2
“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 Love always advocated 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, I know that 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 the park, 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 of Love .”
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 fell stupidly in 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 whole community, 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?”
Awkward. I have no idea what to say. “Um, thanks, Dad. I’m glad you came. I do need to—”
“You go.” He waves me forward. “You’re busy. I’m going to walk around a bit.”
“Okay. Oh, and, Dad, if you see Sarina—”
“Don’t worry, Sana. I saw her. And saw the pictures at the entrance. I have no intention of telling Noureen about anything on that sign.” He shakes his head. “I know she wouldn’t approve of that picture of me in a Canadian tuxedo. I really thought I was as cool as Justin Timberlake.”
I laugh and head back to the flower heart.
Miles finally finds me again at about two o’clock and asks if we can take in the festival together as cochairs. I smile at him as I wave over an extra volunteer from the mural team to help crowd control at the floral heart.
Hand in hand, Miles and I walk around our festival. A few volunteers and committee members ask us questions, and we put out a few mini fires. We split an empanada and each get a strawberry matcha boba tea from LoveBug. But most importantly, we talk.
I start by apologizing. For not letting him explain why he took that job. For shutting him out as soon as things got complicated. I tell him that everything I said in my speech is true—I understand now that Love Street is going to change, but we can still have a say on how it changes.
“I loved your speech,” he says. “Like, a lot. Thank you for… telling me that way.”
I smile. “I wrote most of the speech last night. Up until I unveiled the historical plaque. I only added the last bit today.” I pause.
“A part of me thought that you didn’t care about us as much as I did, because you didn’t tell me about your job.
And because… because I thought you didn’t believe in all this romance stuff. ”
He squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry. I’m not great at talking about it, but really, I do care.”
“Yeah, I know. Sarina told me… and I realized that you are romantic when I saw your perfectly curated selection of romance books. So I… I added the part where I said I love you.”
He’s turning pink again and smiling. “I read a bunch of those books, you know.”
“Reggie told me. Are you now a romance lover?”
He lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. “I think I still prefer a good historical mystery, but I get the appeal now. I can’t believe you’ve had the fortune I got on my prom night in that necklace all summer. How many times have I seen you wear it?”
I laugh. “Right? I had no idea it was yours until today. Now do you believe in fate? This proves we’re soul mates.” I beam at him, which makes him kiss my cheek.
He grins. “I almost believe… in coincidences.”
I laugh at that and slap his arm.
We pass April’s booth, and I point out the heart bow that I bought Zuri.
“I owe you an apology too,” he says. “I should have told you that your father referred me for that internship. I didn’t know that your mother was selling them her building, but I still thought…
I thought you wouldn’t approve. You hate developers, and you don’t have the best relationship with your father. ”
“You were right. I wouldn’t have approved. I was so… stubborn. My parents, strangely, are the ones who taught me that things aren’t as black-and-white as I thought. I get the nuance, I mean.”
He smiles. “Su Lin told me you were behind the historical plaque.”
I nod. “I’m going to keep fighting for Love Street—and make sure it never loses the essence of why it’s great, even if there are new people and new stores. It will still be my home.”
“But aren’t you moving?”
I shake my head, grinning, and tell him about my father’s plan to have me and Sarina stay in my apartment in September.
“Oh!” He laughs. “That’s great!”
“My dad’s here, you know. He actually came. He said he loved my speech. I think he’s trying to make up for lost years. He said he needed the kick in the pants. He’s… stubborn and idealistic like me.”
Miles freezes. “Um, are you saying I kissed you like that while your father was watching us?”
I nod. “Yep. Don’t worry—he likes you, but I wouldn’t really care if he didn’t. Will you be staying in the apartment you’re in now in September?”
He squeezes my hand again. “I wasn’t sure. But now that I know you’re staying on Love Street, I think I’ll stay close by.”
I squeeze his hand. “Maybe you can find a better place, though. Less stinky.”
“Maybe,” he agrees. “Hey, are we officially back together? Because I’d love to lock my bike on your balcony again. I’ve been rushing out to check on it every hour since I started leaving it here in the park.”
I roll my eyes. “Is that all I am to you? A convenient place to lock your bike? I thought we had this great and profound love full of hope and joy and all you—”
He stops me with a kiss on my neck that almost makes my knees give out. How did I walk away from him? No one has ever made me feel like this.
“You know what you are to me?” he asks in my ear.
“What?”
“The love of my life.”
Pure cheese. And there’s nothing trite about it. I kiss him on his lips. Because he’s the love of my life too. And just like the fortune said we would, we found each other right here on Love Street.