Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

Flower Girls .53

Patrick

It's been nearly a year I've been getting to know both Valerie, and myself. And though a year doesn't seem like it was that long, for me it was. Time is relative, so while a year doesn't seem like much in terms of your life it can be forever for someone like me who only lived for things that are temporary. Especially feelings. Being in this position feeling as strongly as I ever had makes me happy. I didn't know I was capable of creating something as powerful as the love I feel. And I didn't know I was strong enough to keep it.

Today was a big day for us. I invited her to come skating with me. It'll be her first time doing so. She roller blades but the differences are enough that she can't just jump into this like she does most things. We just got past her awful head injury, the last thing I need was to send her to the hospital. But we had this planned for a while and she isn't one to back out of anything.

"These are knifes" she starts as she points at the skate and I smile. "Someone put knifes on shoes and thought it was a good idea?"

"There's worse ideas" I try.

"Like what? Then you give the knife shoe people weapons and tell them to get the puck in the net and if anyone stands in your way murder them" she continues.

"It's a hockey stick not a weapon" I defend.

"Anything is a weapon if you try hard enough" she claims. So dark.

"Well no one is getting hurt here today... right" I ask.

"That entirely depends on how quickly you can catch me" she claims.

I really set myself up for failure with this date.

I get her onto the ice nice and safe and now I was starting to worry. She was like a newborn deer learning to stand for the first time. But I made a promise to myself and to her that I will protect her, make sure she never gets hurt. So I keep my hands on her waist and keep the distance between us to a minimum.

"There you go" I encourage as she stands to skate on her feet and not just let me push her around.

"I think I like it better when I'm in good old concrete better" she claims and I laugh.

"The ice isn't bad. It can make you feel right at home" I assure her.

"Maybe after twos decades" she scoffs.

"Anywhere can be home if you try hard enough" I tease like she did earlier.

"Touché" she laughs.

After about 15 minutes she was skating on her own. She was a smart girl and she had to adapt to a lot of things quickly. So this was really nothing for her. Before long it looked like she was being for this.

"Can you believe that we've known each other for almost a year" I ask.

"It doesn't seem like that long, does it" she admits.

"I mean we've only been together for a short time. But still, I think from the first time we met our paths were already staring to merge. Like footsteps in wet concrete we were on our way, even if we didn't know where we were going" she says.

"To be honest I didn't think either of us could muster up a relationship. I was naive and you knew too much. Funny how things work out" I chuckle.

"Relationships are like flowers. There's things you need to do for them to grow, and things that once you forget you cannot save them. There's points where there is nothing that can be done. No amount of water can give nutrients. No amount of sun that can heal. Sometimes the flowers are dead and all you can do it remember what it was like when they're alive. Sometimes we give these relationships sunlight and water and food and it doesn't change the outcome. They're just... not meant to be. You didn't do anything wrong, you just can't change what isn't meant to be changed. And no flowers survive without nutrients. No matter how beautiful and no matter how strong. Just as relationships will always need love, trust, understanding to stay alive" she explains.

I smile like a idiot as I stare at her. Let her words sink in like a tatttoo.

"Why are you looking at me like that" she asks.

"Nothing. You just, you remind me of my mom. She used an analogy like that back when I was a kid. I used to hate when she would garden. Mulch smells like shit and the flowers rarely ever did last. But she said that she didn't garden to spite me, she did it to learn. I didn't get what she meant, what would a bunch of plants possibly teach her? Then I realized that a lot of what she did for her garden she did for me, for others. She was taught about providing and caring for something that couldn't tell her what it needs or what she should do.

You both are more wise than I could ever dream to be. Finding lessons in things most don't even think once about let alone twice. I'm lucky to have you both" I confess.

We finish our skate date with a few close calls. But I never let her fall, she wasn't hitting the ground on my watch. Once we were on safe land we change back into our shoes and decide to head out for lunch. We find a nice spot we haven't been to yet and order us some food. We don't get to go on dates often. With the season being over I hope I can change that.

"Where is the coolest place you've ever skated" she wonders.

"Wrigley Field for sure. They laid the ice down on the baseball field and we filled the stadium with fans. It was snowing, I remember it so vividly. I had never seen anything like it. The crowd was great and we got special jerseys made. Played on new years under the open sky like we did when we were kids" I smile.

"That sounds great. Maybe we can find a outdoor rink somewhere" she suggest as I raise my eyebrow.

"You liked skating that much that you would do it again"I wonder.

"It was nice to be with you in your element. And maybe I don't share the same memories you have, but we can make new ones as well" she claims.

"I like that, a lot" I confess.