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We took about an hour to tour the hives and the inspect the new location, and I knew why Zinnie loved spending time with Sunny. She might be a bit out there at times, but she was down to earth, sweet and had a very calming presence that I wished I could channel when I was seeing patients.
I was about to start back at work, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t looking forward to it. There was nothing in me that wanted to leave my wife and daughter all day, especially the two hour, round–trip commute that would mean more hours away from them. I’d do it until the end of my contract, but I’d already put out feelers to hospitals closer to the commune. A smaller, closer hospital without so many patients sounded appealing.
Living on the commune had been teaching me about slowing down. I’d been going at such a frenetic pace for so many years that I hadn’t been appreciating life and the people I loved the way I
was meant to.
Namely Zinnie, and now Melitta.
Each day I’d been spending with them had been like a transfusion of blood coursing through my veins. Reaffirming life, showing me in a very personal way how precious the time we had with loved ones was. I noticed the residents of Serenity didn’t move at my normal pace, so I’d had to take a deep breath and learn to move intentionally, not running full steam ahead.
When I’d talked with Branch and Aggie about what I needed to do for Zinnie to be able to live on the commune with Melitta, I had assumed he’d know I was expecting to stay, too.
“Where will you be?” he’d asked.
“Here. In the stall. I don’t care. I don’t want to force Zinnie to live with me.”
“We have some bachelor quarters from when we first began. Nothing fancy, but you can stay
there.”
“That sounds fine. Maybe better accommodations than the stall?” I’d laughed.
“Not really,” he’d said honestly, grinning. “Normally, we don’t want residents working outside the commune because it takes all of us working together here to keep things running, but we take things on a case–by–case basis. Like my granddaughter’s husband Izan works as a mechanic and did so before they decided to move here, but he’s willing to help out with mechanical problems after work and on the weekends as needed, so he’s contributing. And healthcare professionals are always allowed to work outside the commune. In return, you can help out if
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there’s an emergency at Serenity.”
I’d told him I’d be more than happy to help, and we’d struck our bargain. The weeks I’d spent here had been healing and eye–opening, and Zinnie and I were slowly healing, too, talking more. At first, our conversations focused on Melitta, but Zinnie slowly — like everything was done here, it seemed — began opening up more. Each sentence was a bit of trust, each revelation was a bit of insight, and each smile was a bit of hope.
I see you, Zinnie.
I walked into her new home with the two dresses I’d embellished for the baby blessing ceremony. She’d told me the day she and Melitta moved into the house that I could walk in without knocking.
“You aren’t a stranger, Dash. Just come in.”
She was sitting on the couch with Melitta, and got up as soon as she saw the dresses.
“Sunny told me to bring you the dresses for tonight,” I said, holding them out to her.
“Oh, these are perfect! I love the rose buds and tiny daisies around the hem of Melitta’s dress. They match the straps and bodice on my dress! Sunny did such a good job on these.”
“I actually did them,” I told her.
“You sewed these on?”
“Doctors have to learn how to sew. My surgical knots are outstanding,” I winked at her.
“I know you can suture,” she laughed up at me. “I was just trying to picture you sewing flowers on our dresses. This makes them even more special to me, knowing you took the time to do this.
Thank you, Dash.”
She kissed my cheek, and then we spent the next few seconds staring at each other like goofs, soft smiles on our faces, until Melitta screeched, letting us know she was hungry.
That evening, before Aggie came to pick Zinnie up for the baby blessing, she had me take pictures of her and Melitta in their dresses. Then she asked me to stand beside the two of them for a selfie
of our little family.
It was the first family picture we’d taken of the three of us, but I had great hopes that this was the beginning of more to follow.
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When I waved off my girls, with nothing else to do until after the baby blessing, I cleaned Zinnie’s house, washed and put away her dishes and did a load of clothes.
But I did it all with a smile on my face, impatient for them to come home again. To me.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.