Page 77 of Love In Translation

For all Rheo’s life, Paddy had been so confident. She’d never once seen her second-guess herself. This was another version of her grandmother, and Rheo quite liked her.

“Stuart, the wise old man that he is, says we don’t grow from success.”

Rheo still didn’t know who Stuart was, where Paddy had met him, and what role he was playing in her life, and she burned with curiosity. Lover? Friend? Tour guide?

But before she could ask, Paddy spoke again. “You made some mistakes, but it sounds like you’ve managed to come out the other side without my help and without me telling you what to do. I’m glad, Rheo, because it’s important for you to trust yourself and trust your judgment. I think you’ve relied too heavily on mine up to now.”

She had. And Rheo understood Paddy’s subtext: her grandmother was an old lady, and she wasn’t going to be around forever. It was time for Rheo to grow up and stand on her own two feet. She could do that. While she might still be a little wobbly, at least she was upright.

Forza e coraggio che la vita è un passaggio. She needed strength and courage, because life was a passage she had to navigate.

“You’re stubborn and intolerant and demanding,” Rheo gently told her.

“I can be. So can you.”

It was a fair comment, so Rheo nodded. “Please talk to my dad and apologize, Paddy.”

“I will.”

Paddy never went back on her word, and a hundred tons lifted off Rheo’s shoulders.

“I’ve fallen in love, Paddy,” Rheo told her, thinking she’d tell Paddy everything. Then, after months of distance, they’d both be on the same page. “He’s not into my life, I’m not into his, but I’m into him in the biggest way imaginable.”

“You’re in love with the young man who rented my house? Carrie’s friend?”

“His name is Fletcher. He’s the last person in the world I should have fallen in love with. He’s an adventurer, an explorer, someone who can’t sit still or stay in the same place.”

Paddy wrinkled her nose. “Darling... I wish I could tell you everything will be all right, but I can’t. Sometimes loving someone isn’t enough. Sometimes love doesn’t work out, and more often than not, there are no happy endings, because life isn’t a fairy tale. I think being able to love, being able to connect, and being able to walk away when things are impossible is what’s important. That’s love, that’s truth and that’s strength.”

It might be, but it still hurt, like a million mini meteor strikes. She kept having to pick up her pieces and glue them into place again. Rinse, repeat. Rheo glanced at her watch and eyed the attendees gathered below. She was out of time.

“I have to get back to work, Paddy.”

“You said you were worried about doing your job. Can you do it?”

“Of course I can do my job, Paddy,” she replied.

And, at that moment, she sensed the truth in her soul. Here, behind this desk and microphone, was where she belonged. She believed in herself, and her abilities, and her opinion was the only one that mattered.

Rheo pointed a finger at Paddy. “Call my dad.”

Paddy pulled a face. “I will invite them to visit me when I return to the States.”

No, that wasn’t good enough. “You will call him, preferably via video, and you will apologize. I will stay on your case until you do.”

Paddy cocked her head to the side. “I see the tables have turned.”

They hadn’t flipped entirely, neither of them believed that. She’d always love and respect Paddy, and her grandmother would always be protective of her.

Sin che si vive, s’impara sempre.They lived. They learned.

And today they’d met as adults and signed an unspoken agreement to be accountable. Not only to each other, but also to themselves.

Could anything be more worthwhile?

Hanging off the rock face in the Red River Gorge, Fletch attached his carabiner into a hook in the rock face. He briefly looked down and shrugged. He was only a hundred feet up, on a climb called Bedtime for Bonzo. He wasn’t fazed. This was a training climb, a way to get him fit for longer, higher, and more extreme peaks. His team was easing him in...

Yet, despite being barely off the ground, he couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs. The last time he had felt this way was when he was climbing Everest. Comparing this climb to Everest was like putting a bicycle against a Bugatti Veyron.

---