Page 101 of Out of the Cold

“Bittersweet. They wanted to know if I’d be back, and if I’d teach here again.”

“I have the same question.”

“I do want to, someday. I’m not sure how soon I’ll be ready, though.”

“Let’s go get a drink. I know you’re sad, but you also accomplished something really great these past six weeks, and we should celebrate.”

“Are you still leaving on Sunday?” Amelia asked when they were seated at the wine bar a few blocks away.

Lucy nodded. “There’s no point in staying longer, and my place will be ready. I guess I’d hoped that when Gabriel heard I was leaving, he’d have some kind of epiphany, but that’s ridiculous. He’s not ready, and it’s not his fault.”

“Losing someone, especially like that, it would do a number on anyone. He probably wants to be ready, but there’s too much in the way.”

“Have you ever lost someone?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, and I wasn’t good for anything for a long time. Even now, it sometimes catches me when I’m not expecting it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Amelia shrugged a shoulder. “That’s life, right?”

“I can’t help hoping that someday I’ll get a call from him, or he’ll show up at my door, and we’ll get our happily ever after.”

“That could very well happen. But as your friend, I hope you live your life as if he never will, because it’s not in your control.”

“I guess the first step is getting some distance,” she said. But even as she uttered the words, a hole opened in her chest, threatening to swallow her up.

“Maybe I’ll come visit you and make sure you’re getting out.”

“I would love that.”

Lucy gave her an extra hard squeeze as they hugged goodbye, cherishing the fact that she could still make new friends.

There was only one more goodbye now, and she wasn’t sure how she’d make it through that one. She couldn’t even think about it. Instead she cooked the last of her perishable food, packed her belongings, and made the most of her morning snowshoes with Hilde. She wouldn’t have many more of them, and the knowledge made it both more beautiful and more heartbreaking.

This mountain had changed her. Back when she was enduring treatments, and for a couple of years afterward, all she wanted was to be able to walk around the block or have the stamina to cook a meal for her family. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined herself as strong and sure as she was now.

Every day here had been a gift, even when she was miserable, because now she knew what she was capable of. Being here and loving Gabriel had changed her. Anything was possible now.

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