Chapter 14

14

F aith had gone to sleep thinking about Destiny and her first thought was of her when she woke up. After Destiny agreed to go on a date with Faith they had had another beer and enjoyed the evening.

Faith smiled as she drove to Destiny's apartment. It would feel a little odd picking her up from the same apartment where they'd spent many happy days, but she was happy Destiny wanted to spend time with her. She felt their love in her heart and was sure they could overcome this.

"Hmm," she muttered. "I never knew trust could feel this good."

Most of her life Faith had been afraid of trust. She'd learned at a young age sometimes people didn't do the things they said they would. That caused hurt feelings and as she grew older Faith decided she was the only person she could count on in her life. Then came Destiny.

As she lay in bed last night and thought back over her life with Destiny, she realized they'd actually been apart longer than they were together. There hadn't been many happy times in Faith's life, but the last three years had been the hardest. She should be proud that she'd started her own business and it was successful, but that's not what she wanted.

Faith realized that what she wanted most in this life was to spend it with the woman she loved. Whether it was work, being with friends, or doing something simple like watching TV, Destiny made it better.

It wasn't much of a mystery how she'd let this happen. Her history had set her up for this, but if she'd just listened to her heart…

She sighed and pulled into a parking space next to Destiny's truck. "I'm listening to my heart from now on," she said. "We can do this, Destiny."

Destiny opened the door before Faith could knock.

"Wow, I hope this means you're looking forward to today," Faith said happily.

A nervous smile played across Destiny's lips then she looked down at her feet. "I didn't want you to feel weird picking me up here."

Faith smiled. "I thought about it, I'm okay. Let's go have a fun day. What do you say?"

"I have a question," Destiny said as they walked to Faith's truck.

"Okay," Faith replied, stopping at the curb.

"Are we working first then having a date?"

Faith chuckled. "It's kind of hard for us not to talk about landscaping or notice it when we go anywhere." She walked to the passenger side of her truck and opened the door. "The date starts now."

Destiny raised her eyebrows, smiled, and got into the truck.

"We are headed to Apple's headquarters first," Faith said, pulling out of the parking lot.

"Are you wooing me?" Destiny asked.

"Woo?" Faith chuckled.

"You know how much I like the landscaping out there," Destiny replied.

Faith chuckled. "Is it working? Then yes."

Destiny laughed. "Oh, it feels good to laugh with you again."

They rode in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying being together.

"I thought we might look at how they used fountains," Faith said as she pulled into the property.

"Are you thinking we should try something like that?"

"I don't know," Faith said. "We've got to go big. A small water feature outside each building might be a tranquil place for the workers to take a break or have lunch in nice weather."

"I wish we could find a way to do something different at each building, but tie it together with one theme," Destiny said.

"Oh, that would be cool," Faith said. "Like each building could have their own special area. Maybe one has a water feature, another has?—"

"Oh! I've seen these cool rock cairns," Destiny said excitedly.

Faith glanced over at her. "I'm not sure I understand."

"There's this house not far from Mom and Dad's," Destiny explained. "This guy stacks rocks in these neat formations. I thought it might be interesting to try and use something like that in a landscape design."

Faith knew what a rock cairn was but struggled to imagine it at the business complex.

"Here," Destiny said, holding out her phone. "Something like this."

Faith glanced over at the phone. "We could change the rock formations as part of the maintenance plan."

Destiny gasped. "Great idea."

"Are you going to learn how to do that?"

Destiny chuckled. "Maybe I can get the guy to show us how."

"Could we put some kind of examples of how to build it or patterns they could use in the garden?" Faith asked.

"I bet we could," Destiny said. "I'll research it."

"This is a good idea, Des," Faith said. It was her turn to get excited. They often came up with unique ideas like this when they worked together. Faith's heart began to thump a little faster in her chest. She wanted to stop and pull Destiny into her arms and kiss her. Faith chanced a glance towards Destiny and found her staring right at her.

Yep, she feels it, too.

Faith pulled her teeth across her bottom lip and looked back at the road as a grin grew on her face.

They drove over to two other large business complexes and continued to trade ideas.

Destiny sighed and looked over at Faith. "What a nice way to spend an afternoon."

"It's not over," Faith said. "Are you hungry?"

Destiny chuckled. "You know me, I could always eat."

"Some things don't change."

Faith exchanged a look with Destiny and exited the highway. She pulled into an area where several food trucks were in a semicircle and heard Destiny gasp.

"The Pearl Panda!" Destiny exclaimed. "That's my favorite food truck."

"I remember," Faith said, pulling into a parking space. "They joined several other food trucks to park here for the weekend."

While they waited in line, Faith said, "Let's get our food and then I want to show you something."

Destiny nodded. "I'm getting the noodle bowl with shrimp. Will you share an order of sticky dumplings with me?"

"Yes, please," Faith said, gazing at the menu. "I'm getting the noodle bowl with teriyaki chicken."

Destiny laughed. "We get the same thing every time."

"Because we love it." Faith laughed with her.

They placed their orders and Faith paid for the food.

"You didn't have to do that," Destiny said as they sat at a picnic table and waited for their food.

"Yes, I did," Faith said, sitting across from her. "How long has it been since you've been on a date? I invited you."

"The last date I went on was with you," Destiny stated.

"For the record," Faith said, "the last date I went on was with you . It would be easy to say I didn't have time, but I haven't thought of another woman."

Destiny nodded. "Monica tried to set me up several times, but..."

"Monica probably hates me," Faith said.

"Not at all," Destiny replied. "I told her what happened and how real the video looked. She wasn't surprised by your reaction."

Thankfully the truck attendant called out their number and Faith got up to get their food. Regret burned in her stomach, but she pushed those feelings down, determined to make the most of this day with Destiny.

They got back in the truck and Destiny said, "I hope where we're going isn't too far away. This food smells amazing."

Faith chuckled. "It's right around the corner."

They turned into a subdivision with new homes. Faith drove down the main street to a common area with a playground for kids and a walking path that disappeared into the neighborhood. She circled around to a small area with a couple of benches.

"We're here," Faith said, getting out of the truck with the food.

"This is nice," Destiny said. "I love the landscaping."

Faith chuckled. "It's definitely your style, isn't it?"

She led them to one of the benches and they sat down. "I completed this project last year," Faith said.

"Oh, Faith." Destiny looked around the area. "It's beautiful."

"The prairie style that you love was the perfect complement to the houses in this part of the subdivision," she said. "I thought of you as I imagined it, planned it, and put it in."

"Last year?" Destiny asked as she opened the container with the dumplings and set it between them. "You hated me last year."

"I never hated you," Faith said, opening her noodle bowl. "I hated myself and as much as I wanted to hate you I couldn't. I don't know how many times I laughed at myself as I planted this particular area. I almost told Mark to bring you by to see it because I knew how much you'd like it."

"You're right, I do."

"I look at it today and remember back to when I created it," Faith said. "It was my way to love you, Des." She turned and waited for Destiny to look at her. "I'll never stop loving you," she said softly.

Tears sprang to Faith's eyes and she quickly reached for her drink. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Destiny said. "You didn't notice last night, but tears were in my eyes."

"Yes, I did," Faith said. "We've always been emotional when it comes to our feelings for each other."

"Yeah, we have," Destiny agreed. "You could leave a note in my lunch bag and make me tear up."

Faith chuckled. "You did the same thing to me!"

They sat back against the bench and for several moments they ate in comfortable silence.

"This is so good," Destiny murmured between bites. "I'm glad you thought of the Pearl Panda."

"I'm glad you like it," Faith said, eating the last dumpling.

After a few moments Faith looked over at Destiny and said, "After we got out of the shack, I went to see your mom."

"She told me," Destiny said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Did she tell you what I said?"

Destiny shook her head. "She said it was yours to tell me."

Faith nodded. "I had a lot of things I wanted to tell you that day, but I knew you weren't ready to hear them."

"A lot happened that night."

"I know the things I've told you are hard for you to believe," Faith said. "Especially how quickly and how sure of myself I am now. That's why I suggested dating."

"Dating?" Destiny asked. "This is one date."

Faith smiled. "It's just the first. I hope we keep dating from now on."

"We'll see," Destiny said with a smile.

"One thing that I've figured out is that I'm letting my family go," Faith said.

"What? Why?"

"Let me see if I can explain," Faith said. "I've never been able to trust them and of course that led to my problems today. But I let what they did to me influence how I saw you." She set her bowl aside and moved closer to Destiny. She reached for her hand and was relieved when Destiny didn't pull away. Faith squeezed Destiny's hand and looked into her eyes. "You've never lied to me; you've always done what you said you were going to do. If I would've come to you with that video I'm pretty sure we would've figured out who it was just like we did in the shack that night. But instead I thought you were just like them."

"Faith," Destiny said softly.

"No, please, let me finish," Faith said. "My family only contacts me when they need something. They are never there for me. There is no reason for me to give them another thought." She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "Please don't laugh, but you are my destiny. I think I've always known that and maybe the universe had to test us, but I will never lose sight of that again. It's time for me to trust myself, to trust you, and trust our love."

Destiny stared into Faith's eyes and was about to speak when Faith reached up and put her finger over Destiny's lips.

"Don't say anything," Faith said. "I just wanted you to know that I'm standing up for myself. You've had to tiptoe around my issues from the beginning and I'm grateful for that. But I made it hard for you to love me and for that I'm sorry."

"No, Faith," Destiny said. "It was never hard to love you. Most of the time I was angry at your family because I don't understand how they can do that to you."

"You have always supported me," Faith said. "Can we stop?"

"Stop?"

"Yeah, I think that's enough seriousness for today," Faith said. "This is a date. We've had such a good time so far. At least I have."

Destiny smiled. "I have, too. And by the way, I won't laugh at you."

"No matter how cheesy I sometimes sound?"

"There once was a story about Destiny and Faith," Destiny said with a grin. "Remember?"