This morning, I once again saw one of my charges onto a plane. Myrtle was grouchy and half-awake, so it was Jaquinn who steered them through the airport and to their seats. She slept most of the journey, but when she woke, the nerves that I had been expecting came crashing down on her.
“This was a dumb idea,” she said.
Jaquinn raised his eyebrows and looked around. They were sitting in the plane on the ground, waiting for the stewards to give them permission to exit. “Bit late to be worrying about that now.”
Myrtle didn’t say anything, and Jaquinn took her hand and squeezed it. I did my best to soothe her nerves, but I believe I had more impact on the people around her than I did on her. (Mass transit is such a strange thing. All of these people shared the journey together, and yet they know nothing about one another and will never see one another again. The ebb and flow of different lives around one another is a fascinating thing.)
As they walked through the airport, Jaquinn was looking around, but Myrtle had her head down. She didn’t look up until they had reached the baggage claim, which is an amusing place where suitcases are loaded onto a conveyor belt and shuffle around until they are reclaimed by their owners. Myrtle spotted her bag and lunged for it, but someone reached it before she could. Startled, she looked up into her brother’s eyes.
Grinning, Darron hefted the bag, which had a series of colorful stars and shapes painted on it. “Spotted it from a mile away,” he said. “Classic Murry.”
And suddenly, all of Myrtle’s doubts vanished, and she threw her arms around Darron’s neck.
It was a relief to me to see how much easier the reunion was than Myrtle had expected. It took only a moment for the shared love and years of their past to come back, and brother and sister were friends at once. Jaquinn was introduced, but he had little chance to say anything as Myrtle and Darron began talking immediately about stories from the past, sharing old jokes and discussing things that they still have in common. They spent the day together, touring the city, seeing Darron’s workplace and his school, and returning to his apartment for dinner with him and his girlfriend, and not once did either of them feel anything stronger than the relief and joy at their reunion.
Love is like this. After a separation, it covers all the troubles and pain for a time, exulting only in being together again.
I know that this peace will not last. The doubts and the bad memories will return, and I will be there when they do, but for now I am glad that they are happy.