Learning How to Bend

March 19

"Are you okay?"

"Adequately," he said simply.

"I'm not going to make you talk, but you know I'm here if you'd like to do so." I leaned back in the chair and tilted my head so my face faced the night sky.

"Thank you...for what you said to my parents."

"I wasn't about to let them disrespect you. They already disliked me, so I did not think I could make it any worse."

He scoffed at me before responding flatly. "You'd be surprised."

"I just want you to know how proud I am of you," I said. "You're successful and driven, and you don't shy from any challenge, and that includes me. I never would've thought in March of last year that we ever would've ended up here."

He wanted a few moments before responding. "I'm a different person because of you."

It was my turn to shake my head. "You have always had it in you. Just look at how tenderly you've treated Evangeliya. I unfortunately can't replicate her gentle serenity."

"I wouldn't want you to. She likes you, you know."

"I like her, too." I smiled. "Did you have a nice talk with her today?"

We had spent most of the day with Evangeliya in her room, but I left them both at one point to take a walk up and down the long, gravel driveway because I needed fresh air. I did not ask about what they discussed; it was between them. Of course I was curious, but I did not want to pry. I knew Thaddeus well enough by now to not ask him a plethora of questions. He would talk to me if he wanted to.

"We did. She said she hadn't played the piano in weeks until you came. Then it seemed she could never play enough."

"She plays beautifully, as do you."

Thaddeus shrugged. "She wanted someone to learn with her."

After a yawn, I stood up and placed my hand on Thaddeus's shoulder. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'll be there momentarily, little love."

Chelise and I walked to the bathroom before I changed into my pajamas for the night and promptly fell asleep on the sleeper couch. At some point—whether it was thirty minutes or three hours, I knew not—the bed shifted as Thaddeus joined me. I did not bother to open my eyes but intertwined our fingers before I drifted into a deeper slumber.

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I had never felt so refreshed as I did when I woke up the next morning. I could have slept longer, but the coldness of the mattress next to me prompted me to awaken rapidly. I wrapped myself in the blanket before walking outside to be immediately greeted by the scent of breakfast sizzling from some unseen cooking area. My mouth instantly began to water, and I had to swallow down saliva as I wandered slowly to the camping chairs where we had sat so peacefully the night before. It did not take long before Thaddeus placed a plate in my lap and sat beside me. We ate the breakfast he had prepared in companionable silence until both of our plates were clean, and the plastic utensils were tossed into the garbage bag.

"Did you bring comfortable footwear?"

I wiggled my toes in my tennis shoes. "Good enough."

"Adequate." I took his outstretched hand. "Let's walk, then."

Time again seemed to blur as I followed the sound of his confident footfalls. Chelise moved easily beside me, stopping every few steps to ensure I would not trip over any roots or large stones. Not that I particularly needed to, for Thaddeus would alert me to an obstacle before I reached it. He had longer strides than I, thus moved a bit faster...and he was obviously also in better physical condition, too, for his breath hardly labored while my heart rapidly beat in my chest to pump blood into all my limbs and to my lungs.