The Captain's Armband

41. Distance date

I open my eyes, today is the day. The first thing I do is text Leah.
"Are you ready for today?"
"Not sure what I should be ready for.. but yes, as ready as I can be."
All I want to do right now is tell her that it's all going to be okay and that she just has to trust me but I don't want to hear her say that she doesn't.
Before I can reply to her another text comes in.
"What can I expect?"
She is curious, that's a good sign.
"All the cards on the table ;-)."
"That's all I want."
"What time will you be home?"
"Around 1 pm."
"I will call you around 1.15 pm then."
"I'll be ready."
"Good luck with training."
I smile from ear to ear and I feel nerves rushing through my body. I walk downstairs to get myself a coffee before I take a seat at my desk. I open my laptop, time to do a little test run.
I get a text from Julie.
"107, right?"
"Yes."
"Done. I'll call you when I get to the other place."
"Thank you X."
Ok. One more thing Julie has to do before everything is set, all I have to do is wait. Time moves by so slowly, all I do is walk around my house and look at the time, driving myself crazy. 

It's almost 1 pm. I grab my phone and text Leah.
"Be sure you are the first to check your letterbox, there is something delivered for you."
"I will... God, you are making me so curious."
"That's the plan. Text me before you open whatever is inside, okay?"
"I will."
Not long until she text me again.
"A letter without a stamp? How did you manage to do that?"
"I'm not revealing all of my secrets just yet."
"Can I open it?"
Without replying to her text I call her.
"Hi.." I can hear her smiling.
"Leah?"
"Yes Dani."
"Before you open the letter I want to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Would you like to go on a date with me, a date from a distance?"
"A date from a distance? Sounds interesting."
"So... that's a yes?"
"Of course it is, silly." She says laughing.
I sigh in relief, it would be a bit awkward if she would have said no.
"Great. Are you alone?"
"Yes, I am."
"Now you can open the letter and read the instructions out loud."
I can hear her opening the letter with one hand, struggling a bit but giggling a little nervous.
She clears her throat before she starts reading.

"Dear Leah,

You opening this letter means that you said yes to a date with me. I have some instructions for you to follow.
1. Make sure you got 2 sets of clothes ready. 1 set to go on a walk and 1 set for having dinner.
2. Let it all happen, trust your instincts, and please listen to the things I've got to say.
3. Whatever happens, don't hang up the phone.
4. Be ready at 3 pm, have your air pods in and have your first set of clothes on.
Hear you this afternoon,

X Dani."

She is silent after reading this out loud, my guess is that she is reading it again.
"You still up for it?" I ask softly.
"Yes, I am. I'm very intrigued and I'll be waiting for your call."
"Great. I will call you at 3 pm."
I hang up the phone. So far so good. Now she has some time to decide what she wants to wear and think about the things she might want to say to me or discuss with me.

I watch the seconds pass by on the clock until it's 3 pm. It's all or nothing, here we go.
I open my laptop and make sure I got the right screen in front of me. I turn on my music and play a slow songs playlist. I put in my air pods and call Leah. She answers within seconds.
"Hi." A kind voice sounds from the other side.
"Hi, are you ready?"
"Totally."
"You got your coat on?"
"Oh, no, hold on."
She makes me laugh a little. I can hear in her voice that she is nervous too.
"Ok. I'm ready."
I take a deep breath. "As soon as you leave your building you go to the right and you walk until the end of the street."
She giggles. "Ok, noted."
"I know that you live a rushed life sometimes, always busy. You don't allow yourself enough to enjoy the little things." I say to her.
"Hm, you know me well."
"So I figured we could go for a walk together, you listening to my voice and the music in the background, wait... you can hear the music right?"
"Yes, I sure can."
"Ok. Well, I just want you to unwind for a bit."
"I'm at the end of the street. Where do you want me to go?"
"To the left and then the second street to the right."
"Ok, fancy pants."
"How are you feeling?" I ask her with a soft voice.
"Nervous and excited."
"Me too. The reason why I'm giving you instructions on how to walk is because I want you to look around you, enjoy the little things you see, the birds flying in the sky or a butterfly passing by."
She sighs deeply. "This is a very sweet idea of you Dani and I do exactly what you say."
"Good, that's what I wanted to start with."
"Dani?"
"Yes?"
"The street I am supposed to enter is blocked, there are constructions."
"Are you for real?"
"Yes, does this mess up your plan?"
"No, hold on." I start using my mouse.
"Are you on a computer?"
"Yes, I am using my laptop."
"Are you on Google Maps?"
"Yes, I am."
"That's so smart."
"Yes, until there are constructions." I say while laughing a little.
Leah starts to laugh too, god, I have missed her laugh so much.
"Did I had to walk far? Because maybe I can help out?"
"I got it. Just take the next one right."
"You guiding me towards the station, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am, smartass."
She starts to giggle.
"Check your e-mail, I just send you a day travel pass." I tell her.
"Really? Why? I could have..."
"Stop. I'm taking you out on a date and I got everything covered. No questions."
"Ok. Let me check my e-mail." I can hear in her voice that she is entertained. "Got it. Thank you."
"Good. Now go to the station and take the 3.34 from platform 2 and get out at the 4th stop."
"Okay, I will."
"So, I'm just going to rip the band-aid off. I want to explain to you what happened, tell you why I did what I did."
"Hm, I want to know but I don't want to feel the pain it will cause me, does that make sense?"
"Yes, that makes perfect sense! But, an apology starts with acknowledging your mistakes."
"It does." She takes a deep breath.
"I know you are in public and that you can't process what you are feeling like you normally would so tell me to stop talking if you get emotional or you need a minute."
"Okay, I will."