(no subject)
From the Round Table.
Years:
“We have spent so much time on family life and things like that,” Louise finally said to the group, once they had gotten settled in their respective seats. “I thought today we would talk about something else. To that end, I thought we would talk about where you plan to be in a few years. Goals, aspirations, location... anything you want to do and anything that is not on your list. Does that sound good to you all?”
They nodded in assent, shifting their chairs closer together in the cold room. Although the heat was on in the building, this room seemed colder than all the rest.
“How many years?” Nisha asked, a blush on her cheeks. “Five? Ten?”
Louise cocked an eyebrow. “Let us go for five. What do you plan on doing in five years, Nisha, since you asked for a time limit?”
Nisha gave a noise of disgust at being picked first. “I was just asking.” She sniffed and turned to the rest of the group. “Well, you guys know I am a professor here, but that is just temporary, I guess. I mean,” she backtracked, “I am open to staying here, if there was a need for me. But I have always wanted to travel, you know? See the world? Anyway, in 5 years, I would love to be able to say I have been to every country in Europe and Asia for more than a day. I would like to be started in on traveling in Africa by that time.” She sighed. “I want to see the world.”
Alex smiled. “You will have to stop in Angelus. You should see it there, when everyone is not so full of drama. It is gorgeous, like springtime all year long.” He sighed heavily. “If I had my way, I would be headed back there before 5 years from now. I would be there and settled with my Luca and it would just be... perfect.” He smiled a little sheepishly and leaned forward, gesturing with his hands as if it would explain everything more clearly. “I have always wanted the typical family - a wife, 2 children: one boy and one girl, a dog in the backyard. And maybe she does not want that now, but I have at least 5 years to change her mind. I am willing to try.” He laughed and they could see how that joy was affecting him.
“If she stops in Angelus, she needs to stop in Dublin too. And maybe she could stay with me, if I am there. God, I would like to be there,” Sin breathed both reverently and nostalgically. “I am going to ask my anamchara to marry me soon. I have been waiting for the right day to ask, waiting for the right moment. I think I... if nothing goes wrong, I will ask her on New Year’s, right when the clock strikes midnight. It is cliché, I know. But I can see us still together in 5 years, marriage or no. We have already seen two years together, and I cannot see my life without her.” Sin shrugged vaguely. “I can do without the trappings of marriage, but I do not know any other way to say that I need her forever. That I am hers for as long as she will have me.”
“How can she say no to that?” Nisha asked with a smile on her lips. “You have won me and I am not your girlfriend.”
Sin laughed. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, Nisha.”
“Speaking of confidence,” Nix said, “I am confident that I have no plans for 5 years from now. I am lucky to have today. And tomorrow is just far enough away that I cannot plan for it. I have this condition, and it is not really helpful when making plans about my future or anything like that. I am doing good by just making it through one day or the next. So if I make it to 5 years from now, I just want to be alive, and loved by whoever I am with. That is enough for me.”
Years:
“We have spent so much time on family life and things like that,” Louise finally said to the group, once they had gotten settled in their respective seats. “I thought today we would talk about something else. To that end, I thought we would talk about where you plan to be in a few years. Goals, aspirations, location... anything you want to do and anything that is not on your list. Does that sound good to you all?”
They nodded in assent, shifting their chairs closer together in the cold room. Although the heat was on in the building, this room seemed colder than all the rest.
“How many years?” Nisha asked, a blush on her cheeks. “Five? Ten?”
Louise cocked an eyebrow. “Let us go for five. What do you plan on doing in five years, Nisha, since you asked for a time limit?”
Nisha gave a noise of disgust at being picked first. “I was just asking.” She sniffed and turned to the rest of the group. “Well, you guys know I am a professor here, but that is just temporary, I guess. I mean,” she backtracked, “I am open to staying here, if there was a need for me. But I have always wanted to travel, you know? See the world? Anyway, in 5 years, I would love to be able to say I have been to every country in Europe and Asia for more than a day. I would like to be started in on traveling in Africa by that time.” She sighed. “I want to see the world.”
Alex smiled. “You will have to stop in Angelus. You should see it there, when everyone is not so full of drama. It is gorgeous, like springtime all year long.” He sighed heavily. “If I had my way, I would be headed back there before 5 years from now. I would be there and settled with my Luca and it would just be... perfect.” He smiled a little sheepishly and leaned forward, gesturing with his hands as if it would explain everything more clearly. “I have always wanted the typical family - a wife, 2 children: one boy and one girl, a dog in the backyard. And maybe she does not want that now, but I have at least 5 years to change her mind. I am willing to try.” He laughed and they could see how that joy was affecting him.
“If she stops in Angelus, she needs to stop in Dublin too. And maybe she could stay with me, if I am there. God, I would like to be there,” Sin breathed both reverently and nostalgically. “I am going to ask my anamchara to marry me soon. I have been waiting for the right day to ask, waiting for the right moment. I think I... if nothing goes wrong, I will ask her on New Year’s, right when the clock strikes midnight. It is cliché, I know. But I can see us still together in 5 years, marriage or no. We have already seen two years together, and I cannot see my life without her.” Sin shrugged vaguely. “I can do without the trappings of marriage, but I do not know any other way to say that I need her forever. That I am hers for as long as she will have me.”
“How can she say no to that?” Nisha asked with a smile on her lips. “You have won me and I am not your girlfriend.”
Sin laughed. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, Nisha.”
“Speaking of confidence,” Nix said, “I am confident that I have no plans for 5 years from now. I am lucky to have today. And tomorrow is just far enough away that I cannot plan for it. I have this condition, and it is not really helpful when making plans about my future or anything like that. I am doing good by just making it through one day or the next. So if I make it to 5 years from now, I just want to be alive, and loved by whoever I am with. That is enough for me.”