Chapter Twenty
Darla
When we drive up to the ice-skating rink, I almost bounce out of my seat. “I love ice-skating.”
Before he can answer, I’m out of the car and doing a jig on the pavement. If I wasn’t afraid of reinjuring my hand, I would do a cartwheel.
Theo’s body quakes with laughter. “I guess this means you approve? I didn’t think about your hand. Will you be all right to do this?”
I jump into his arms. “Yes. I haven’t skated in years. Did I ever tell you I used to take lessons?”
“Really?”
I nod. “Uh-huh. I took lessons for five years.”
He pouts like a kid that got his football taken away from him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was hoping you’d have to hold on to me to keep from falling.”
“Poor baby.” I pat his cheeks. “I’ll let you catch me when I attempt a double.”
His jaw drops. “You’re that good?”
“Was that good. It’s been a long time. Come on.” I drag him into the rink.
After he tightens my laces, he wobbles to the rink.
I point to his blades. “You know, those are hockey skates.”
“I know.”
He gets on the ice, while I stand at the doorway watching. In a flash, he races around the rink. When he gets back to where I’m standing, he ices me with a hockey stop. I put my hands on my hips.
He has a twinkle in his eyes. “Did I mention that I used to play hockey?”
“I think you skipped that part.”
He grabs my good hand, and we go buzzing around the rink. He’s too fast for me, so I decide to cut through the middle to catch up.
“Cheater,” he yells, switching directions. I try to keep up, but his longer legs have much more speed than mine do. I stand in the middle of the rink, watching him buzz by.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on skates, and I wonder what I can still do. First, I try back crossovers. Not bad. Next, I try a spiral and a shoot-the-duck. I slide to the ice on that one, as usual. It was always hard for me to balance on one bent leg with the other straight out in front of me.
Theo skates up to me and helps me stand. “Let’s see what you got.”
I skate around him and set up for a toe loop. It’s only a single, but I land it. I’ll blame the wobbly landing on the rental skates.
He claps and skates toward me. “Nice job, Tara Lipinski.”
I bow. He holds my hand, and we skate together. After a few laps, I skate in front of him and switch to skating in reverse so we are facing each other. It’s as though we are dancing on ice. We skate in sync until a group of kids invade the ice and mess up our rhythm.
“Why didn’t my mom insist on me skating like this?” he asks. “Way more fun than playing hockey.”
“And we don’t smell as bad.”
He grins. “Well, the figure skaters that actually decide to take showers, that is.”
I shove him, and he almost falls. I pivot and grab him by the arm before he splats on the ice, which causes him to slam up against me. I like the way he feels up against me. He nudges my chin up with his nose and kisses my cheek.
“Ewwww, PDA,” a kid says as he skates past us, making me giggle. Theo seems completely unfazed.
“You’re really good,” I tell him.
“Thanks, but my ankles are killing me.”
“I’m so glad you said that. Mine are too.” We slide toward the edge of the rink, when I skid to a halt. “Let’s take a selfie.” I take out my phone, and we head to the middle of the rink. Theo pulls me down onto the ice. We scrunch close, and he wraps his arms around me so my head isn’t directly on the cold surface.
“Say ‘Ice Ice Baby,’” he says.
I gasp. “That’s what I said when I was on pain meds, wasn’t it?” The next time I see Isaac, I’m going to force him to listen to some Adele so I can get a new earworm.
“Yep. Smile.”
We examine the photo, neither one of us in any hurry to get off the cold rink. Breaking the trance we’re in, Theo hobbles to his feet and helps me up.
I look at him as we head off the rink. “This was awesome. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” He winks at me, and that cute dimple pops out. He unlaces my skates and gives both of my feet a nice massage before heading to the skate rental counter to retrieve our shoes. I’m left watching his tight ass stride away from me.
He totally rocks surgical scrubs. He can definitely fill out dress slacks like no other. His butt looks mighty fine in a pair of jeans. And I don’t need to get started on how nice the scenery is without jeans, because it’s a sight to behold. I’m glad he has to stand in line at the skate return, because it gives me time to wipe the drool from my face and cool the hot flash rising up my neck. I love re-falling in love with this man.
Afterward, he says he needs to make a quick stop, then we can get ice cream if I want. Heck yeah.
“You’ll have to give me plenty of advance notice when your birthday rolls around.”
He doesn’t say anything. He keeps his eyes straight ahead, both hands on the wheel.
“Don’t tell me you recently had your birthday.”
He cringes.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
He shrugs. “No big deal.” He takes a gulp of his iced tea. “Besides, where I’m going is my birthday tradition.”
“Oh. What is it?”
“Not telling.”
“Skydiving?” I ask.
Please say anything but skydiving. I would even be okay with seeing whatever action-packed, bloody, senseless, and violent movie happens to be in the theatres. Theo is so unpredictable; it’s probably something like scrapbooking.
“Nope.”
“Stealing diamonds?”
He laughs. “Good one, but no. You’ll see.”
We drive downtown into a run-down neighborhood. The tiny shotgun houses have shingles missing from the roofs, and the wood siding doesn’t look as though it has been painted in decades. He drives up to a faded-green house with a rickety fence around the yard. The car in the driveway is on concrete blocks.
Theo and I get out of the car, and he pops the trunk. He hands me a bag containing canned goods, a loaf of bread, and a bag of cookies that don’t look store-bought. I stand there eyeing the cookies, while he retrieves a large cooler, leaving a small bag behind. We ramble up what used to be a sidewalk. If he’s bringing me home to meet his parents, the least he could have done was let me brush my hair first.
An elderly Hispanic woman waddles out onto the front porch and clutches her chest. “Chico. Mi Chico.”
“Buenos dias, Señora.”
“Your mom said you were home.” She grabs Theo into a big hug and kisses him on the cheek.
He motions for me to stand nearer to them. “Mrs. Lopez, I’d like you to meet Darla.” His eyes twinkle. “Darla, this is Mrs. Lopez, an old family friend.”
She swats at his arms. “Chico, I’m old, but not that old.” The corners of her eyes crinkle up with her big grin.
Theo takes the bag from me and places it next to her.
Tears stream down her face. “Miss Stella and The Reverend raised some good children.”
He hands her an envelope, and she sobs into her hands. “It’s not much, but maybe it will help until Mr. Lopez is out of the hospital.”
She falls into him and weeps. “Te amo. Te amo.”
Theo’s eyes brim with tears. So do mine. He kisses her cheek. “We have to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow to give you a checkup and bring your medicines. Okay?”
She nods and covers his face with kisses. She embraces me, even though I haven’t done anything to deserve it. My heart grows bigger for this man that is the father of my child.
It’s settled. As soon as Stella comes home, she’s going to meet her daddy.