The Art of Moving On | ✔

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR; part one

      When we get to the ice rink, we split up. Dres and Amelia get on line to rent their skates while I cart Maddox and Sofia over to a table so I can help them with their skates. Skating is a Sumner family tradition, and both Maddox and Sofia take lessons every year.

     I get Maddox's skates on relatively easily. He's able to help with the process and can almost tie his own shoes, but it takes a bit more effort to get Sofia's on. She fidgets a lot, especially as I tighten the laces on her skates.

      "Too tight, Cas," she complains, pulling her foot away. I loosen the ties only slightly. They still need to support her ankles and I can see an ER visit in our futures if I let her have her way. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Maddox stepping towards the rink entrance. I call to stop him, "Maddox, you're not to step foot on that ice without me."

     "I'm just looking," he cries back at me.

     I shake my head, but monitor him as I finish tying Sofia's skates. I sit down beside her as Dres and Amelia walk over. Amelia is grinning at Dres. I glance at her hand where her skates are dangling and then at Dres.

     "I didn't know they rented out black skates," I say, frowning slightly. Leave it to Dres to get special treatment skates. The privilege of being drop dead gorgeous, I guess. Whenever I rented skates, I ended up with the scuffed, stinky ones. I have to refrain from my rolling my eyes.

     "They don't," Amelia says as she sits down beside me and removes her shoes. "He bought them."

     I raise my eyebrows questioningly at Dres, this feeling of warmth rising up in my chest. Amelia stares like she knows something's happening and she's not about to miss it.

     "It's an investment," Dres says rather simply. He's smiling with his eyes, which is starting to become better than when he does it with his lips.

     "Uh huh," I say with a laugh.

     "What? It could be," he retorts and even though there's a lot we aren't saying, it feels like deja vu. I get it now. I thought I'd bought new hiking boots to impress Dres, but maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe it's about meeting someone half way, taking an interest in their interests, making the concerted effort to do the things they like with them. I don't know exactly but it feels good. Feels like Dres is telling me something important.

     Maddox takes off the moment we get on the ice, treading with ease down the center of the rink. It's honestly impressive. I don't remember being that good when I was his age.

     Sofia clings to my hand as she gets used to skating again. She hasn't been taking lessons that long and she's still afraid to fall down. Amelia and Dres are not skaters. But Amelia's pretty fearless, stepping out onto the ice and making one long sweep across it before she face plants. Dres, charming asshole that he is, helps her up but laughs the whole time. Amelia's a good sport about it.

     After a few laps around the rink, Sofia tugs on my hand and then lets go completely. "You sure?" I ask her. She's closest to the wall, with Dres and Amelia on the other side of me, and still has her hand reached out toward it. She nods, taking careful strides, so I slow down, letting her get ahead of me. I allow just a few feet so I can see how she does.

     She's got it. I let her stay in front of me, glancing over at Dres to see how he's doing. He pretty much has his stride down but Amelia is moving slightly stilted. She's not afraid to fall, though, so she's improving with each lap.

     Amelia starts to skate ahead, catching up to Sofia. They're too far ahead and she's talking too low for me to hear her but Sofia turns her head and starts moving her mouth animatedly so its got to be about some girly kid stuff.