Found:
How does one go from being dejected, miserable and debating the consumption of whiskey, to being elated, exultant and inspired?
Ask Rowan. He seems to know the trick for making it happen.
I was staring down a bottle when he came back - far sooner than I had expected or else I'd have left the decanter on the shelf! - I hadn't opened it. I wasn't sure I wanted to, but I certainly felt a need to. He asked what was bothering me and, in his usual infuriating way, refused to answer any of my questions until I'd told him what was on my mind.
It was only afterwards, after I'd told him of my chat with Dernwynn, after I'd confessed to some of the strain this situation was putting me under, that he relented and told me why he'd returned so quickly. And why he'd stopped to tidy himself up along the way.
Men bathing in winter is a suspicious thing! There's always an ulterior motive.
I certainly didn't expect it. It's the last thing that would have occurred to me! Why me, when Woad seemed so perfect for him?
He explained that Woad had helped him see. She had helped him realise something that he had been too stubborn and foolish to grasp on his own.
I really must thank her. How does one do that? How does one show one's appreciation for the "rival,"- as it was put to me - when said "rival" was integral to one's happiness being gained? Flowers? A cuddly toy, perhaps? A toy of a different nature may well be of some use, but somehow I doubt it would be deemed appropriate!
He's told me that she'll be dropping by to see me in a few days and that she wishes all three of us to remain friends. I'm glad about this! Just as I am glad that he wishes to be there for her, should she ever need him. I know some may think it strange or wrong, but I don't. I'd have been sorely disappointed had he wished for it to be any other way, for the man that I first met, the one I fell so hard and fast for so long ago, is one who cares and does not turn his back just because the situation may be a strange one.
It's all strange to me.
The notion of a stable life with a man by my side. A home instead of a house. The possibility of a real family - not the type that I grew up in, but a proper loving one. I've a lot of learning to do, I know that. So does he.
Perhaps we can teach each other.
