“Are you dating much these days?” Ben asked. “Or do you have a boyfriend?”
He wasn’t sure why he asked her that, except that he really was curious about it.
Amelia’s expression told him that it wasn’t a subject she was interested in discussing.
Still, she shook her head. “No.”
He waited for her to expound on the subject, but she didn’t. Instead, she twisted the cap off her water bottle and took a sip.
“I’m not dating at the moment either,” he volunteered.
Amelia glanced at him, then looked away.
“I’m not sure how to respond to that,” she murmured. “Should I congratulate you? Or do you want sympathy?”
Ben chuckled. “I’m not sure how you should respond either. It just is, I suppose. Not good or bad. It’s just the way things are at the moment.”
Amelia nodded. “Yep.”
“I hear Layla got married and has some kids now.”
“She went away to college to become a nurse, met a guy, and got married. Now she works part time at the clinic with Uncle Gareth and Aunt Misha.”
“How many kids does she have?”
“She just had her third last October.”
“Guess she likes being a mom, huh?”
“She does,” Amelia said. “I think she’d like more kids, but I’m not sure about Grant.”
“Grant?”
“Her husband.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s a firefighter.”
“Do you like him?”
Amelia’s brows lifted. “Sure. He’s always treated Layla well, and he’s great with their kids.”
“That’s good,” Ben said. “I’m glad she found someone who is good to her.”
“Mom and Dad weren’t sure about him at first, but they came around.”
Before Ben could delve further into that subject, Cole called for their attention.
“I’d like to say a prayer of thanks for the meal, then we can eat.”
Everyone gathered around Cole, then waited as he prayed. In addition to thanking God for the food, he thanked Him for a successful week at the clinic and prayed God’s blessing on the kids who had been there and heard the message of salvation.
Once the prayer was over, they lined up to get the food that was spread out on a long, rectangular table. It wasn’t a super fancy spread, but it all looked and smelled delicious.
The men let the women and children go first, then Ben fell in line with Luca. When Ben looked around once he had his plate filled, he saw Amelia was seated at the picnic table again, but this time, it was with Annie and the children.
There was no room for him, so he and Luca went to sit at a table with some of the other men who had participated in the clinic.
