Page 19 of A Miracle for the Reserved Flyboy

“Krista asked me to,” he confessed with a resigned sigh.

She laughed, shaking her head. “So either you’re the biggest softie or…” Her laughter faded as understanding dawned. “Oh. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

His heart thudded, the truth weighing heavily on him. “I… I don’t know. She’s just… special,” he murmured, unable to meet her eyes.

Margie spun him with surprising strength, making him stumble as the laughter and music of children filled the air around them. “Listen,” she said, steering him again. “I know Krista’s family, and trust me, her parents are exactly the type who’d fall head over heels for a guy like you. Show up at their place, charm them a little, and I guarantee she’ll be putty in your hands. She’s sweet, but if you made the first move, she’d melt faster than an ice cream cone in July.”

He blinked, the image both terrifying and thrilling. “You… really think that would work?”

“If you’re serious, absolutely,” she said, nodding with conviction. “If you’re willing to give her a chance, I’d say go for it. In fact, I can give you the whole scoop on her family. Small town, remember? I know everyone.” She winked, grinning.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Gary let himself consider the possibility. The idea of Krista seeing him, truly seeing him, and knowing how deeply he cared…it was a thought so overwhelming he could hardly breathe. But the fear of losing her, of never knowing if they could have had something real,clawed at him. He wanted her—he needed her, even if he hadn’t fully admitted it to himself until now.

Margie nudged him, breaking him out of his thoughts. “All right, tall, dark, and thoughtful,” she teased. “Are you in or out? Because for the next two hours, you’re my date, and we’re gonna ice skate, plot, and figure this whole thing out. Capiche?”

Gary grinned, feeling hope finally crack through the shield he’d built around his heart. “Deal,” he said, his voice lighter than it had been in days.

And as they skated, his thoughts drifted back to Krista, her laughter, her warmth, the light in her eyes that always drew him in like a moth to flame. For the first time, he dared to imagine a future with her, dared to believe that he might be worthy of her love.

Two hours later,Gary found himself leaning against a lamppost outside the ice skating rink, trying to wrap his mind around everything Margie had divulged. His thoughts spun in a whirlwind of surprise, shock, and admiration. Margie was a force of nature, a master strategist who maneuvered through social webs with ease, wielding secrets and insights like a professional. She was smart, sneaky, and bold, and she didn’t hold back—not in the least. It was as if Margie knew something about everyone in town, a wealth of information that she shared with a mischievous glint in her eye, and for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, she’d chosen to share it all with him.

Krista, he learned, was far more guarded than he’d realized. According to Margie, Krista rarely dated—hardly at all, in fact. Somewhere along the way, she'd had her heart shattered by a boy she’d trusted completely. Since then, she had quietlywithdrawn from relationships, building a protective barrier around herself and avoiding vulnerability. For Gary, this revelation was a revelation he hadn't anticipated. He’d assumed Krista was soft and delicate in her affection, but he hadn't understood the depth of her resilience.

Margie’s words made him see Krista in an entirely new light. She wasn’t just tender and vulnerable, happily basking in other people’s happiness. She was delicate, yes, but like spun glass—beautifully fragile yet could shatter so very easily. Krista’s heart was something crafted with such care, something rare and almost sacred. The thought of her trusting him with that heart was a weight he felt with an intensity that took him by surprise.

As they walked, Margie had offered insight after insight, her voice light but her intentions razor-sharp, dismantling every one of his worries and fears with brutal efficiency. Her suggestions were so bold that Gary could barely keep up. By the end of their talk, he had a list on his phone, complete with phone numbers and detailed plans. She’d broken it down to steps and stages, each idea bolder and more unconventional than the last. He could almost see her with a ring of golden laurels on her head, a female version of Napoleon, moving chess pieces with precision across an invisible board. The whirlwind of plans she proposed would leave a path of "what just happened" in its wake, a tornado of intention that would shake up everything he thought he knew about love and commitment.

Looking up, he saw Krista in the distance standing outside the cafe, the lamppost next to her adorned with a tinsel wreath. She looked like she was waiting for him, yet there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes as if unsure what to expect. Jogging quickly across the grassy field, he carefully dodged a few people walking their dogs and a few setting up for the event in two days' time. When he raised a hand to wave, her face lit up for a briefsecond before she caught herself, forcing a polite smile as he approached.

“Hey there,” she greeted him, her voice tinged with an uncertainty she couldn’t quite hide. “Did you have a good time?”

Gary chuckled, still reeling from the barrage of information Margie had shared. “Actually, I did. It was… incredibly informative. Margie was really something else.”

Krista’s smile grew a bit tight. “She’s coming out of a pretty rough relationship. I was just worried she might… well, that she might use you to make her ex-boyfriend jealous.”

“Oh, she did,” Gary laughed, amused by how well Krista had read the situation. But as soon as he saw the horror flash across her face, he backtracked, his tone softening.

“No, no—it’s okay, really. Honestly, it was refreshing. After that first date disaster, this one was like… a breath of fresh air. And you know, while we’re at it, could you reach out to the next girl and cancel for me?”

Krista blinked, her surprise evident. “You’re sure?”

He nodded, a soft smile playing on his lips. “If it’s too late to cancel, I’ll still go, but… I just don’t want to waste her time, you know?”

Krista tilted her head, a wan smile tugging at her lips. “It wasthatgood of a conversation, huh?”

“It really was,” he replied, meaning it. As they stepped into the Cozy Cup and settled into a corner booth, Krista pulled out a small notebook, seemingly ready to jot down notes, a faint pained smirk on her lips.

“All right then, Mr. Conversationalist,” she teased lightly, “let’s make a list. You’ve established that good conversation is key. Let’s dig a little deeper—what else is important to you?”

He grinned, leaning back as he gave it some thought. “Someone focused on community. Bringing joy to people. That’s big for me.”

She nodded, jotting it down, encouraging him with her gaze to keep going.

“And…” He paused, considering. “Someone who knows how to be happy alone. Active duty takes me away a lot, you know? So if I’m not there, I need to know she’s still all right. Even if things changed and I stopped flying, I’d always want to travel. Flying is… it’s like breathing for me. It would mean distance sometimes, but distance…” He trailed off, hesitant to continue.

Krista looked up, her pen hovering. “Distance is… a benefit?”

He shrugged, a small smile curving his lips, his gaze turning a little distant. "They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?" His eyes flicked back to her, warm with a glimmer of something unspoken. "I mean… that’s what they say, anyway."

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