“I guess,” he murmured, “but I also have to establish a way to make a living or some kind of a career path for myself.”
“But you don’t have to do it all at once,” she stated firmly.
“No, no, you’re right,” he agreed. “Yet it does feel like maybe it’s time.”
“Feeling that way, is one thing, but getting worried about plans for your future, that’s a whole different story.”
He laughed. “I get it, and nothing is allowed to make me feel stressed, right?”
She grinned. “See? You already got this part figured out.”
“No,” he disagreed, “but I wish I did.”
“And again,” she said, with that gentle warning tone of hers, “not too much, not too fast.”
“Got it,” he replied. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
“That’s because it’s not long-distance if you’re staying anywhere in town.”
“Well, I was thinking abouttown,” he stated, with a nod. “Just not exactly sure what town living will mean.”
“I got that,” she added. “I live in town myself anyway.”
“Right,” he murmured, “I had forgotten that. Do you have an apartment?”
She nodded. “That I do. I used to live with several girlfriends, and they’ve all pretty well moved on in various aspects of their lives, so I live alone now.”
“And you like that?”
“Not particularly,” she noted cheerfully, “but I’m here so much of my time that it’s not really an issue.”
“I hadn’t even considered that. You automatically assume that life after being here will be perfect, but, of course, it’ll be an adjustment.”
“And adjustments are not necessarily bad either,” she pointed out, as a reminder.
He smiled. “Nope, they don’t have to be, do they? Even my sister’s got a pretty big upcoming adjustment.”
“And the wedding’s coming up faster and faster.”
“I’ll probably still be here, particularly at the rate that I’m going.”
“Hey, you’ve shown a ton of progress,” she noted.
“Thank you,” he said, a big grin on his face. “I’m still not quite ready to fly the coop just yet.”
“No, of course not,” she murmured. “But, just so you know, we all think you’re doing fabulous.”
He felt pleasure hearing her words, sharing the thoughts of others, all sprinting across his body and mind. Something that he hadn’t had here—until now. “And I’m really glad to hear that. I’m kind of making up for being a cranky jerk when I first got here.”
She laughed. “You know what? I think that bothers you more than it bothers anybody else.”
“It does bother me,” he murmured. “It’s not who I am inside.”
“And maybe that’s why it doesn’t bother anybody,” she suggested gently. “Everybody knows that that was a person in a lot of pain, recovering from major trauma, whereas now you’re a very different person.”
“I’m glad to hear that. To think I could still be that same person would be pretty rough.”
She nodded. “I hear you there, but you’ve made incredible progress.”