It has been a hard few weeks for Gabrielle.  She and Nick speak but rarely, and only then about what is necessary—Gabrielle getting her things out of Nick’s apartment or relaying the progress of the divorce proceedings.  He is finally resigned to the divorce, and while it still grieves him, I think he will soon come to the same conclusion as Gabrielle: that this is the best for the both of them.  It is sad, however, that their friendship will never be the same.

Gabrielle’s parents are still struggling.  Her father has not spoken to her since she broke the news to them, and her mother will not let one of their sparse conversations pass without trying to talk her daughter out of it.  Inca makes Gabrielle hang up the phone on Ellie once her words turn in that direction.

Inca has been spending a lot of time with her.  The tension makes Gabrielle restless, and restlessness often translates to recklessness for her.  In just the past three weeks, she has been on three night hikes—one alone, and one in which she went swimming in a pond despite the temperatures being near freezing—and gone horseback riding four times, none of them with the proper safety equipment.  Inca and I are both glad that she has the energy to do these things, but it worries us both that she is so careless with her own safety.

In light of all this, we are so grateful to Victoria.  Gabrielle’s friend has been a champion for her in these days.  She is the only one who stands a chance of restraining Gabrielle’s more dangerous ideas because she is the only one Gabrielle will listen to (”no, you cannot climb the silo, Gabby, I don’t care how cool the view would be”).  Somehow, she has managed to keep Gabrielle on task with her schoolwork (“Why are you on Facebook.”).  She knows when to listen and be understanding, and when to kick Gabrielle out of her thoughts.  If only all my charges had such a friend!

Tonight is the last night that Gabrielle will spend in Victoria’s apartment—starting tomorrow, she will be renting a room from a woman who is also in Gabrielle’s graduate program.  They were spending the evening together, piled together on the sofa while Victoria read a book and Gabrielle worked on some of her homework.  It was clear to me, however, that Gabrielle’s focus was not on the work.  Suddenly she set down her pen and sat up, looking critically at Victoria.

Victoria looked up and raised her brows.  “What?”

For a moment Gabrielle hesitated, which surprised me—there has never yet been anything she could not share with Victoria.  When I saw what was on her mind, I could understand her reluctance.  Still, I encouraged her to speak up.

“Why do you think I’m not attracted to you?” she asked Victoria.

Victoria absorbed this, reached for her bookmark, and set the book aside.  “You aren’t?”

“No,” Gabrielle said, as if confused by this.  “I mean…I know I like women now.”

This was a monumental admission—she has never yet said it aloud.  A brief silence acknowledged this, but then Gabrielle pushed on.

“And like, objectively, I can see that you’re beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Victoria said calmly.

“But I don’t want you like that.”  Gabrielle angled her head, frowning at Victoria.  “Why do you think that is?”

Victoria rolled her eyes.  “If you’re asking me to figure out what’s in your head, Gabby, we’re going to be here for a while.”

Gabrielle grinned.  “Who else has a chance if not you?”

“True,” Victoria agreed.  She turned to face Gabrielle directly.  “So definitely part of it is that you know I don’t swing that way.”

Gabrielle glanced away, thinking of Erica.  “Never stopped me before.”  She sighed.  “And it would be so much easier if I could just be in love with you.  I know you wouldn’t break my heart.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Victoria said.  “And I won’t.  Because that’s the thing, Gabby—you do love me, and I love you.”

“That’s not what I mean—”

“But that’s what I mean,” Victoria interrupted her.  “Look, the world thinks that you should only have one kind of love, or at least that one kind of love should supply your every need.  That’s dumb.  No human being can pull that off.  No one person can be anything and everything for you.”

She is not quite correct in that, as Cupids know—there has in the past been love so strong and so pure that it sustains everything in life.  One would hope that there will be such love again in the future.  But it is so rare and precious that most people go their whole lives without seeing it.

Victoria smiled at Gabrielle.  “The kind of love that shares a life together, that stays side by side—you’ll find that with someone else.  But when you need someone who loves you no matter where you go, who you can leave for ages and then come back and still feel at home—that’s what I’m here for.  That’s how I love you.”

Gabrielle stared at Victoria.  Tears were starting in her eyes.  Without a word, she slid across the sofa and slipped under Victoria’s arm, resting her head on her chest.

Victoria stroked her friend’s hair and kissed her forehead.  “It’ll be okay, you know,” she said.

And Gabrielle believed it, which in itself was a miracle.  As for me, I wrapped them both in my wings and praised God for such love.  It may not be the kind of love that gives everything, but it gives enough, and it is a blessing.