Today was my last evening with Ted and Elaine, and my first with Anna—or at least, the first when she was my official charge. I had the full approval from Danit for both changes the other day.
Anna is a delight to me. She is such a bright spirit, and so passionate about what she does—sometimes to exclusion of all else. I arrived at her apartment this afternoon to find her chattering away on the phone to her mother, from whom I was getting a definite sense of bewilderment.
“—and of course Jayden’s mother forgot her stuffie again today, so she had to borrow Dr. Winckler from me, and then nothing would do but Miranda have a stuffie from me, too, so I had to drag Chico out of the wash, which may not have been the best idea now that I think about it, because Davey had him yesterday and he has a bit of a cold, he wasn’t here today. I’ll have to try and remember to call his mother and check in on him later…”
Anna’s mother allowed this joyful rush to go on for a while longer before beginning to gently guide her on to other topics. Anna listened just as happily to news of her parents and her siblings, and she asked questions about her mother’s theatre group and her brother’s last football game, which tells me that she is family-oriented. A hard thing, for someone who is so far from family.
Anna grew up in a small town in Michigan. I was surprised by this, wondering what brought her to Boston, but apparently Anna went to college here and ended up falling in love with the city. It seems she has an interest in history, for one of the bits of news she gave her mother was that she went to the Paul Revere House over the weekend.
“All by yourself?” her mother asked gently.
“I was fine,” Anna said brightly, but I saw the twinge that the implication caused in her. She didn’t want to worry her mother, but my first impression of her was correct—she is lonely.
My goal, then, shall be to find her some friendships, perhaps a few that can deepen into something more. I do not anticipate trouble in this endeavor—who would not appreciate someone who looks to the past and looks after the future with the same happy enthusiasm?
As for Ted and Elaine, I have to admit, I was having second thoughts about leaving them so soon. It has only been a few months that they have been together, and much of their relationship has been plagued by doubts. But my own doubts were assuaged when I found them today, looking around Ted’s house while they discussed whether they were ready for Elaine to move in.
“It’s not too much of a drive,” she was saying, “though I’d worry about winter weather.”
“They’re pretty good about keeping the roads clear, even out here. And you could always take my car. Most of the places I need to go, I could walk.”
Elaine gave him a look. They disagree greatly about the notion of “walking distance”; it has been a topic of teasing contention ever since the first hike Ted brought her on. “What about floods?”
“I specifically chose this place because the water doesn’t get too high, since we’re just above a river basin that helps it drain,” he explained. “Sometimes it covers up the dock, but that’s the worst I’ve seen and there have been some nasty storms while I’ve been here.”
Elaine grimaced and looked up at the large glass windows facing the lake. “Storm windows?”
“Naturally.” He laughed to himself. “I feel like I’m trying to sell the place to you.”
“Well, in a way you are,” she said lightly. “I mean, we both know who is going to be in charge around here.”
“Oh, do we?” he asked, stepping close and slipping his hand into hers. His tone was amused, not argumentative, because he knows that there is truth in what she says. She is the leader of the two of them more often than not, and he is perfectly content with that.
Elaine narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you grinning because you already know you’re going to get what you want?”
“Yep,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist. “I mean, we both know that you want to be with me. And I want you here.” He tightened his grip.
Elaine put up a token resistance, but finally put her arms around his neck with a sigh. “Sheesh, you can wash the lake out of a man, but you can’t take the man away from the lake,” she muttered.
He threw back his head and laughed, and all pretense of irritation disappeared from Elaine. She stood on her toes to kiss the underside of his chin, and they both fell back on the sofa in laughter.
They have the eager happiness of new love, but also the assurance and comfort of an established one. Rather than make them anxious with one another as I feared, the uncertainty they have been through seems to have made them stronger. I am relieved, and I know now that I can step away with a clean conscience.
I spread my wings over them as they lay in each other’s arms. “Make this place a home together,” I murmured. “Let the winds and waters always bind you closer, never pull you apart. And when you fear or hurt, look up to the stars and remember how you began.”