Page 76 of Until We Weren't

“Tell me about this project,” Mrs. Baker said.

They took turns telling Mrs. Baker about the gardens they’d designed and how they hoped to tie them together.

“We can show you this one,” Faith said. “The computer is in the truck.”

“Go get it!” Mrs. Baker exclaimed. “I’d love to see it.”

“I’ll be right back.” Faith jumped up and took off for the truck.

“You always thought that Faith needed you and she did,” Mrs. Baker said with a smile. “But I think you’ve discovered just how much you needed her, too.”

Destiny smiled and watched Faith get the computer out of the truck. “I wanted her to know she’s loved, but you’re exactly right. I had no idea how much I needed her. I think she feels that now too and it hasn’t scared her away.”

Mrs. Baker chuckled. “She doesn’t look scared.”

24

“Here we go,” Faith said, opening the laptop.

They showed Mrs. Baker the video and both were thrilled when she approved.

“The things you can do with these computers,” Mrs. Baker said. “It looks so real.”

“We hope it looks like that when we’re finished,” Faith said.

“Keep trusting each other and you’ll win this thing,” Mrs. Baker said.

Destiny looked over at Faith. “We’ve had our problems with trust.”

“Problems we didn’t even know we had,” Faith added.

“But we’re working on it,” Destiny said. “We’re open, supportive, and brave.”

Faith met Destiny’s gaze and smiled. This wasn’t the first time she’d felt like everything was going to be okay, but what Destiny just said certainly gave her confidence.

Mrs. Baker took each of their hands. “Sharing is hard. You’re afraid the person you love the most will see you differently if they know your fears. As time goes on your love grows stronger and that fear will shrink, kind of like I have.” The older woman chuckled. “You two didn’t have time to realize it’s okay to be scared. But even more important than that…” She stopped and looked at each of them. “It’s okay to let someone be scared with you. That’s when you let your love be strong enough for both of you.” She squeezed their hands and smiled.

“You don’t always have to be the strong one,” Mrs. Baker said to Destiny then she turned to Faith. “You don’t always have to be the strong one,” she repeated.

Faith looked over at Destiny. Their love had grown stronger the more time they’d spent together. She could feel it and from the look on Destiny’s face, she felt it, too. Faith knew Destiny wanted to be with her. Those kisses they shared earlier were born of longing and a hint of relief. Faith didn’t mean to grab Destiny so forcefully, but she couldn’t hold back any longer.

They hadn’t made it back to the way they were before and honestly Faith hoped they didn’t. She didn’t want to be that insecure, somewhat moody person that Destiny somehow fell in love with. That was Destiny’s super power. She could see past the parts that Faith wanted to hide and nourish them in her own way.

Faith smiled at Destiny and for a moment gratitude nearly burst her heart wide open. They had the opportunity to fall in love all over again. Yes, the love was still there, but this was falling in love with the parts of each other they hadn’t seen. And wow, this was so much better.

“Are you okay?” Destiny asked.

Faith smiled at Destiny and Mrs. Baker. “I’m more than okay. Right now, I’m the luckiest woman in the world. Look who I get to share this bench with!”

Mrs. Baker chuckled. “That’s right.”

They stayed and visited a little longer and by the time they left, Mrs. Baker had them both believing they would indeed win this bid.

“This was a nice surprise to see Mrs. Baker,” Faith said as they headed back to her place.

“I thought she’d be happy to see us together.”

Faith chuckled. “I’m happy to see us together.”

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