Page 12 - It Ends with Us

here to take some pictures of the suns et . He was a pho tographer.

They think he was lea ni ng over the led ge to get a sho t of the skyline,
and he slipped .”
I look over the led ge, wond er ing ho w someo ne could possibly put
thems el ves in a situation wher e they could fall by accident . But then I
remember I was just straddling the led ge on the other side of the roof
a few minu tes ago.

“When my sister told me what ha ppened , the onl y thi ng I could
thi nk about was whet her or no t he got the sho t. I was ho ping hi s
camera didn’t fall with hi m, bec ause tha t would ha ve been a rea l
waste, you kno w? To die bec ause of your love of pho tography, but you
didn’t ev en get the fina l sho t tha t cost you your life?”
His tho ught makes me laugh. Altho ugh I’m no t sure I sho uld ha ve
laughed at tha t. “Do you always say ex actly wha t’s on your mind ?”

He shru gs. “Not to most peo ple. ”
Thi s makes me smile. I like tha t he does n’t ev en kno w me, but for
wha tev er rea son, I’m no t cons idered most people to hi m.
He res ts hi s back agains t the led ge and folds hi s arms over hi s
ches t. “Were you born here?”
I sha ke my hea d. “No. Moved here from Maine after I graduated

colleg e. ”
He scrunc hes up hi s no se, and it’s kind of ho t. Watchi ng thi s guy—
dres sed in hi s Burberr y shi rt with hi s two-hu nd red -dollar ha ircut—
making silly faces .
“So you’re in Boston purgatory, hu h? Tha t’s gotta suck.”
“Wha t do you mea n?” I ask hi m.
The corner of hi s mouth curls up. “The tourists trea t you like a

local; the locals trea t you like a tourist.”
I laugh. “Wow. Tha t’s a ver y accurate des cription. ”
“I’ve been here two mont hs . I’m no t ev en in purgatory yet , so
you’re doing bet ter tha n I am.”
“Wha t brought you to Boston?”
“My res idenc y. And my sister lives here. ” He taps hi s foot and says,

“Right benea th us, actually. Marri ed a tec h- savvy Bostoni an and they
bought the ent ire top floor.”
I look down. “The entire top floor?”