Brid and I were both out today in support of Harrington. For the first time since his injury, he went out of town, taking a train to the neighboring city where his old friend Jared lives. The journey was physically difficult for him—he used two canes to walk, which left him in a great deal of pain though he did not have to walk far. The destination was emotionally difficult, for not only was he nervous about meeting an old friend after the accident, but also he knew that this meeting could change his life.
Despite his fears, the meeting went well. Jared, a man whose hair has already turned completely gray and whose eyes were surrounded with smile lines, greeted Harrington without surprise or remark about how he has changed. He made certain that Harrington was as comfortable as possible; indeed, he had arranged matters so that the disability, though the reason they were meeting and the underlying topic of their conversation, was not at all an issue.
“He’s got an impressive setup,” Harrington told Isabella and Arthur this evening as they settled him back into bed. “There are four shops across town—one of them is attached to a car dealership that he’s been expanding, and the garage is huge. One of the other stores specializes in transmissions, and the other two are a lot like mine. Jared drove me around so I could see all of them.”
“So you’ve been running all around town?” Isabella asked, dismayed. She had wanted to go with Harrington, so that he could stay in his wheelchair, but he had insisted that he could manage on his own.
Harrington smiled wryly, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. “He was very clever about it, actually,” he said. “At each place we drove into the garages so that I could sit in the car, and the mechanics came to us. The only walking I did was from the train station to his car, and then a little in his main office.”
“He has an office, too?” Arthur asked, impressed.
“Yeah, and a warehouse. It’s all very official—human resources, benefits…handicapped-accessible, even,” he said, rolling his eyes at Isabella. “Of course, he wouldn’t have all that here for quite a while, but he’s looking into buying another shop in the area, and once he has two or three he’ll want to start setting it up so he and his people won’t have to keep commuting.”
“What is he offering you, exactly?” Isabella asked.
Harrington named a sum that meant nothing to me, but it had Isabella’s eyebrows lifting.
“Is that good?” Arthur asked, looking from his father to his mother. “It sounds good.”
“It’s very good,” Isabella said.
“Probably too good,” Harrington admitted. “Jared’s being very kind to me.”
Arthur frowned at his father. “But you haven’t said yes yet.”
Harrington sighed. “I just—I need to think about it a little while longer.”
I could see his reluctance. While the sale of the shop would be a relief to the family, it would mean something lost that they have had for a long time, and once the money ran out, what would they do then?
“Take the time,” I murmured to him. “There is no hurry, and if this is not the right thing to do, you will find what is right soon enough.”
“Now is the time to rest,” Brid said, stretching one wing over him to ease some of his pain.
“Well,” Isabella said, thinking along these same lines, “we’ll think and talk and pray and get back to Jared in a few days. For now, though, you need food and sleep. You pushed yourself much too hard today.”
Harrington only smiled. Despite the pain and weariness in his body, he is relieved that he can still push himself a bit. He is still discovering his new limits.
Speaking of limits, Brid’s own limits have expanded. She is a principality now, stretching her new wing over two new charges. She is very pleased and proud, and I am twice as much so for her sake. “Of course, you couldn’t have us on equal footing, could you, my powerful friend?” she teased me.
“Always a step ahead,” I teased back. But I know that she knows how grateful I am that we can continue to work together. A difference in strength does not mean that I am any wiser or kinder than she is.
Our seniors say it will be another few months before we get our new charge together—her case load is full now, but at least one of Brid’s other cases will close between now and then. I am eager to meet the new charge, but I will be patient, and I will put my eagerness into helping Harrington make a decision. When he has, you will certainly know soon after what it is.