Page 159 of ICED
“That’s fair,” I say, ruffling her hair.
Owen nudges her nose with his. “You’re a good egg, Jellybean.”
Lila laughs loudly then says, “Silly Bear, I’m not an egg!”
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing in an empty rink staring at two skating penguins, one labelled GERALD and the other wearing a traffic vest that says TREVOR.
“Oh my God,” I mutter.
“Gerald’s a pro,” Owen says solemnly. “Takes his job very seriously.”
He produces a wrapped box from the back of the truck and hands it to me. “This is for Lila.”
Lila rips the box open and shrieks. “Skates! PINK skates! With rainbow laces! I love them so much, thank you Bear!”
Inside the rink, she charges onto the ice gripping Gerald like a lifeline, wobbling with joy. Owen glides beside her, patient and steady.
“She’s fearless,” I say.
“She gets it from her mum.”
Then he skates back to the boards and hands me a pair of pristine white skates.
“Oh no,” I say immediately.
“Oh yes.”
“I like having knees. And dignity.”
He winks. “Trevor’s got your back.”
Minutes later, I’m clutching Trevor’s flippers like a nervous toddler while Owen skates backwards in front of me.
“You’re doing great!” he calls.
“I’ve moved one metre!”
“Which is one more than zero. Math checks out.”
Lila zips past, triumphant. “Go, Mummy! You can do it!”
We make it around the rink exactly once. I don’t fall. I also don’t stop screaming internally. But Owen helps me off the ice like I’ve just conquered Everest.
“That was brave,” he says.
“That was undignified,” I correct.
“Same thing,” he says, and kisses me.
We sit in the stands afterward, all three of us, drinking lukewarm hot chocolate from the vending machine and laughing until our cheeks hurt.
Then we return to the park so Lila can run off some of energy, and sit on the bench beneath the big oak tree, legs stretched out, sun warming our arms. Then he glances at me.
“I saw the suitcase was gone.”
I nod, heart fluttering. “I put it in the attic.”
He doesn’t ask why. He just takes my hand, threads his fingers through mine.
