“It will teach you a lesson in patience.”
Another one? Ben was beginning to wonder if God had seen impatience in him. He hadn’t thought it was a particularly big fault of his, but apparently God had, because everything lately was a test of his patience.
But he’d already committed to being patient, so he would wait as long as it took for Amelia to feel as confident in their future as he did.
~*~
Amelia stood with her arms crossed, resting on the top of the boards. The ice glistened beneath the overhead lights, and there was a chill in the air that matched the one outside, which was why she was dressed warmly in layers.
“Ready for this?”
Amelia turned to face the woman at her side. Lexi gave her a gentle smile. There was love and support in her expression that Amelia had missed seeing over the past couple of years.
“I think so.”
“Can I just tell you again how much it meant to me to have that conversation with you on Sunday?” Lexi said. “Thank you for reaching out, and for forgiving me for not understanding all you were dealing with. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Amelia gave her a smile that she knew held a bit of sadness. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to come to you.”
“All that matters is that we’re here now,” Lexi said.
When Amelia heard the door of the rink open, she turned to see Luca walk in, leading Ben. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, and she grinned when she saw that Luca had blindfolded him.
That hadn’t been part of what she’d asked of him the day before, but it helped keep the surprise.
She waited until they were near where she stood, then she approached them.
“Ben,” she said as she reached up to remove the blindfold.
His gaze immediately found hers, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hello, love.” She slipped a hand behind his neck as she went up on her toes to press a kiss on his lips. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
There was a wealth of emotion in Ben’s eyes that matched what Amelia felt in her heart. The distance she’d requested had been challenging, but necessary. And their coming back together felt sweeter for it.
“Thank you for coming,” she said. “And letting Luca blindfold you.”
“I was promised I would see you at the end of our journey, so I was willing to do pretty much anything.” He lifted his head and looked around, his eyes widening. “Are you skating?”
“We’reskating,” she said. “Nothing fancy. I just wanted to see if I can at least have a part of my skating back again.”
“I didn’t bring my skates,” Ben said.
“We have skates for you,” Lexi said from where she stood at the boards.
“Hey, Lexi.” Ben greeted her with a smile. “Long time no see.”
“Too long.” Lexi came over to give him a hug. “What’s your shoe size again?”
After Ben told her, she headed to the skate rental area. The rink wasn’t open that day, and Lexi didn’t have any students until after school was done for the day.
“Can I help you with your skates?” Ben asked as he led Amelia to a nearby bench.
“Do you remember how to tie them?”
“I’m pretty sure it will come back to me.”
