Because every time I look at Colby today, I keep seeing things I shouldn't.
Patience.
Kindness.
Reliability.
The sort of qualities a woman notices when she's trying very hard not to notice anything at all.
And that realization follows me all the way to the edge of the rink.
Where trouble is already skating toward us.
The trouble turns out to be Jillie, which should not surprise me. My daughter has never met an activity she couldn't somehow improve with a little extra enthusiasm.
She flies past the pastry booth with two friends trailing behind her.
"Watch this!"
Those four words should be illegal.
I barely have time to wince.
Jillie attempts a sharp turn.
The turn attempts a different plan.
One skate slips.
Her arms pinwheel.
Then she lands squarely on her backside.
Not hard. Not even dramatic. A perfectly ordinary childhood fall.
I am already moving toward the rink when someone reaches her first.
Colby.
One second he's helping carry a stack of rental skates.
The next he's kneeling beside Jillie.
Not panicked. Not overreacting. Just there, ready.
Jillie looks stunned for approximately half a second.
Then she starts laughing. "That was not how I imagined that."
Relief immediately loosens something inside me.
Colby shakes his head. "You planning on skating or auditioning for a stunt show?"
"I almost landed it."
"You landed something."
"I knew you were going to say that."
