Grace went back to work today, although she was supposed to be on her honeymoon. She sent her parents to Barbados instead—“shame to waste the plane tickets,” she said. She meant it, too. What she needed most was to keep herself busy. Her captain understood that and gave her a pile of work to go through, so she has no time to think.
I checked in with my other charges. Pamela is busy making plans for London—working out her schedule, filling out applications for a visa and to renew her passport, doing complicated figuring with her finances. Aside from work, she’s paused only twice in the past week, once to meet with her stepfather for a celebratory dinner, and once to have her friends over for drinks. She did not include Lee on this latter occasion, but she thought about him, and she talked about him with the girls. I think her heart is softening towards him, but time will tell.
Jonathan met with the school board president yesterday afternoon. He wanted to ‘pick his brain’ about what it would take to fill the position that will soon be empty. Mr. Tippin was delighted that Jonathan was interested, a fact that further encouraged Jonathan, and they spent more than two hours talking and planning. Jonathan feels more confident now, and he has a firm ally, both of which delighted Lauren. Of course there is much work to be done, but he has made a good start.
Shannon is not in a good place. She regrets giving up on her project, and often she goes back to look at the photographs that she compiled. She has learned to do this only when Thomas is not present, because he does not like her looking at them. It seems clear to me that he does not like anything that draws her attention away from him for more than a few moments, but I cannot get that across to Shannon. It does not matter to him whether she is angry or pleased with him, only that her eyes are on him and him alone. He glories in holding her focus, in being the center of her world. I do not know how I can show this to her; she is already very defensive about her relationship with him.
Mary brought Jordan along to hang out with her friends this afternoon. It was a bit awkward, but more so on Jordan’s side than on theirs. They were welcoming to him and willing to include him on their conversations, but he had nothing to say. He listened to them talking about hardship, their struggles and ways to alleviate them, and he realized that he had never been through such things. He has a happy life, and he had never realized how lucky he was. I would say that this is a good revelation to have, except that it has made things stiff between him and Mary. Both of them are beginning to wonder if they have anything in common at all.
I was watching them say their goodbyes and wondering whether to intervene when a new presence came to my attention. I turned and found Lubos there, watching me as I watched them.
“Hello, brother,” I said. I could see in his smile that he already knew of what had happened with my charges.
“Brother, I wish that I found you in brighter spirits,” he said to me. “It seems the last few days have been hard on you.”
I did not want to speak to Lubos, who has always been so successful, about my failures. I was grateful for his concern, and I said so, but I quickly urged the conversation to safer areas. “Have you come for a particular reason? How is Freya?”
His smile changed, and he beckoned to me. “I think that I have found someone who may suit her well. I wanted your opinion.”
“Why?” I asked.
He put a wing around me, and I felt the warmth of his reassurance and friendship. “Because you know her even better than I. Come with me, please.”
Since he insisted, and he really did seem to want my input, I went along. It was late afternoon, and Freya was just leaving work. It seemed that she had had a good day; her aura was bright, her steps light as she walked across the parking lot to her car. The color of her aura, the flame of her, lifted my spirits by simple proximity.
Then I noticed the man who was following her.
“His name is Peter Goad,” Lubos told me as the young man called out to Freya. She turned, and her face broke into a flirtatious smile at the sight of him. “He is a writer who has just recently published a book with Freya’s company. He met her today, and as you can see, there was immediate chemistry between them.”
I could see that. They were well-suited to one another—both slender, both tall, both elegant with a trace of something more that made them even more impressive. With her, it was color, vibrance, while he had a certain irreverence that added to his charm. He had an aura nearly as brilliant as hers, and he spoke boldly to her, making veiled suggestions that made her laugh and twist coyly away in a way that made it obvious how drawn to him she was.
“He is adventurous and strong,” Lubos said, “and already very attracted to her. I think they would make a good match. What do you think?”
I have to admit, I was unsure. Peter was beautiful and brave and admiring, but I could see none of the kindness in his aura that I could see in Freya’s. There were no shadows in him, true, but something seemed lacking.
Still, I could see that it made Freya happy to have his attention, and Lubos was smiling, confident in his choice. “If you think him good, Lubos, who am I to disagree?” I said.
Lubos turned to me and set a hand on my shoulder. “You are an angel of passion and discernment, who saw something worthwhile in that woman and refused to leave her in solitude,” he told me. “And I truly do want your opinion.”
I demurred, and would do so again. Lubos is wiser than I, and he knows Freya himself, so I stepped back. “I thank you for your confidence in me, truly. But I trusted you with her welfare when you agreed to take her case, and I do still. Go forward with the two of them. I hope that they will be very happy.” I excused myself and returned to heaven, for by then I was greatly in need of rest.
Still, I cannot find ease. Three of my five charges are struggling, while the others have great periods of upheaval to come. And I am to meet a new charge in a matter of days! I am not quite certain I can do this. My Father be with me, for I will need his help.