Page 86 of Meet Me on Love Street
I laugh. “Am I that transparent?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get him there,” Ajit says. “Even if I have to drag him by the ear.”
At almost twelve, Cara and I stand to the left of the stage, looking at the crowd gathering. It’s mostly parents and family of the dance troupe that will be performing a tango soon, but a few Love Street residents and owners are here as well. My mom is there with Jenn, and I see the rest of the planning committee—except Miles.
I still haven’t seen Miles all day. I’ve been in the park since the festival opened, and he was supposed to stay on the street to make sure everything there runs smoothly. Maybe he won’t come for my speech. Maybe he doesn’t want to see me.
“This is a bad idea,” I say. I have my speech on my phone, and I just added a new ending, but if Miles isn’t here, is there any point in groveling so publicly?
“Sana, you need to get on the stage. It’s twelve,” Cara says.
“He’s not here,” I say.
Cara shakes her head. “Just thank the committee and introduce the dancers. The crowd is getting anxious.”
Forget the crowd.I’mgetting anxious. I take a cleansing breath and nod. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Some music starts playing. It’s Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” one of the songs I was named after. I laugh… Jenn’s partner, Mark, is in charge of audio today, and clearly playing this song was my mother’s or Jenn’s doing.
When I’m in the middle of the stage, I smile and take the microphone off the stand, and the music fades away.
I’m still wearing Miles’s jacket. I inhale deeply and start. “Thank you, everyone! And thank you to all of you who came out on this beautiful day to the first-ever Toronto Love on Love Street Festival!”
I pause as the crowd claps. And that’s when I notice Miles. Heishere. Wearing a red festival T-shirt and jeans. His hair is messy, like he’s run his hands through it many times. I suddenly remember the little tub of hair wax in the pocket of his prom jacket. Did he carry that on his prom night because of his habit of messing up his hair?
He looks amazing, but he isn’t smiling. He’s looking at me with his intense stare. And he’s not alone. Su Lin Tran and the woman—Kirsten, from the condo developer company—are with him.
Damn it. I’m not sure I want those two to hear me pour my heart out today. Would they think I’m a lovesick teen? Would Su Lin take me less seriously? But I can’t give up now. Miles is here. And this is alovefestival—it’s the best place to tell someone I love them.
“I’m Sana Merali,” I say, surprised that my voice isn’t shakier. “I’m one of the cochairs of the festival planning committee. We’ve put together a great day of food, entertainment, and some amazing vendors to celebrate our unique community here on Love Street. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and even though this street is in the middle of a huge, vibrant, diverse city, Love Street ismyvillage. And it took all of us to raise this festival baby. I want to thank each and every member of the festival planning committee for putting all this together.”
I call out the names of the committee members, and everyone cheers for them. I don’t say Miles’s name, though. I still can’t read his expression. After thanking Su Lin Tran for her support and help in permit approvals, I take a breath for strength. “When we first came up with the idea of a festival celebrating love, the purpose was to bring attention to this corner of the city that we love so much. I’ll be honest, part of the motivation—for me, at least—wasfear. Fear that Love Street would get forgotten as the city grew and changed around it. Fear that people won’t wander here on their own anymore, and the special little family businesses won’t thrive like they used to. Fear that this little paradise where I both live and work willchange. This place, thisstreet, raised me. I wanted it to be here, exactly as it is now, forever.
“Even though this is literally Love Street, not everyone wanted to dedicate this festival to love. Some thought the theme was sentimental and cheesy. Some thought it diluted the legacy of Lionel Osmond Love, the prominent city councillor that this street, and this park, were named after. Lionel Lovealwaysadvocated for those in our city who needed a little extra support. He imagined a city full of these little communities where people could live, work, and thrive… knowing your neighbor will always have your back. Love once said, ‘Toronto is a community of communities, each one as important as the next.’ And he fought to make sure each community had equal opportunity to thrive in this wonderful city.”
I look right at Miles. “But I think… Actually, Iknowthat the naysayers who were resistant to the theme of this festival kept an open mind and eventually learned that Love, whether it’s the love of a city, of a community, or love for each other, is the perfect tribute for this street.
“The way things are now can’t serve everyone in the future the way it has in the past. Change is sometimes necessary. If we sit back and let others dictate how our communities will change, what our communities will look like, then the people who need that little bit of extra support aren’t going to get it. But if we stay engaged, we can guide the change to ensure these places can still be places where people can live, where people can work, and most of all, these places can still be full of love.”
Everyone claps and cheers for me, and it gives me the energy I need to say the rest of my speech. “If you have a moment today, take a walk over to the other end of thepark, where a new historical plaque has been unveiled today honoring Lionel Osmond Love. Learn more about him and his legacy, so while this community changes, we will all remember that it was created with a foundation ofLove.”
Everyone cheers for that. Even Su Lin. And Miles? He looks shocked. He had no idea about the plaque. I take a deep breath and open the locket on my neck. This is the new part of the speech that I just wrote. I take out the fortune with shaky hands. “True story. A couple of months ago I found this fortune—not in a cookie, but in the pocket of this jacket I’m wearing. It says, ‘Love is closer than you think. Its power is going to change you more than you expect.’ I don’t think I could have imagined how much I would change after I fell madly in love this summer. So, a final thank-you to two people. One, Lionel Osmond Love, for inspiring this street and for showing me how important it is to engage with the change that we want to see for our city. And two, thank you to the person who opened my eyes to that and who I…” I pause, taking a breath. “And who I fellstupidlyin love with this summer. Thank you to my cochair of the Love on Love Street Festival committee,Miles Desai.”
Everyone claps. I stand there awkwardly, not sure what to do with my hands, when, strangely, the song Miles was named after, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” starts playing. Everyone claps. Ajit whistles, and I see Su Lin practically push Miles onto the stage. And then he’s next to me, grinning ear to ear. He looks at me, then puts his hands on my cheeks and kisses me on the lips. Right here, on the stage, in front of my mother, my boss, his boss, and my wholecommunity, he kisses me. And it’s the sweetest, most loving kiss I’ve ever had.
When he pulls away, he whispers into my ear, “I love you too, Sana. And I want my jacket back.”
Miles and I, of course, can’t bask in the joy of reuniting for very long. Soon after, little kids dancing the tango replace us on the stage, and Miles gets a message that there’s an issue with the vendor parking area. I need to get back to the floral heart anyway, where the poor volunteers are managing the crowd themselves.
On my way back to the flower heart, I see someone I was not expecting to see here—my father. He’s eating from a paper bag of churros.
“Dad! What are you doing here?”
He smiles. “You reminded me how much I used to love festivals.” He offers me a churro, and I take it.
I look around him. “Is Noureen here?” I wonder if I need to text Sarina to hold off on any PDA with Cara.
Dad shakes his head. “No. I wanted to come alone to see what you did here. I saw your speech… It was phenomenal. I’ve never been prouder of my little girl. When did you get so… grown-up?”
