REM // Van McCann

89. Everything's Okay

Bondy and Larry were glad to have me back. You'd think I was gone for months by the way they reacted but they were just happy to have me back. Even though they didn't say it, they were worried about this trip and what it would do to me. I appeared fine on the outside but they didn't know how I felt on the inside, and they were too afraid to ask.

The work piled up while I was gone. They took care of the things that needed immediate attention but left the things that could wait. Bondy was keen on fine tuning his code since he hated that it took things literally so he and Larry have been taking turns going under and taking notes. And while that was going on, they managed to hold two sessions with Roman that went well. Bondy went under with Roman both times and was intrigued by the nature of his dreams.

The first dream Roman had was that his oldest son Gabriel had run away. The dream brought Roman to tears because he thought it was real. He and his son had a row the night before so things weren't good between them at the moment. Bondy was intrigued but couldn't stand to see the pain of a parent losing his child so he intervened. Roman was thankful it was just a dream but was deeply disturbed. However, that didn't deter him from coming in the week after. Luckily, he dreamt about something much happier the second time around.

"You're welcome to sit in on his dreams," I offered. It was clear that Bondy was enjoying Roman's dreams. He was never this enthusiastic when going under Larry's dreams.

"I couldn't possibly take that away from you," Bondy said, shaking his head.

"I feel like things will be busy in the coming months so I could use the help. We've made things official by the way. Florence is my girlfriend and we're going to find a bigger place." Bondy's face lit up at the news and I tried to ignore Larry's shocked expression. I felt terrible for not telling him anything so he must have so many questions right now wondering what on earth happened.

"Larry, we should grab lunch if you're free today. I've got a lot to tell you and I apologize for not saying anything much sooner," I said, feeling guilty. That seemed to do the trick because he smiled and agreed.

"Congratulations to the both of you. I take it your trip went well?" Bondy asked.

"Yeah, it went as well as it could go. I got the answers I was looking for even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear and Florence helped me through it. That's how I knew she was the one. And my hope is that I can put the past behind me and move on." I didn't want to go into too much detail but they luckily understood and didn't pry.

After being questioned for half an hour and being filled in on what I missed, they finally left me alone so I could do some work. It felt strange easing back into work. My mind wasn't quite there and everything felt foreign to me. Luckily I had nothing pressing so I finished the report from two weeks ago since I knew what I wanted to write.

When lunch rolled around, I asked Larry where he was at and we agreed to have lunch at the pub across the street. We weren't allowed to have alcohol because we were still working which was fine with me as I wasn't in the mood to drink. It wasn't until Molly took our order that I began talking.

"I'm so sorry for not telling you much earlier. To be honest, Bondy wouldn't have known if he didn't catch me," I apologized and Larry kept saying it was fine but I knew he was slightly upset about it. Larry poured his heart out to me about Maeve many times. I'm actually closer to Larry than I am with Bondy so I explained myself, hoping to win his trust back. I told him about Florence and I and how Bondy found out. At first, I was nervous telling him the story but then I felt relieved. Now that the truth is out, I don't have to hide from them anymore and it felt so good.

"So you're trying to find a bigger place," Larry repeated and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I love the building I'm in and asked if they had a bigger place but they don't so we have to look elsewhere. My lease isn't up until April so we've got plenty of time to look for a place. I'm not looking forward to moving all my shit though," I sighed. Moving is a pain in the arse but it's a good excuse to throw out what I don't need. I have to keep in mind that Florence has a lot of stuff in storage as well.