[Meanwhile, Nill has done her best to completely do away with her own martyr complex. Once she'd removed herself from the company of people she truly cared about, it hadn't been entirely difficult. But she still worries as much as ever, no matter how much she tries to pretend she doesn't. She dreads the day when she receives the phone call or letter that will relay the news of a loved one's nearly inevitable demise.
Breathe, Nill. This is a social visit now.
She'd take a hint from him and finish off her own drink if she weren't trying so hard to keep a level head. This isn't the time for her to become fourteen again. Her social skills are up to par on a normal day, but there's an extra sense of caution she's holding on to. The time he takes to speak is used by her to gather her thoughts.
Immediately, she thinks of at least four different people who would pay a small fortune to have him be somewhere else--namely, closer to them. But that isn't what he does, she knows. He can still hold on to the people he cares about from a distance, but still in the same city. He has his sense of duty, the one she'd never understood. The freedom to up and leave whenever she wanted to was something she had learned to savored after doing it for the first time.
But now she is back, and she can understand how that warrants an inquiry. Her answer comes slower, written carefully.]
no subject
Breathe, Nill. This is a social visit now.
She'd take a hint from him and finish off her own drink if she weren't trying so hard to keep a level head. This isn't the time for her to become fourteen again. Her social skills are up to par on a normal day, but there's an extra sense of caution she's holding on to. The time he takes to speak is used by her to gather her thoughts.
Immediately, she thinks of at least four different people who would pay a small fortune to have him be somewhere else--namely, closer to them. But that isn't what he does, she knows. He can still hold on to the people he cares about from a distance, but still in the same city. He has his sense of duty, the one she'd never understood. The freedom to up and leave whenever she wanted to was something she had learned to savored after doing it for the first time.
But now she is back, and she can understand how that warrants an inquiry. Her answer comes slower, written carefully.]
Checking up. I'm not here for long.
[It's harder to write than she'd anticipated.]