”  Ben’s face is a puzzle.  How can his eyes manage to be reserved and earnest at the same time?
    “ Well, noooo….” I drop my shoulders.  “I care about my friends, my family, and more funding for space exploration,” I say.
    His brow creases.  “Space?”
    I laugh.  “Yeah.  I know that it sounds completely geeky , but I love watching all those NOVA specials about how the universe was formed, and about black holes, and all that kind of stuff.  If I had been blessed with mathematical superpowers, I think I would have liked to be an astrophysicist.” 
    “Astrophysics , huh?  I can see that…” Ben’s head is angled to one side and he’s smiling.  “Anything else?”
    I answer quickly before I can think about it too much.  “Photography .  I care about taking pictures.” 
    I’m walking again and Ben takes two quick steps to catch up.  He reaches out for my arm and pulls me to a stop beside him.
    “Pictures of what? ”  His fingers glide down my skin until they are resting against my palm. 
    I shrug , keeping the pretense that my insides aren’t turning to goo from Ben’s touch.  The reality is that my heart is rioting and I’m a ball of kinetic energy.  “Anything really.  Faces, landscapes…”
    Slowly, so that I’m not even sure that he’s aware that he’s doing it, Ben laces his fingers through mine.  “Will you show me?”
    I shake my head and look down at my brown boots.  I let my eyes follow the long jagged cracks in the cement and come back to the epiphany that is our fingers threaded together.  Suddenly, I realize that we’re alone, in a dead space between two buildings.
    “I don’t show anyone ,” I say breathily.
    “ Ellie…” My name falls so softly from his mouth that it makes me shiver.  “I didn’t ask if you’d show anyone.  I asked if you’d show me your photos.” 
    The expression on his face is so hopeful and open that all the words get garbled in my chest.  Before I know what I’m doing, I’m nodding.  Ben smiles and the dimple makes an appearance on his cheek. 
    O ur hands are still clasped together sending jolts of electricity up my arm.  We’re so close that our shoes are touching and his warm