"I still can’t do anything to help Diana…" she countered.
"You could be there for her, let her lean on you." She winked, "I bet she’d jump at the chance to have someone in her life that she could relate to right now. Think of how you would have felt if you would have been able to talk to someone years ago." Danni paused, gauging the effects of her words on her friend. "You could help each other to heal."
The surgeon contemplated the idea. It would have been nice to talk to someone, anyone, before she had so completely walled herself off from the closeness of people in general. "Maybe, you’re right. Maybe I could help her adjust to life or just be there for her." She looked at the blonde in front of her with renewed interest. "Thanks for helping me turn this around. I appreciate that."
She reached out. Yes, for the first time in so many years, Garrett Trivoli reached out and actually embraced the person who had slipped right under her defenses and into her heart.
Danni wiped a tear from her own eye with the back of her hand, the outer corners of her lips turning up into a smile as she tried to hold back her body’s need to cry. "That’s okay, Gar, that’s what friends are for, to help in any way they can. You’ll see, just give it a chance, give us a chance."
The tall woman nodded her head, "I think I just may." She winked and both women proceeded to giggle in acceptance of the newfound bond between them.
Garrett looked around the cabin; the soft rays of morning’s first light were gently creeping in through the windows. "I guess we didn’t get too much sleep last night. I’m sorry that you…that I kept you awake."
"I’m not. I’m glad that I was able to be here for you. You might as well get used to it, Dr. Trivoli, you’ve got a friend here in Pennsylvania." The last part was a direct mocking of the state motto, and they both knew it as the laughter began. "I don’t know about you, but I sure could use a few more hours of restful sleep, what do you say?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Garrett raised up out of the chair and started over towards her bunk. "First one up makes breakfast, right?"
"Right! Now let’s get back to sleep." The nurse watched as the bundled woman straightened out the remaining covers on the bed and settled herself under them. It had been a long night, but if it had helped her new friend, it will have been worth it.
*************
The outcome that the last few hours of sleep had on her was in effect, a cleansing of the soul. The normally stoic woman woke up feeling a sense of inner peace, for the first time in her adult life, she welcomed it with open arms. Letting her eyes take in their surroundings, she let her senses imbibe in the warmth and friendliness of the cabin and it’s furnishings. The comfortable rustic appearance had a charm and pleasantness all its own. She put her head back down on the pillow, staring at the underside of the bunk above her. Her thoughts drifted to the young blonde, who was becoming so much more to her then just another passing acquaintance. Her life had been filled with acquaintances, now it was time to make a friend. No, rather to be a friend.
She wondered when the walls of thick black stone had been removed from around her heart. She contemplated over the past night of soul searching, gut twisting, stare you in the face reality of her life, and concluded that she knew exactly when the wall had disappeared. It was when she had gazed into those wondrous green eyes, filled with nothing but love.
With a creak from the wood frame of the bunk beds, tussled blonde hair that was attached to an upside-down face come tumbling over the side of the bed.
"Hey, you’re awake!" Her eyes lit up seeing that the surgeon was lying silently in bed. "Get enough sleep?"
"Hmmm," the dark-haired woman let one eye open wide. "Guess so, I’ve been up for a few minutes."
"What do you say to getting up, now? I’ll make breakfast right after I use the bathroom, okay?" Danni scampered down from the upper bunk. She started walking in the direction of the bathroom when her body was captured by a long drawn-out yawn; her arms stretching up and out as far as they could. When the yawn had dissipated, she shook her head, rubbing her upper arms with her hands to chase the chill away. "I’ll be out in a minute or two," she stated as she entered the small room, closing the door.
The surgeon was caught completely off guard, her voice allowing small chuckles to rise from her mouth. Her life was definitely not going to be the same as before, that was for sure. Garrett threw back the covers and slid her long legs out of the bunk, reaching for the sweats that Danni had packed; she began pulling them on. ‘I bared enough for one morning,’ she thought getting the sweatshirt over her head. ‘I don’t think she could take much more.’
The breakfast had been a simple one that was shared by the two women, easy conversation being interspersed along the way. No mention was made to the tormentuous early morning hours by either one. Each thinking only of the other’s comfort levels with the past events, knowing that when the time was right, they would breech the subject again.
"If we hurry, we’ll have time to hike down to the lake," the small blonde offered. "You like to fish?" Her eyebrows jumped up and down in anticipation.
"Fish? Yeah, I like to fish." The surgeon stopped, thinking back to the last time that she had been fishing. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I haven’t been fishing since…" she gulped, paused and then continued on. "Since the last vacation with my family." She looked over to the gentle face of her friend, taking comfort there; she was able to speak about them for the first time in many years. "Lucas and I would fish all day long, dad would clean them and mom would fry them up for the family dinner that evening."
Danni could feel her emotions surfacing. Thinking that she was going to cry the nurse blinked back the tear forming in her eye. She couldn’t believe that the stoic surgeon had just let her in to the secret world of her youth. This small gesture of sharing was a definite sign that the healing process for her friend was becoming a reality.
"Do you think we could do just a little fishing today, I mean, the two of us?" Garrett looked at the petite woman, hope written all over her face.
Speechless, the blonde hair moved freely on top of the nodding head, while a dazzling smile swept across her face. Her voice was unsteady at first, taken aback by the emotion of the moment. "Sure thing! I’ll get the rods and gear." She pushed back from the table and went to the small closet on the far wall. "Grampa always had them ready to go. I bet…yep! They’re still here." She pulled out a rather dated set of rods and a small tackle box. Holding them up, she proceeded to ask, "Shall we?"
"Sounds like a plan to me."
They hurriedly grabbed their jackets and took off with thoughts of fishing both now and in the past racing through each of their minds.
************
The day quickly sped by as they filled it with exploration of the area that Danni had grown up in, falling in love with it all over again. The petite woman was amazed at how natural it felt to have the surgeon at her side as they roamed the many trails she had used as a girl. The pleasure brought to them in the time spent fishing had been soothing to both of their souls. Garrett was finding it easy to open up to the younger woman, while Danni lavished in the acceptance of herself by another living being, one that would willingly share with her unconditionally. Any scars remaining from the past days of loneliness in her youth now became insignificant.