Thursday, December 19 2002

I met with Line again! She came to me like she did the first day and sat next to me. I said hi to her and she smiled and asked if she could watch me while I work. I told her she could help me so I gave her crayons and a piece of paper with a pretty dress drawn on it and asked her to color it however she wants. While she was coloring the picture we were talking about the play she was acting in and about her friends at school. She said she doesn't have many friends, only two best friends with whom she plays and goes out. I asked her what's her favorite thing to do and she said she likes swimming at their local pool and horseback riding, but her family can't afford the riding lessons so she sometimes goes there only to watch and feed the horses. While she was talking I noticed a beautiful ring on a string around her neck and she said it belonged to her mom, but now it was hers.

When she finished coloring the dress, she turned the paper to me so I could look at it. She did a great job; she colored the dress in green with yellow edges and dark red flowers. I asked her if she was hungry because it was around lunch time. I said we could go out somewhere close by and have a proper lunch if she can leave her practice, so she quickly rushed to her teacher and then came back all happy and excited. She said she could go as long as she was back in a half an hour.

We went to the local cafe where I bought us some fresh food and drinks, and then we sat near the window and looked out at the rainy street. After a short silence, she asked me if I was married and I said I wasn't. I told her I live with another girl called Ella and that we love each other very much. I could see this made her a little confused, and then she went all shy and looked up at me and asked "You love another girl?" It was kind of funny the way she asked it, as if I was a space alien. I smiled at her and said, "Yes, Ella is a beautiful girl, I'm sure you'd like her too." This made her giggle a little and we continued eating our lunch until it began to rain really heavily outside. I hadn't brought my umbrella with me so we tried to figure out how to get back to the theater. Finally we decided to stay in the cafe until it calmed down, but after ten minutes or more of chatting about our favorite singers, the rain only increased and we had to go back by that time. I held her hand and put my jacket over us and then we ran! It was freezing outside and the rain didn't help at all. Fortunately we didn't need to run far because the theater building was just around the corner, but we still got wet and our hair was wet too which wasn't good at all. I took Line first to the dressing rooms where I dried her hair and gave her some dry clothes.

Once we were dry and warm again, I gave her a big hug and it felt good when she squeezed back. I thanked her for coming along with me and then I took her by the hand and we walked back to her rehearsal class. We waved to each other and then I left. I don't know if I'll see her again. Maybe I could take Ella or Nikki to see her Christmas play but I know we probably won't have time for it. I always feel so empty when I have to leave another girl behind.