From Gaia's diary
Petra: Ugh, is it still raining?
Gaia: A little bit, but the worst has passed. I don't think there's anything to worry about anymore.
In total, we were stuck indoors because of that exceptional rain storm for three and a half days, but for the kids it felt like forever. The sky then remained mostly cloudy, not to say drizzling, for days, but at least the water was starting to drain from the flooded areas and we were slowly able to resume our normal activities.
I had gone back to work and Petra to school, while Diego retrieved what he managed to from his flooded house and then went spending some weeks at his sister's place, in New Sixam, waiting for his house to be renovated.
Gaia: Rather, how was your day at school?
Petra: Can't we just focus on my homework? It wasn't very fun.
Gaia: Why, did something happen?
Petra: (very annoyed) It's all Marc's fault, he's such an idiot!
I'm quite sure she wanted to vent a bit about it, because I didn't have to say anything else to make her explain what was bothering her.
Petra: All right, I'll tell you... That idiot keeps giving me notes during class, or he leaves them in my locker. He's always writing I'm so cute and he'd like to play together, yuck!
Gaia: I see... And what did you answer him?
Petra: I just made sure he saw me tearing apart every single one of those stupid pieces of paper! (Frustrated) Why are boys so stupid?
At that point her expression was clearly disgusted. I know that boys and girls her age often don't get along, but isn't this a bit too much?
Gaia: Well, this boy's behaviour sounds quite inappropriate, why don't you just tell him to stop?
Petra thought about it for a while before nodding at my suggestion. She always thinks a lot before making any decision, sometimes I think she's already more responsible than I am. But I was still the adult, and I still had something to point out to her.
Gaia: I don't see why you should avoid all boys though, people aren't all the same. Who knows, maybe you could find some other friends among your classmates, right?
This time her expression seemed particularly sceptical, but with a bit of reluctance I finally saw her nod again. Then she took her homework notebook and went back to her room to play with Techna and Nacho.
Thinking about it, I've never heard her talk about friends, nor has she ever asked me to go to the playground or to any playdate at some other kid's place. I don't want to interfere too much with my kids' choices, but is it really fine not to have any friends at all? Who knows, maybe I should try to encourage her a bit and see what happens...
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Like it or not, the return of good weather also means going back to my job. It's not like me to complain about it, after all I've always enjoyed what I'm doing, but after that flooding we have so much to do around the neighbourhood!
I usually work on the redevelopment of the neighbourhood, but in this situation I was asked to take my matter recomposer and use it to remake objects and parts of buildings damaged by the disaster. I'm really giving it my all, it's heartbreaking every time I see the rubble and debris piled up on the sides of the streets again, and it's demoralising to see how slowly we're advancing.
We had so many great plans for these months, and instead we ended up using our resources to fix what we already had. Not to mention the costs, the insurance companies (which, incidentally, have been reaching sky-high prices in recent years) are all refusing to cover the expenses to repair the whole damage. How long will it take us to get back to the pre-flood situation, and how much will it cost us?
Diego's house reparations are on our company's to-do list too, and I don't think need to specify I immediately volunteered for that job. I admit that at least in part I was looking for an excuse to spend some time with him, but on the other hand I wanted to be sure that his house was renovated quickly and nicely. He has already been through a lot because of this flood, I wanted him to be able to turn the page and go back to his travels.
Gaia: How deep was the water at the end? Judging by the mark on the wall, it seems like knee-level or something like that!
Diego: Looking at the state of the kitchen, I fear that the level may have been a little higher...
He was trying not to show it too much, but at this point I know him enough to say the moment was very hard for him. How could it not be the case, when all his belongings were ruined or lost?
Diego: I think I'll have to replace the floor, repaint the walls, redo the kitchen...
Gaia: Don't worry, by using the matter recomposer everything will be as good as new. Actually, this could also be a chance to improve the furniture a bit, did you have a specific style in mind?
Diego: Well… I don't really care that much, after all I'm not here often... For me, this is mostly a point of arrival for my travels, you know?
Gaia: I see…
Gaia: Leave it to me, then.
Recomposing the walls and floors to remove the water and restore the original colour wasn't difficult, it took just a few hours. And also the furniture, his appliances, or his precious kitchen equipment, had been restored in a very short time. No, it's something else that gave me a real headache trying to find a solution.
Diego said his house is just the point of arrival of his travels, but I don't think this is actually a full description: it is also the place where he cumulated all the memories he collected while exploring the world.
Over the years, he has accumulated tons of photographs, postcards, souvenirs and so on. Recomposing a table, even if turned in wood dust, is not difficult because I know its original shape and composition. But how can I restore a photograph or a letter now erased by the water?
Seeing these piles of memories now destroyed by the flood, I realized that this was the most difficult part for him. I felt so helpless, but what could I do?
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Within a couple of days, Diego's house was ready to welcome him again, more beautiful and modern than ever. He immediately took my suggestion to renovate his house a bit, and then started sending me a ton of messages about the materials to use, how to arrange the furniture and so on. Needless to say, his suggestions about the kitchen were particularly detailed.
I tried to integrate as many of his ideas as I could into the project, I love the result and I really hoped he would have liked it too.
Diego: Wow, is this really my house?
Gaia: Just like in your draft! It's much cooler now, isn't it?
Gaia: We also started working on the river that caused the flooding, we are cleaning it up to prevent it from happening again. Here instead, I tried to follow your ideas as much as I could, especially for the kitchen! For example, did you notice-
Diego: - the vertical planter? I noticed it right away, it will be perfect for basil!
Gaia: Good, I'm glad you like it!
I wasn't surprised, all the opposite. What worried me the most was his reaction to what I still had to tell him, unfortunately I had some bad news too.
Gaia: (cautious) About the smaller objects instead, well… As for the clothes and other things like that, I think I managed to put everything back together. At most, the colour could be a little different from the original, but that's not too bad, right? About all your photos, and your souvenirs, and your paintings collection instead… I'm so sorry, but the water has erased a lot of images and texts, and I haven't been able to reconstruct much.
Diego: You don't need to apologize, really. It just means I'll have to take many new photos on my next trips, right?
Gaia: …
Diego: (whispering) Thank you very much, really.
Now that I'm writing this, I realise I may have judged the situation in the wrong way. Or, actually, it may be fairer to say that my ability to judge the situation totally disappeared.
In my defence, he was the one who stepped in for a surprise thank-you-hug and who started whispering nice things to my ear. For a moment, I forgot why we were there, and then, well...
... I ended up kissing him. Now, brain, explain this to me: why do you always reflect on things and their consequences a second after I act, instead of a second earlier?
Because it wasn't hard to realise at all, that wasn't what he meant, nor the right moment.
He was trying to accept the fact that from then on he would live in that house that, no matter how beautiful, for sure seemed so foreign to him, and he was also trying to resign to the idea that so many of his old memories had been destroyed in the flood. In that hug he was just looking for a little comfort, how could I misinterpret it?
Gaia: … Sorry, it wasn't the right time, I don't…
Diego: (confused) Sometimes it isn't easy to understand you, you know?
Gaia: …
Diego: I mean, it's that... But I also thought that you, I mean… (Shaking his head) What a mess... Maybe I should prepare something for lunch, it's getting late anyway.
I think that preparing lunch was just an excuse to gain some time and think about what to say, and I wasn't complaining because I desperately needed that time too. So, pretending nothing happened, I started absentmindedly scribbling down some plans, trying to hide my embarrassment.
"What to say" was definitively something I should have thought about in advance, what could I say at that moment? Was I supposed to just improvise and hope for the best?
Diego: I hope you like onigiri. I mean, you always talk about your trips to Komerebi, and I thought that-
Gaia: Yes, I love them!
It was clear that I wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed, he was also struggling to find the words to start that conversation as well. But we couldn't talk about onigiri all afternoon, someone had to break the ice.
Gaia: Listen, I'm really sorry. I know that today is already a complicated day for you and that I've been totally inappropriate. We don't have to talk about this, if you don't-
Diego: (interrupting her) Gaia, do you really think I wasn't thinking about it too? But I was convinced that you wanted to focus on your family, and that you weren't interested in a relationship with someone like me!
Gaia: Wait, are you kidding? I was the one who was convinced that it was you who didn't want to mess around with someone who has three children like me. I mean, you saw me first, it's obvious that I like you!
I clearly saw him blush, while he was hiding behind an onigiri to think about how to answer me. After a couple of bites, he finally decided to say:
Diego: … It's not that I mind spending time with your children every now and then, but… Well, by now it should be quite clear that I like travelling. Recently I've been staying here more often than usual to work at my shop, but I have a lot of new trips planned for the next few years. It's obvious that you want to stay here, but I don't intend to give up my travels.
Gaia: …
Diego: If I have to be completely honest, I've been single for so long for this very reason, because I was stubborn and I need gave up my culinary exploration trips. But they are important to me, they really are. And, of course, your family is very important to you, instead.
He never said it out loud, but reading between the lines I also think he doesn't wish to become anyone's stepfather. I mean, he made it clear he's not really a kids person, and he's used to leaving at random moments for his travels. Settling down and taking responsibility for a family is quite the opposite of that kind of life, instead.
And I was also avoiding asking a lot of questions out loud. For instance, would I really be able to give both the children and him enough time? And how would the kids react if I told them that I'd started a new relationship with someone who isn't their dad? Rationally, I'd think that my priority should be the three of them, but... I mean, after what happened earlier that day, I don't think I can rely solely on logic anymore. Is there really no better compromise that can make everyone happy?
After all, I've already made a lot of unconventional choices in my life. Why should I reason about this in conventional terms, then?
Gaia: To be honest, I don't even know what the kids would think if we told them... Petra in particular, considering the way she talks about boys in this period I'm afraid she would be very upset. No, I don't think they need to know.
Diego: (surprised) Are you serious?
Gaia: Well, yes. I mean, we both have a teleport device. Even if you travel, how hard can it be to find some time to spend together?
Diego: You take me by surprise. I mean, it never crossed my mind this was an option... But it sounds great, I think we could give it a go!
And that's how my relationship with Diego began. We often see each other in the evening, when the little ones are already asleep: sometimes I go to his house, sometimes we meet at the bar, and other times I teleport to reach him wherever he is in the world. Never before have I felt so grateful to the inventor of teleportation, together we are visiting so many places that I never even thought I could see.
For example, today I joined him during his trip to Hendford-on-Bagley, and we spent a fantastic evening at the village pub.
Diego: Welcome to Hendford-on-Bagley!
Gaia: (cheerful) Thank you for the invitation!
I'm happy like a stupid teenager in her first relationship, I really hope not to do anything dumb...
For the moment no one else knows. Most likely they would think that ours is a strange relationship without a future, but maybe we are weird enough to make it work.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Hello again in my little corner!
This time I'm here for two quick comments on this chapter:
1) Gaia didn't really realise it, but she reminded me a lot of Juno in this chapter. Like mother, like daughter, or just recurring lazy writing on my side?
2) Why is Diego smiling so much, all the time? Making serious chapters with him is almost impossible!
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