CHAPTER SIX #2
As he sat there, his eyes sparkling with humor and an engaging smile on his face, Amelia struggled to keep a handle on her emotions.
There was a part of her heart that still held the love she’d felt for him all those years ago. She’d done her best to keep it locked up, so that the memories didn’t overwhelm her.
But it wasn’t just her heart that held those memories. There was a carved wooden chest in the closet in her room that held the physical mementos of their relationship.
For her birthday, shortly after they’d officially started dating, Ben had given her the wooden chest with a lock on it and her name beautifully carved into the top of it.
She had been totally shocked when she’d opened the present and touched beyond words when he’d told her that when she’d filled that memory box, he’d get her another one.
The box had been nearly full when she’d broken up with him, so she only had the one to remind her of those times.
It was filled with every physical thing that had related to their relationship. There were plenty of photos that she’d printed off. Though they’d mainly exchanged text messages, they’d also given each other plenty of notes.
When they’d passed in the hallway at school, each on their way to their own classes, he’d hold out his hand and when she took it, he’d slip a note into her palm. She had kept every single one of them, along with cards he’d given her.
And then there was the delicate necklace that had their initials on it, with diamonds set into the gold. She hadn’t realized at the time that they were genuine diamonds.
The memory chest hadn’t been opened in a long time, and Amelia knew that if she was going to survive this summer with Ben hanging around, she needed to make sure it stayed closed.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder how many other women had been gifted a chest of memories from him. He’d said he wasn’t currently with someone, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had a relationship in the past. In fact, she knew he had.
“Here you go, Uncle Ben,” TJ said as he plunked a plate down on the table. “Mom said I could have another one, and she gave me one for you too.”
“Is the chocolate icing for me?”
“No!” TJ grabbed it off the plate and held it out of Ben’s reach. “Mom said you like the peanut butter one.”
Ben chuckled. “She’s right. I do.”
Amelia took a bite of her cupcake and savored the burst of rich chocolate in her mouth.
It tasted even better than she remembered. Angie had always been an excellent baker, though Amelia had long since stopped attending gatherings where Angie usually brought her cupcakes. It was too difficult to navigate the mixture of concern and pity she often saw in people's eyes at those events.
"Is it good?" Ben asked, watching her reaction.
"Mmm," she nodded, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with her napkin. "Really good."
The evening air had cooled, bringing with it a gentle breeze that rustled through the trees surrounding Cole and Annie's property. Though she was tired and part of her wished that she was home in her apartment, there was another part of her that found a sense of peace in being there, out in nature.
She hadn’t spent much time outdoors growing up. If she wasn’t at school or home, she was at the rink. The times she was outdoors had almost always been with Ben, whether out on the lake in summer or skating for fun on the town’s outdoor rink.
And now, here she was again, sitting outside with Ben. Only she was no longer with Ben. Their time together wouldn’t be spent holding hands, and when they said goodbye, there would be no gentle kisses like they’d once shared.
“I think we’re going out on the lake tomorrow,” Ben said, as if reading her mind. “Would you like to join us?”
Her immediate response was to say no. And it was more than just not feeling comfortable at a gathering where they might expect her to wear a swimsuit. Back in the day, they’d spent many a warm summer afternoon at the lake. Sometimes on a boat. Sometimes just hanging out on the shore.
Did she want to be so pointedly reminded of that time?
“I’m not sure,” she said, carefully folding the paper from the cupcake.
She half expected him to press her. But instead, he just nodded. “Well, I think it would be a lot of fun. If you decide to go and need a ride, give me a call, and I’ll swing by and pick you up.”
“I won’t need a ride,” Amelia said. “Plus, I don’t have your number.”
Ben grinned at her. “That’s easy enough to remedy.”
When he rattled off a number, she just stared at him. She looked pointedly at her phone where it sat on the table, then back at him with her eyebrows lifted.
“Too fast?” His grin widened. “I’ll wait.”
With a sigh, Amelia picked up her phone and unlocked it to open her contacts, then handed it to him. He set his cupcake down and took it from her. Bending his head, he tapped out more than just his number.
As she waited for him to finish, Amelia marveled at how it seemed that he could still cajole her into doing things. Never things she didn’t want to do, but things that he sensed she was on the fence about.
And as she sat there, she realized that he hadn’t looked at her with any sort of pity, like so many people close to her seemed to.
Of course, he had no vested interest in her life. He was offering friendship and nothing more. At the end of the summer, or whenever the clinics ended, he’d be gone from Serenity.
The question was, would he once again be taking her heart with him when he left?