They were nearing the far end of the pond; then they curved toward the willow grove, the morning sun on their shoulders. “I was thinking about it,” he admitted. “But it’s never a gut idea, neither is it wise, to marry someone when you can’t stop thinking of another.”

She felt shocked that he’d ended things. “Nee, certainly not,” she replied, unsure what this meant.

A moment passed, and now they were practically flying across the ice. Then, as they were coasting, Obie spoke again, his voice softer, almost tentative. “I came close to askin’ ya to court once . . . on your birthday, before I left for Sugar Valley.”

So that’s what he’d wanted to say that day. Just as she’d hoped. “I didn’t know.”

“And then I thought you and Del were dating. . . .” His voice trailed off.

“We weren’t really together like that. Not seriously.”

“I know,” Obie said. “I heard that, much later on.”

For a while, they skated slowly without speaking. When he drifted to a stop, she yearned to hear more.

“Susie,” he said, his eyes searching hers, “I know it’s been a long time since we’ve talked or even exchanged letters, but you’ve always been my best friend. No one’s even come close.”

She held her breath, waiting.

“Would ya consider bein’ my sweetheart?”

She smiled and nodded. “S’pose a fella shouldn’t have to ask twice.”

His laughter filled the frosty air. “Then, you will?”

She really needed to ask him something first. “I hope it’s not meddlesome, but do ya mind sayin’ what happened to end your former relationship?”

“Not at all.” He shook his head. “Plainly put, she wasn’t you.” His gaze held hers. “It’s that simple.”

Wonder filled her. “Then, jah, I’ll be your girl.”

He reached for her hand. And together, they skated in unison, her heart rejoicing as they accelerated.

When the cold had at last crept into their bones, Susie suggested having hot cocoa up at the house. Obie agreed, and once they’d skated to the shoreline to remove their skates and pull on their snow boots, he gazed up through the bare willow branches. “This, right here, was the spot where I first knew I loved ya,” Obie said, returning his gaze to her.

Susie’s merry heart recalled their many walks here, their rowboat rides, and the skating, too. And his first, unsuccessful attempt to ask her to court, on her twenty-second birthday. “The beginning of what we would become,” she said, smiling into his dear face.

Obie’s expression turned more serious. “If ya don’t mind, I’ve often wondered what it might be like to hug my dearest friend,” he said, opening his arms to her.

Overjoyed, she stepped toward him, surrendering to his loving embrace, never so happy as on this first day of the new year.

Epilogue