Chapter 24: 24. Fast Forward

It was late Wednesday afternoon by the time Marianne and I emerged from the Tube station nearest her flat in Bloomsbury. We were both exhausted from the day of travelling, between cars and planes and walking and the Underground.

When we emerged from the stairs onto the busy London street we had our first bit of fresh air and open sky since the airport in Naples that morning.

And despite my weariness, I noticed an unexpected feeling as I glanced around at the streets and the black cabs and shops and the people.

It felt like home.

Ten minutes later she led me into her flat, and the two of us collapsed side-by-side on the big bed in her room.

"Allo you two!" Suzi exclaimed as she followed us into the bedroom. "You look like crap Marianne, but it's nice to have you back again regardless!"

My girlfriend smiled, "I missed you too Suzi, and Bleu as well. Are they home?"

The Belgian girl shook her head, "Non, Bleu is with their family in Lyon for another month. They won't be back here until the end of August."

She added with a grin, "That doesn't mean we cannot celebrate your return though. I'll take care of dinner, and I expect to hear all about your voyages tonight!"

With that she turned and waltzed out of the bedroom, while Marianne groaned quietly. "I guess we can always sleep tomorrow night. Sorry Lexi, I don't think we can avoid the 'coming home' party."

"It's ok Marianne," I replied with a smile. "It's nice to be home."

"It is," she agreed.

Suzi's impromptu little party turned out to be just the beginning of what would end up being possibly the busiest six weeks of my life. And that was just me, things were even more hectic for Marianne.

The first week we were home my girlfriend spent almost all her time at her desk, working on her computer or reading books, either on her tablet or the actual ink and paper kind. Like she said, she needed to get back into the academic mindset prior to returning to university and meeting with her professors.

Meanwhile I spent most of my time on the sofa with my phone, or using Marianne's tablet when she didn't need it. I was trying to pick what I wanted to study, where to focus my education.

At the same time I was also figuring out the immigration rules and requirements, because I knew I wouldn't be able work or study without going through some red tape. The Canadian passport Eva conjured up for me worked ok, but all I'd been doing so far was tourist stuff.

And finally I couldn't stay with Marianne and her roommates indefinitely. It wasn't so bad while Bleu was still in France, but with four of us sharing three bedrooms and one bathroom I knew it would be too crowded. So I had that on my list as well, to try and find someplace else to live. It had to be close though, I wanted to be near Marianne obviously, but I also wanted to stay in Bloomsbury. Somehow the area had become my new home, and I wanted it to stay that way.

The other reason I needed to find somewhere else to stay was so Eva and I could talk normally again. As long as Suzi was around neither me or Marianne could openly chat with our demon. I could still talk with her by thinking at her, but Marianne couldn't and it was frustrating for all three of us to have to sneak around and pretend Eva wasn't there.

First things first though, if I wanted to attend school in September I needed to figure out what I wanted to take. With both Marianne and Suzi out for the afternoon I decided to ask for some demonic advice, then hopefully I'd be able to make a decision.

"Hey Eva?" I asked as I sat crosslegged on Marianne's bed, with the tablet on my lap. "If I could pick a career that meant I worked in a hospital, that'd be good for you right? You'd have a constant supply of negative emotions around that you could feed on?"

She appeared on the bed next to me and nodded, "Yes Lexi. As you know I've found hospitals to be a very convenient place to feed. And it helps the humans too of course, when I can make them less stressed or reduce their fear or discomfort."

"Are you thinking of becoming a doctor or a nurse?" she asked a moment later.

I made a face, "Not a chance. Sorry Eva, I get squeamish and I don't think I'm that good with strangers. I was thinking about some sort of technical work, something that would have me working in a hospital but not directly with patients."

"See here?" I added as I pointed to the tablet screen. "They have a college hospital and offer all kinds of programs. It's practically right in our neighbourhood too. I think one of these courses might be perfect."

Eva smiled, "That sounds good Lexi. Have you talked with Marianne about it yet?"

"Not yet," I shook my head. "I wanted to get your opinion first. I'll need to talk with her regardless, since I have no idea what kind of red tape we'll have to deal with to actually get me enrolled. To be honest we'll probably need your help too, we might need some magical assistance to smooth out the process? Especially if I need to become a citizen or something first."

She just nodded, "Of course I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Thanks Eva," I smiled. "I owe you another hug. Someday we'll figure out how to do that, then we'll cash them all in."

You are reading story Missed Connections at novel35.com

She smiled back, then watched as I switched to another tab and started searching again for a flat or something nearby.

That evening after dinner I told Marianne about my plans. She helped put together a list of what sort of paperwork I needed, and even helped me fill out some of the applications and things.

Thanks to our demon's magic we cheated, a lot, but it was the only way to get things done in time. Otherwise I'd have been exposed as a non-person or an illegal immigrant, and either imprisoned or deported. And considering I had nowhere to go in Canada or anywhere else in the world, that really wasn't a viable option.

So with Marianne's knowledge and experience, and with Eva supplying money and magic to speed the process along, things continued to fall into place for me. By the end of August I had a student visa which allowed me to stay in the UK for my education, and I was enrolled in the hospital technician program I selected at UCL.

When Bleu came back from Lyon we all had another big party to welcome them home, and to celebrate my new status as an international student in London along with the rest of them. That also marked the point when it became officially too crowded in their little flat, and both Marianne and I stepped up our search for a new home.

We finally found something towards the end of September, and by mid-October we signed the lease. Bleu and Suzi threw us another big party, then Marianne and Eva and I moved out into our own flat. That was the culmination of a few more weeks of hectic stress, as we had to arrange the move while also coordinating the purchase of some new furniture and housewares. And that's while I was still getting used to the whole college lifestyle.

Our new place was still in Bloomsbury of course, it was less than two blocks from Suzi and Bleu. So we remained close to our friends and the research place where Marianne did a lot of her studies. The British Museum was only a couple blocks away, so was the garden square where the two of us met, and even the hotel where I first woke up in this new body, new life.

Marianne and I continued to see Bleu and Suzi on a regular basis, the four of us would meet up at their place or ours at least once a week. Or sometimes the three of them would all drag me out to local nightclubs for dancing and drinks, or we'd watch Suzi and Bleu try to pick up local English boys or girls as the mood suited them.

I even managed to learn some French along the way, thanks to spending so much time with my girlfriend and Bleu and Suzi. Less helpfully I also learned a few ways to swear in Dutch, thanks entirely to Suzi.

Life almost started to settle into a nice familiar routine for me as November gave way to December.

Marianne and I were both focused on our studies but we remained as close as ever. And with Eva the three of us almost felt like a little family, living together in our cosy little flat. Life was busy, but it was great. Right up until the middle of December, when my girlfriend announced that the three of us would be spending a few weeks with her mother in Paris to close out the year.

I couldn't help feeling anxious about that. It wasn't just being taken home to meet my girlfriend's mom, it was going to another country and meeting people I couldn't even communicate with. And being stuck there for weeks on end. We left London on the twenty-first, and we wouldn't be back again until the seventh of January.

The actual journey wasn't so bad, I hadn't forgotten everything I learned back in the summer when we travelled around the Aegean. Plus Marianne made all the arrangements, and going to Paris was going home for her so there was no concern about getting lost or not knowing where we were supposed to be.

From our flat it was a short walk to our local Tube station, then after a brief time on the Underground we switched to rail. A high-speed train took us from London through the channel tunnel all the way to Paris, where Marianne got us a taxi who brought us right to the door of the building where her mother lived.

On and off through the entire journey my girlfriend told me about home and her mother and where we were going in Paris. Apparently her mom had a two bedroom apartment in the Marais, which was a neighbourhood or section of the city north of the river and just slightly east of the city centre.

Ms. Durand was a nice passionate woman in her late forties or early fifties, and I could tell the instant I saw her that she was my girlfriend's mother. She spoke English about as well as I spoke French, so conversations between us were difficult but not impossible. We used a lot of Franglish to communicate, but for the most part we relied on Marianne being there to translate for us. Which occasionally proved embarrassing as her mom apparently had no filter when it came to asking questions about her daughter's sex life.

One small surprise was it turned out our host had a touch of the same gift as Marianne, which meant she soon discovered we had Eva with us. She was unable to see our demon clearly and couldn't hear her at all, but once we got over that shock it meant we no longer had to hide Eva's presence which was nice.

On the whole we had a nice visit. Marianne and I shared her bedroom, the apartment was a good size, and Paris was a fun and interesting city. My girlfriend took me around the city during our stay to show me the sights, and in between the touring we celebrated both xmas and new years with Ms. Durand. And in the end there were hugs and kisses and even a few tears when we packed up and headed back to London.

Then it was back to our studies again, back to our normal routine. Things progressed well through the winter and spring. Marianne graduated with a Masters degree in May, but we'd already discussed our long-term plans. She'd be back at university again in the fall working on her doctorate, while I returned to college for the second year of my program.

When classes were over for the summer we kicked off the break with yet another big party with Bleu and Suzi. That was followed by a week in Paris visiting again with Ms. Durand. Then finally the three of us set out to spend the rest of the summer in the Aegean. At long last we were back on the search for Eva's missing daughter.

We visited as many of the islands there as we could, but unfortunately the summer ended without any sign of her child. The three of us returned to London for the end of August, and in September Marianne and I were back at school once again. And that became a sort of template for my new life.

September through June was spent living in London, with the exception of three or four weeks spanning the end of December and start of January, when we were in Paris with Marianne's mother. Then in June or July we'd begin the summer with a week in Paris, before we continued our search for Eva's lost child.

Along the way Suzi and Bleu both graduated and moved on. We stayed in touch with them at first, but they gradually faded from our lives. We had other friends who came and went too, either through school or various shared interests.

Eventually the lease on our flat came up and we were forced to move, but we found another place nearby. And rather than lease, with Eva's help we were able to buy so we actually owned our own home. It was a three bedroom flat, and naturally it was still in Bloomsbury. And thanks to my demon I also managed to become a proper citizen of the UK, which was nice because I truly considered that place my new home.

Marianne remained in academia even after graduation, she stayed on teaching and working on research projects either through the university or with the museum. And when I completed my college program I managed to land a decent job at the same hospital where I'd trained.

The only source of ongoing sadness and pain in our lives was every summer when we tried and failed to find Eva's daughter. All three of us remained committed to the search, but every August when we had to wrap it up and head home we all felt Eva's pain and loss.