Her state of mind no longer seemed to completely dampen her appetite. If anything, there were times when the worse she felt, the more she turned to food. Good-tasting food was one of the small pleasures she had in her life these days.
“Yes, I’m done,” she said. “It was delicious.”
Annie smiled, then instructed the kids to help clear away the plates. “We’ll bring some dessert to the table, so just hang out here. We’ll be right back.”
Amelia watched as the kids scurried off with their plates, Annie following behind them. With the table suddenly quiet and empty, she fidgeted with her napkin, folding it into a neat square. Her body ached from sitting in the same position for too long, but she wasn't ready to stand up just yet. The ache from sitting usually meant that she had to move slowly for the first few steps, bracing her hand on something. Since that would draw attention to her physical issues, she decided to stay seated for the time being.
The kids returned quickly, their faces bright with anticipation. Annie followed behind them, carrying a tray supporting a plate of cupcakes.
"We’ve got chocolate cupcakes, some with peanut butter frosting and some with chocolate, and strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting," Annie announced, setting the tray down on the table. "I’m going to get dessert set up for the men but help yourself.”
Amelia saw that Ben had gotten up to help Annie and Cole clear away the food on the table. TJ and Dani were also helping, while the little kids were at the table with Amelia.
They were on their knees on the bench, eagerly choosing cupcakes for themselves. Amelia waited until they’d each made their choice before taking one for herself.
Usually she opted for chocolate, but the kids had taken all the chocolate ones. Though she loved fresh strawberries, when it came to strawberry cupcakes, they weren’t her first choice.
“Want to swap?”
Amelia stared as Ben sat down across from her, a chocolate cupcake on the plate he held.
“I know you prefer chocolate to strawberry,” he said. “Especially with peanut butter frosting.”
“You like chocolate too,” she told him.
“True. But I also like these strawberry cupcakes that Angie makes.”
“Annie didn’t make these?”
“Nope. Annie said that Angie dropped them off this morning when she came by with the kids.”
Ben reached over and took the small plate she’d set the strawberry cupcake on and swapped it with the chocolate one.
Amelia gave him a small smile, trying not to let the warmth of the gesture grow inside her. “Thanks.”
"You're welcome," Ben replied, his gaze lingering on her face. "I remember how you always went straight for the chocolate desserts."
A flutter of surprise warmed Amelia's chest. He remembered that detail about her after all these years? She carefully peeled back the wrapper on the cupcake, not quite ready to meet his eyes.
"I didn't think you'd remember something like that," she admitted quietly.
Ben shrugged, taking a bite of his cupcake. "I remember a lot of things."
Did he remember how she usually only ate half of whatever she took and gave the other half to him? Back then, it had been a rare thing for her to eat a whole dessert.
Some might have thought she was being too focused on her food intake, and they would have been right. But she and Ben had had a discussion about it, and he understood that she and Lexi had worked hard to make sure that she was adequately fueling her body for what she needed it to do. That meant eating plenty of good food, while restricting the food that didn’t provide the necessary nutrition for her body.
Lexi had experience with restrictive eating since she’d been a pairs skater, which meant she’d had to keep her weight down so that it was easier for her partner to lift her. She hadn’t wanted that for Amelia.
Her desire had been to help Amelia understand what her body needed in order to perform at its peak. However, she had told Amelia that she didn’t need to deny herself treats, but to just eat them in moderate amounts.
Because of that, she’d often shared desserts with Ben, and he was always more than happy to eat his and then whatever she didn’t want of hers.
She stared at the cupcake sitting on the plate in front of her. Would he expect her to eat only half of it still? Or would he assume from looking at her that she’d definitely eat it all herself?
“You better eat that cupcake fast,” Ben said. “Or TJ is going to swipe it off your plate.”
Amelia looked over at the young boy who returned to take a seat next to her, a small smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth. He grinned at her, which brought a smile to her face too.
