Sometimes it happens that I miss the joyful things to deal with the harder things. That is the price we pay for being able to help our brothers and sisters on the ground. Yesterday, while I was helping Lauren to deal with the manipulations of a protective mother, Theo and Cayce were reunited at last.
Inca was there, and she shared every detail with me. While it is not the same as being there myself, I was still glad to know it, and glad also to have the chance to see what it is like to be the reader for a change. Here is what she wrote.
“I joined Theo’s family just a few minutes before Cayce and her daughter were meant to arrive. They were all anxious, for many different reasons, but Theo especially could not sit down. She was having trouble believing that it was all true.
“Then they heard the car pull up, and Theo dashed out of the house. No sooner had Cayce stepped out of the car than Theo was in her arms, and they were both weeping.
“It was Rudy’s barking that brought them back to themselves. Theo’s parents let him out a moment after Cayce’s arrival, and he was bounding around them both, providing a reprieve from all of the powerful emotions they were feeling. They played with Rudy for a moment—after all, Cayce was almost as glad to see him as she was Theo—and then Cayce met Theo’s parents and introduced Jennelle, her daughter.
“They all went inside, and Theo showed Cayce around the house. They were both so excited, I think, that there was a house to show, that this home belonged to one of them, that they had both found shelter and safety. As much as they had pretended to be content in their homelessness, they have both longed for this.
“Then they all sat down to lunch. For a while, Theo and Cayce dominated the conversation with stories of Detroit. I could have used you then, Asa’el, for they did not immediately see how much pain it gave to their loved ones to hear of those times. But I finally managed to steer them into their plans for the future.
“Theo means to get her GED and find a job so she can earn some money for college. Her parents have offered to pay her tuition, but Theo has not lost the independence she learned while she was on her own. She says that she does not want to go backward, to try and recover all of the lessons she missed. She wants to move forward, which I feel is admirable.
“Cayce, meanwhile, has found that the argument between herself and Jennelle was not as insurmountable as she hoped. Her daughter was horrified to learn that Cayce has been living homeless, and so she has offered her home to Cayce. For now, Cayce has accepted, though she is aware that there is not much room at Jennelle’s house. Her plans are to find her other children and see if she can reestablish a good relationship with them.
“ ‘Aren’t you worried about yourself at all?’ Theo asked her, with a combination of exasperation and fondness.
“ ‘Never was, was I?’ Cayce replied. And in fact she is not worried. She looks forward to the opportunity to repair some of the damage she has done, and she feels confident that she can do it.
“Theo’s parents tried to convince Cayce and Jennelle to stay the night, but Jennelle had work in the morning, so they parted soon after dinner. Before getting back in the car, Cayce took Theo into her arms and held her for a long time. They may not be tied by blood, but after everything they are no less family than the others.
“ ‘You keep in touch now,’ Cayce told Theo.
“ ‘You too,’ Theo replied, her voice choked. ‘And you come and live with me anytime. I’ll stick you in the bathroom if I have to.’
“Cayce laughed at that and kissed Theo’s cheek. ‘At least I have that to look forward to.’ She waved goodbye and got back into the car, with full intentions to call Theo in the morning.
“Theo was sorry to see her go, but relieved that she is safe and happy. And she has one comfort—Rudy, who would have been one body too many in Jennelle’s small home, stayed sitting by Theo’s feet as the car pulled away, pressed against her side and wagging his tail.
“So she is safe, and no longer afraid, and no longer alone, and she has a plan for the future and hope that that plan will come to fruition. A Guardian could ask for no more. Could a Cupid?”
I can honestly say that I could not. Love surrounds Theo, and she rests on its comfort. I am very grateful for that.
Inca says that writing that description of the day was the hardest thing she has had to do in a long time. She says that she will leave that to me in the future! I did not think she did so very badly.