Love at Spain's Iron Cross

56 - Olveiroa

56

Olveiroa

Thursday, July 8

Jordan opened his eyes and saw Makena looking at him. They were each lying on their sides, facing one another. He smiled and said, "I like waking up with you."

"Me too." She felt shy.

I won't always be like this, so closed. But you're not a casual thing for me.

"Here on the Camino, I feel like I can open up with you. You're one of the most interesting men I've ever met. I'm amazed at how close we've become in such a short time. But where else do people spend this much time with each other daily? When I'm ready, I know it won't be just something physical between us. That scares me, Jordan. You're so patient, but I'm afraid I might push you away."

He reached out and lifted a lock of her golden hair from in front of her eyes and tucked it in behind her ear. Then he moved the same hand till it found hers, and they interlocked fingers. "I'm not going anywhere. I feel grateful just to have met you. If this had happened earlier on my trek in Spain, I wouldn't have been ready to care for someone else. It took me two months. So time isn't important to me. You are. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Keep doing so."

"Thank you also, Jordan. You're behaving exactly as I need you to do." She reached out and hugged him, and he held her, then looked into her smiling eyes. Jordan gave her a brief and tender kiss on her soft lips.

She smiled and touched his cheek. "A perfect start to our day."

They got up and readied themselves for the next segment of their journey. When they had cinched their shoelaces and hefted their packs, they left. It was cool and foggy as they walked toward the coast. There was no sudden sunrise, just a gradual change to a lighter gray. They kept their warmups on. They walked by roads and fields. In the mist, there wasn't much to look at, but their easy conversation was entertaining enough.

They talked some more about their backgrounds, parents, and what it was like for each growing up. Both told some more school stories as both students and instructors. They shared the influence of their favorite teachers and their choice to become educators. Makena talked about being an only child, how her parents thus had more financial resources, and how she learned to cope with being alone. She told him how important the LeBlanc sisters were to her. Jordan explained how he and his sister had progressed from being irritating preteens to what was now a pair of best friends who shared more than just news with each other.

They walked near fields and a stream, adding to their peace. After a couple of hours, they stopped in Piaxe, had their usual breakfast, then got back on the trail, sharing more with each other. Makena avoided talking about Luis, but Jordan shared some about Oriana.

"Before she passed away, we both gradually progressed through the first four Kubler-Ross stages of dealing with loss. We denied it was real, then got angry that it was happening to someone so young. We tried to make a bargain by compromising, deciding we would adopt children. When her health got worse, I became depressed, as you know. She got past that better than I did, and reached the fifth stage, the acceptance level of her situation, before I did. Maybe it was her native background. Her mother's Sioux ancestry influence seems more comfortable with the unexpected ups and downs of life. I don't know. But what I can tell you is that the two months in Spain before I met you was the critical transition time when I finally accepted her passing and started to live again. Then I found you, for which I am so grateful." He looked at her and smiled sadly.

"Stop," she said. Makena kissed him on the cheek and held him, their arms touching each other's sides. "Only on the Camino could I have grown close to someone this soon after what happened with Luis. You are a special man, Jordan." They resumed walking. "My loss, of course, is different from yours, but also similar. I went through the same stages. But mine wasn't gradual, at least not the first part. From the time I learned about his cheating until I called the twins it was only maybe an hour. By then I had progressed quickly among the first four stages. I stayed depressed at times for over two weeks in Spain. I still have an occasional nightmare, as if it's happening all over again. Then I wake up and see you, and I smile. You may never know how important your presence has been to my healing, but I'll keep telling you."