It's a Miracle

"Dad? Can we go for some hot chocolate?" Emma asked as they were taking their skates off, making sure not to mention what she'd seen.

"Is that okay?" Rick asked his date.

"Okay? I'd love that!" she replied with that amazing smile of hers.

As they sipped their chocolate, Karn said, "That was so much fun!"

"We had a very nice time, too," Rick told her.

"Ms. Peterson? You are SO good!" Emma said.

"You know what? You have a lot of natural ability, Emma. I bet you could be a very good skater."

"Are you serious?" the excited nine-year old asked.

"Yes. I've seen a lot of skaters, and you pick things up very quickly."

"Dad? Could I...."

"You'd need a coach, honey," her dad said before she could finish.

"Awww!" Emma replied, nearly pouting, something she rarely did.

"Maybe we can figure something out," Karn told her as she reached over and ran her fingers through Emma's long, brown hair.

She looked at Rick to gauge his reaction, and when he smiled, Karn said, "I've missed skating, and after tonight, I wouldn't mind going more often."

When Rick's facial expression told her he approved, she looked right at Emma and said, "I'm sure I could work with you a couple of times a week."

Emma also looked at her dad who smiled and told her that was up to Ms. Peterson.

"I'm game," the beautiful blonde replied.

"So...can I?" Emma asked.

"Yes. If Karn...Ms. Peterson is willing, sure."

"I am," Karn said, "and if it's okay with your dad, maybe you could call me Karn when there aren't any other students around."

The look on Emma's face nearly cause Rick to get emotional again just before the thought hit him that this woman could possibly do what his ex-wife had done and break Emma's heart...again.

But just as with the kiss, he felt like he could trust his instincts, and they told him she wouldn't do that.

"It's okay with me, sweetie," Rick told his daughter.

Emma was sitting next to her teacher and put her arms around her again and said, "I love you, Ms. Peters...Karn."

"I love you, too, Miss...Emma," the older woman told her as she hugged her back again.

Emma refused to walk Karn to her door when they got to her house as she hoped and silently prayed they would kiss again. After what seemed like the longest goodbye in the history of the world, Emma smiled when she saw her teacher put her arms around her dad's neck as they kissed goodnight.

What she didn't know was that Karn told him she'd had the best time she could remember in many years and that her dad agreed with her. They also agreed to see each other the following day when Karn offered to make dinner for them.

Rick accepted, and when he told Emma on their way home, she squealed with happiness.

"Dad?" Emma asked a few seconds after the squeal.

"Uh-huh?"

"Can we go to church sometime?"

Rick looked at his daughter then asked why she wanted to know.

"Well, I asked God for you and Karn to kiss when you said goodnight, and you did. And He also answered my prayer for you guys to go out again!"

After Afghanistan, Rick's already shaky personal faith had all but vanished, but he had faith in his daughter, and if it was something she really wanted to do, he'd happily take her one day.

"Sure, honey."

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I am SO happy!" Emma told him.

He reached over and squeezed her small hand and said, "You know what? So am I."

The next morning, Rick was hoping his daughter would forget about church, but he'd given his word, and his word was his bond. So, after breakfast, he asked Emma if she still wanted to go to church.

"Yes. Can we?" she asked.

"I don't really know where to go, honey. We can drive around and you can pick one if you like."

Emma agreed and after they got ready and headed out, she chose the first church they saw. It was an Episcopalian church, and as far as Rick was concerned, he thought he'd feel equally out of place there as anywhere else. He almost thanked Emma (and God) she hadn't chosen a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall but didn't mention it.

As they walked inside, Rick was worried about doing or not doing something wrong, so he watched everyone else and after a few seconds he relaxed a little.

A tug on his arm brought him back to reality.

"Dad. Look," Emma whispered. "It's Ms...Karn."

He couldn't believe his eyes when he looked in the direction Emma was nodding, but there she was, sitting in a pew all by herself.

"Come on!" Emma said excitedly as she pulled on her dad's arm.

"Is this seat taken?" Rick asked once he was close enough that she looked over his way.

Karn's face lit up in an instant.

"Hi! What are you two doing here?" she asked, still in mild shock from seeing them.

"I'm not sure," Rick told her.

He smiled then said, "But I'm beginning to think it's a miracle."

Karn gave him a puzzled look, and he told her he'd explain later. She gave Emma a hug and asked her to sit next to her. She did, but she took the other side so her father could also sit next to her.

"It's almost like we're a family," Emma whispered to her favorite teacher.

Karn looked at her, smiled, then said, "Yes it is, huh?" as she took the girl's hand.

She then looked at Rick who also smiled before holding his hand out. Karn looked at it for a second then took it and smiled back at him just as the service was about the begin.

Rick had only been to a Baptist church and only a few times. He'd never been to a liturgical service before and felt lost most of the time. But sitting next to Karn more than made up for any discomfort he might be feeling. When it ended, Rick mentioned how surprised he was to see Karn sitting there.

"But pleasantly so," he added.

"I started coming after my divorce. I've never been very religious, but this has helped...center me."

She then asked why they came, and Rick explained the reason why as Emma shyly sat there hoping her teacher wouldn't be upset.

"You were praying for your dad and I to...keep seeing each other?" she asked her student.

"Yes. Is that okay?" Emma asked, her face kind of scrunched up in worry.

"Of course it is, sweetie. And to tell you the truth, I'm glad you did."

That earned another 'Really?' from Emma and Karn assured her it was true.

"I like you both very much," she said to Emma while looking at her father.

"Well, we feel the same way," Rick told her as they got up to file by the priest who was now at the doors waiting for his parishioners to file out.

Rick shook his hand, and the priest said he hoped to see him and his daughter again soon.

"You just might," Rick replied as Karn shook his hand.

After she said her goodbyes, she suggested they all go back to her place rather than wait for dinner.

"If you don't mind."

"Can we, Daddy? Please?" Emma asked as she grabbed Karn's hand.

"You don't have to beg, honey. I like Karn just as much as you do."

Emma smiled, then hugged her dad, then asked if she could ride with her teacher.

"It's okay with me, Rick."

"Then I'll follow you," he said as Emma smiled happily and thanked him. "But you're not allowed to drive."

"Dad!" his daughter said, causing him and Karn to laugh.

Rick wanted to kiss this beautiful, older woman in the worst way, but because they were still technically at church, he settled for touching her hand before they parted ways.

Before they knew it, it was 8 o'clock at night and they stayed for both lunch and dinner. The day literally flew by as they played games, talked, and ate.

"We should be getting home so Emma can get ready for...school," Rick said just after eight. He would have said 'go to bed' but didn't want to embarrass his daughter.

"I am so glad you picked my church, Emma, and I'm even more happy that you spent the day with me," Karn told her favorite new girl.

"Do you think it was a miracle, Karn?" she asked.

"I don't know, sweetie. Maybe. But even if it wasn't, it was a very wonderful surprise."

Emma gave her a big hug then said, "I'll give you guys a chance to say 'goodbye' alone, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, she left the room leaving Rick and Karn by themselves for the first time all day.

"This was pretty wonderful," Rick told her as he reached for her hands.

"I agree," Karn replied sweetly as she pulled his arms around her waist.

When Rick smiled, she said, "You know, Emma might be praying for us to kiss again."

"Oh, right. And we definitely want to make sure that prayer gets answered, huh?" Rick said as he pulled her closer.

"I have to admit I really did have some concerns about, you know, our...difference in age."

"But?" Rick asked as they stared into one another's eyes.

"But...now...I can't help but think maybe this was...meant to be."

"I've never believed in miracles before. I'm not even sure I really believe in God, but after today, I have to admit there are things I can't explain."

Karn smiled at him and Rick smiled back as she put her hand on his cheek as he kissed her softly.

"Like how I can feel the way I do about you already," he said very quietly when their lips parted.

"I was thinking the very same thing," Karn quietly told him.

"I haven't felt like this about anyone since...."

He almost said, "Since my ex-wife and I started dating," but even then it wasn't like this. So he said, "Ever," which was the truth.

"So it isn't just me?" Karn asked, her arms now around his neck.

"You are so beautiful," Rick told her quietly before kissing her again.

When the kiss ended, both of them heard a quiet, "Yes!" from Emma before hearing her also say, "Thank you!"

"I do believe another prayer was just answered," Karn told him with a very happy smile.

Rick laughed quietly then got serious.

"I want to see you again, Karn. Soon. And often."

"I've completely cleared my schedule—just in case," she told him with a little laugh. "So you may see me as often as you like. And I really do want to work with Emma at the rink."

"Would it be okay if I tagged along? You know, just to be near the beautiful woman I'm falling for?"

"She'd like that. Very much," Karn told him before kissing him one more time then walking him, and Emma, to the door.

"Goodnight, Ms...Karn," Emma said as the two 'women' embraced.

"Goodnight, honey. I'll talk to you tomorrow about going skating, okay?"

Emma agreed then stood there hoping—and praying—she and her dad would kiss again. They did, but it was a very quick kiss, but that was enough to bring another big smile to her face as they all said 'goodnight'.

*****

Things got a little crazy after that Sunday together. Captain Brunell continued seeing Bonnie, and Karn began working with Emma three days a week at the rink and spending as much time as she could with her and her father. They didn't do crazy things or even anything all that exciting. They were content to stay home and watch movies or make dinner together or just sit and talk.

Both Rick and Karn knew they hadn't really dated anyone else since losing their spouses, but they both believed that it wasn't important that they do so. And the more time they spent together, the more they grew to believe that. And they also believed that an hour spent together in church each Sunday was a positive investment for them individually, and later on, as a potential family.

Rick's mother couldn't have been happier for her son and granddaughter, and she and Karn hit it off immediately. Bonnie began teaching her how to quilt, and Karn even managed to get Bonnie to come to the rink and skate with them. Getting her new police captain/boyfriend to so was another matter.

She was even worse then her son had been the first they went together, but she loved being with them so much she was willing to brave falling down and looking foolish just to spend time with the people she loved the most.

Over the Christmas break, Rick, Karn, and Emma took their first trip together as a family and braved the crowds in Orlando, Florida, as they walked around the Magic Kingdom, much of the time hand in hand. They road roller coasters, ate cotton candy, and bonded even more during the three days they spent there.

As far as lovemaking was concerned, neither of them were in any great hurry. They'd been dating since September and still hadn't been together in that way, but when they got home, Bonnie suggested keeping Emma for a couple of days.

Even though she was only nine, Emma had pretty good idea of what was going on, but all she cared about was her father and Karn being together—whatever that meant for grownups.

So on that first night, in Karn's bedroom, Rick made love to this amazing, older woman he'd fallen in love with. And for the first time, he told her that after they'd explored one another's bodies the way only new lovers can.

"I love you, too, Rick," she told him as her eyes filled with tears. "I was so devastated when my husband left me, and I often wondered if I'd ever meet anyone I could love."

"Oh, I get it," Rick told her immediately.

He smiled at her and said, "It's like the Far Side comic strip where it says, 'And then a miracle happened'."

Karn hadn't seen it, but that didn't matter.

"Yes. Yes, it did," she replied with a warm, loving smile of her own. "And speaking of miracles...."

She reached for him, and to her great delight, he was ready for another 'go'. When she mentioned it, Rick laughed then told her, "You see. There really are benefits to dating a younger man."

"Yes there are," she said as she guided him in and moaned softly as they made love a second time within an hour.

Rick waited until Spring Break to propose even though he knew he was in love well before the winter holidays. When he finally asked her, at the skating rink no less, Karn playfully asked him what took him so long after loudly shrieking, "YES!"

"That's a rhetorical question, I hope," Rick replied as he slid the ring on her finger before they held each other as with Emma and Bonnie joined in. Even Captain Brunell showed up and shook his young officer's hand and congratulated them both. He just didn't do any hugging.

Rick looked down at Emma who'd just turned 10 as they all held onto each other. She looked up at her dad and said, "Yes, I know what 'rhetorical' means, Dad."

The four of them laughed, hugged each other some more, and reveled in the moment; a moment they wished would never end.

*****

Three years later. Springfield, Illinois

"Can you wish your big sister good luck?" Rick asked his two-year old son.

The little boy looked at his beautiful, 13-year old sister and said, "Good luck, Emma!"

"Thank you, Michael!" she told him as she got ready for her first-ever competitive event.

"You can do this, honey!" Karn told her just before Emma got ready to go out on the ice.

"Thanks, Mom!" she told the woman she loved like her own mother. "This is all for you today."

Karn teared up as her daughter pushed off when the announcer called out her name.

She sat down between her husband and her mother-in-law and her own new husband, John Brunell, and took one of their hands as Emma skated out into the spotlight and waited for the music to begin.

"Are you nervous?" Rick asked knowing his wife had been on edge for days.

"It's all up to her now," she said as the music began.

"It'll take a miracle for her to win," Rick whispered.

"Yes, it will, but I believe in miracles," she told him as she looked over at the handsome, younger police officer she loved with all her heart and the little boy they'd created together.

Emma then executed her first-ever move in a competition, a single axel consisting of one-and-a-half revolutions.

When she nailed it perfectly, Rick squeezed his wife's hand and said, "So do I, honey!"