Eternal Sunshine (Sean)

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia woke slowly and became aware of the panting by her head. She turned and looked at Ike sitting next to the bed watching her with anticipation. “C’mon,” she said patting the bed. Ike needed no more than that as an invitation and hoped up, stepping over (and on) her as he flopped next to on the often unoccupied side of the bed. She closed her eyes and absently patted Ike’s side as he snuggled close to her. It was a nice and unfamiliar feeling not to wake up to a blaring alarm. She allowed herself to drift in and out of sleep for a while before she finally rose. Stretching out as she walked she habitually dodged to the right as she heard Ike careening after her. She took a shower at a leisurely pace enjoying the warmth of the water. When Idalia dressed she didn’t need to check the weather, she’d made up the forecast for today and today she was looking forward to not looking at anything weather related. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a loose green blouse.

It was going to be a beautiful day, if a little chilly still. She was looking forward to seeing the sun and maybe even make it out on the lake later in the afternoon. Idalia combed her hair and let it fall in long brown waves. She decided to keep it simple, light makeup and just a dash of mascara, it felt extremely light compared to her usual stage makeup. “Ike!” She called and smiled brightly, “Wanna go for a walk?” She said her voice pitched to entice. As if she needed to. She dodged the large dog as he rushed at her his whole body wriggling with excitement. She grabbed his leash and relied on speed and skill more than Ike sitting still to get the leash on. Wow, had he grown! She still remembered when he was just a puppy and now his shoulders came to her hip and his head to her elbow. He weighted just about as much as she did now. He was a handsome dog too, everyone who knew him loved him and everyone unfamiliar with him was terrified, which was just as well for her.

Pulling on a pair of flat boots and a jacket, Idalia grabbed her keys and her dog and left her apartment. The sun was high and bright and Idalia was pleasantly surprised that there were other people about. It must be Saturday. A quick look at her phone confirmed it and to her relief there was no call waiting for her. It was her day off and she’s threatened death to the person who disturbed her. She rounded the corner and smiled in surprise to see Dr. Sean Neville on the path not too far ahead. Idalia had a brief moment of panic, she didn’t know how to address the Hammel doctor. She was older now and held a Ph.D of her own, but could she really call him Sean? “Dr. Neville,” she called when she wasn’t too far away, that was always safe, after all she called her colleagues with formalities until she was told otherwise and people did likewise to her. She gave a wave and pulled Ike close hoping he wouldn’t jump. She blushed unsure if Dr. Neville would even recognize her.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean woke early as he always did; it was one of the benefits of keeping to a consistent schedule and being a morning person. Waking early as he had, he went about his typical morning routine: get up, double check that Josh’s alarm was set to a reasonable time (although he could always wake his partner if necessary), shower, shave, get dressed, go downstairs to put the coffee on and cook breakfast, eat breakfast and drink coffee, read the first section of the newspaper, do the crossword puzzle...

Because it was Sunday, the telepath was not under any of the time constraints of the week, when he had to be at Hammel by first bell. He wasn’t even under the same time constraints that he was on Saturday mornings, since Josh had Temple on Saturday. Having abandoned the Church over three decades ago at this point gave the telepath freedom on Sundays, with nowhere to go unless he had made prior plans or otherwise had to run errands.

Because the weather was so nice, and Josh was sleeping in, he took the opportunity to go for a morning walk. He put Josh’s breakfast on a plate to keep it hot and left a note informing his partner where he had gone and to expect him back in an hour or so. He didn’t want to take too long a walk, but merely to enjoy the fresh air before they decided on how to spend the rest of the day.

The warmth and light breeze told him that he’d chosen well to go out early, and he let the sun warm his skin as he walked. Although he had jogged as exercise before (in and out of routines over the years depending on his lifestyle at the time), his pace today was a slow amble. Nothing fast, merely fast enough not to get injured by the joggers who ran by on the path.

Hearing his name, he turned his head, and then greeted the woman with a smile and a wave. He recognized Idalia. He recognized many of his former students, even the ones who hadn’t spoken to him in years; such was the blessing of his powers and his ability to spend large periods of time face-to-face with students as they grew into adults.

Moreover, he did watch the local news, which gave him insight into the entire featured news team, including the meteorologists. It was always nice to see how far some of the students went when they entered the adult world around them.

He slowed to a stop, waiting for her to come up closer, before he greeted her with a warm, “Good morning, Idalia.” To show her that he did, in fact, remember her. “It’s nice to see you out and about.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Looking up to the sky Idalia saw the passage of time as the sun rose and translated across the sky to set, all without any more than the fair weather cumulus starting to pop up like sweet cotton balls. With a blink the sun returned to its present state and she smile. Yes, a trip to the lake was definitely going to be in order today, it was a beautiful one and it was going to be so all day. The Greek couldn’t wait to feel the skate of the water under her and the pressure of her oars in the water. Poor Pegasus must have been feeling neglected all winter, having been snowed in or otherwise hunkered down in the boathouse. Ike was getting older and he was listening better and behaving wonderfully. Those obedience lessons Russell had suggested had done wonders, not to mention she got to see Russell. Ike had gotten to the point where she’d been able to take him into the office and both of them were happier, Idalia because Ike was there and Ike because he wasn’t left alone all day.

Her smile broadened as she returned the wave and got a better hold of Ike as she approached, glad that she was greeted with a smile not a confused look. That was a relief, she had some professors from college that she had had known for four years that still looked at her with that ‘I know you but I can’t figure out where from’ expression on their face. It was a beautiful day to be out and about and she was glad to know that the old Hammel Psychiatrist was out and enjoying the day as well. She hadn’t seen him in years and besides appearing a bit older he hadn’t changed much at all. In her time at Hammel she’d never really seen Dr. Neville but for the rare moments she had gotten in trouble for fighting with her sister, then the last time when Rio had passed. It had been a hard time on all of them.

She expected him to keep on his way but to her surprise he stopped and Idalia hurried her steps to catch up. “Kalimera! Good morning,” she replied with a bright smile, strangely more than a little pleased that he remembered her name. But then again he was a telepath and had something to do with memories, if she recalled correctly so memory probably wasn’t something of an issue for him. “Same to you, how have you been?” She asked holding onto Ike who was very curious about this strange man. “Oh, this monster is Ike, he’s really friendly.” The dog nosed the man curiously and practically rammed him with his head in his own canine greeting. If Dr. Neville didn’t start petting him soon, she was worried Ike might jump. Good thing she was prepared for it now. She had gotten past her worry of hurting her dog and had once or twice full shoulder rammed him out of the way of jumping on someone. He was a tank, he never got hurt, it was like he didn’t even feel it.

“Are you still working at Hammel?” She inquired curiously, it was strange to address Dr. Neville as something of an equal. She would never regard them on the same plane, just like she would never call herself on the same level as the senior meteorologists at the Weather Service and the professors at the University. That respect would always be there for them and for Dr. Neville, but she no longer felt like a child around him, instead she recognized him for what he was, a human being. Not the teacher and official at Hammel who was clearly the adult when she was a child, but someone who could share mutual respect. It made her smile to think so, growing older was always a strange sensation. She’d matured more than she realized both personally and professionally. She’d really realized that when she started getting together with Adonis again. They’d been friend forever and seeing him and how much he had matured, even if some things hadn’t changed, had been a startling experience.