“No. Not at all.”
“It’s a beautiful day, so I thought it would be good to enjoy the outdoors.”
Once Luca returned, they discussed the food they wanted from the diner, then Ben phoned and placed the order.
After shutting off the lights in the office, Amelia led them to the side entrance. She turned off a few switches there, then had them step outside while she set the alarm.
It reminded Ben of when they’d been in the arena at the resort where Amelia had trained. There were times when they’d been the last to leave, and together they’d locked up the place.
When they reached the restaurant a short time later, Luca and Ben went into the diner to pick up the food.
The place was quite busy and noisy with the sounds of conversation and the clinking of plates and silverware. When Ben gave his name, the hostess handed him the bags that contained their food and drinks. Once he’d paid for it, they returned to the car and made their way to the largest park in town.
It was a park he and Amelia had spent time at over the years, and as he suspected, it was a popular place that July Friday afternoon.
After he’d driven on the circular road for a bit, Ben found what he was looking for. Two empty tables that were near each other.
Though this wasn’t a date, Ben still wanted a bit of privacy with Amelia. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t reveal much if Luca was at the table with them.
Luca might be someone Ben knew well, but Amelia didn’t know him at all. If Ben wanted to have a chance of discussing her health issues, Luca had to sit somewhere else.
Luca seemed to understand without Ben having to say anything.
"I'll grab that table," he said, pointing to the one about fifteen feet away, closer to the road. "You two catch up."
Ben smiled gratefully at him, then turned to Amelia. Gesturing to the picnic table that was closer to a large oak tree that provided some shade, he said, "Let's sit over here."
Amelia nodded and followed him to the table. She sat on one side while Ben took the seat opposite her. He began unpacking the bags, setting out the containers of food.
After he took Luca’s food and drink over to him, Ben returned to the table and sat down across from Amelia.
“Is the diner still as good as I remember?” Ben asked.
“I haven’t eaten there too much, but any time I have, it’s been good.”
“Shall we pray before we eat?” Ben asked.
At Amelia’s nod, he bowed his head and said a brief prayer of thanks for the food, while silently adding on a plea for God to guide their conversation.
“Has it been difficult being back in Serenity full-time?” Ben asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you miss all the traveling you used to do for skating?”
“Honestly, that’s probably the one thing Idon’tmiss. Sometimes during the competitive season, I would have back-to-back assignments that barely left me time to get over the jet lag of flying from one place to the next.”
“Have you traveled at all for pleasure?”
“I went to the UK once for a week.”
“By yourself?”
She shook her head as she picked up her milkshake and took a sip. “I went with Lexi and Wilder one year.”
“Did you like it?”
“I didn’t care much for the major cities, but traveling in the countryside was beautiful.”
