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This had been Aksel’s dream project, and Flora had fallen in love with it too. The small parcel of barren land, right on the edge of the estate, was no good for anything other than being ideally situated to build. Charles had sold it for a nominal amount, after Aksel had approached him with his plans for an adventure centre for people with disabilities.
‘So it’s a reality. That’s fantastic!’ Flora hugged him tight.
‘Charles is as excited about it as I am. He offered to make a contribution towards the building costs, but I told him that if he wanted to do something, he could turn up and help dig out the foundations. He liked that idea much better.’
‘I’m glad you decided that you weren’t going to entirely give up on exploring. Even if these trips will be a little different.’
‘They’ll be even more challenging.’ Aksel took her hand, pressing her fingers to his lips. ‘And I’ll never be away from my family for too long.’
‘Well, maybe your family will just pack their bags every once in a while and come with you.’
He grinned. ‘You know I’d love that.’
‘I have something for you as well.’ Flora reached under the pillow, giving him the small, carefully wrapped package.
‘Am I supposed to open this now?’ He grinned at her.
‘Yes.’ She watched as he tore the paper, then turned the little fabric crocodile with sharp embroidered teeth over in his hands.
‘All right. You’ve given me a crocodile to wrestle...?’ He’d got the message and he was smiling at the thought of whatever challenge she was going to present him with now. ‘Whatever it is you have in mind, the answer’s yes.’
Flora nudged him in the ribs. ‘You don’t know what the question is yet.’
‘It’ll be Christmas Eve soon. And I trust you...’
It was his trust that had brought Flora to this point. They’d talked about this, and he’d told her that she’d know when the time was right. And she did know.
‘You said that when we decided to start a family, we’d both take the test for the cystic fibrosis gene. Together...’
A broad grin spread across his face. He knew now exactly what she wanted.
‘Yes. I did.’
‘Are you ready, Aksel?’
He nodded. ‘I’ve been ready for a long time. You?’
‘I’m ready. If it turns out that we both carry the gene we have lots of options. Would it be irresponsible of me to say that we don’t need to decide anything now? We’ll know what to do if and when we find ourselves in that situation?’
‘Nope. Life’s one big exploration. You can’t know what’s ahead of you, but if you’re travelling with someone you trust, you can be sure that you’ll face it together.’
This felt like the first step in a journey that Flora couldn’t wait to make. She kissed him, nestling into the warmth of his arms.
‘So I’m going to be a dad again.’ Aksel hugged her tight. ‘I’m not going to miss a moment of it this time. I’ll find someone else to lead the trips...’
‘Whatever happens, it won’t be for a little while. And when it does, you can have both, Aksel, you don’t have to choose.’ Sometimes she still had to remind him of that.
‘How do you do it, Flora? Every time I think that I’m about as happy as it’s possible to be, you manage to make me happier.’
‘Trust me Aksel. There’s a lot more to come, for both of us.’
He laughed, pure joy spilling out of him. ‘Oh, I trust you. Always.’
* * *
