Chapter 55: Yaron

Somehow, I had finally found a balance that I liked. I enjoyed the freedom of my job, where I had handed over most of the paperwork responsibilities to Hannah, who had joined me as my secretary. That allowed me to focus solely on my patients.

I rolled down the windows of my car; spring had come early, and it was a joy to feel the air on my face without freezing my eyelashes.

Vee had been quiet for a couple of months, again. No calls, no texts, no postcards.

However, not knowing about her didn’t hurt me. I guess I had grown up. Because what’s more mature than accepting life as it comes?

I got out of my car and opened the back door to let Freud, my dog, out. He was a tan-colored mixed breed I had rescued from a shelter, and he had ended up sharing the office and my house with me. If my patients allowed it, most of the time he would lie down at their side and let them pet his back while they told me about their problems.

“Come on, boy. Are you ready for our sessions?” I patted his head and scratched his long, furry ears. He licked my hand and wiggled his tail. I ended up laughing. “Okay, Freud, let’s go inside.”

I opened the door and greeted my sister. “Hi, Hannah, any news?”

“Someone left an envelope in the mailbox for you,” she said.

It was a postcard from Seattle. I recognized the handwriting immediately.

The text on the back said, “The aliens are coming.”

“Hannah, I need you to reschedule all my appointments,” I said.

She beamed at me. “The letter ... It’s from her, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” I replied.

She pumped her fist in the air. “Finally! Go! Go! Go! Go and get her! And chain yourself to her if necessary!” Hannah encouraged me. “I’m sure you patients can survive without you for a day.”

“Take care of Freud,” I said, grabbing my car keys.

“Sure, we get along well,” she replied, scratching him behind his ears.

Smiling like a child, I left the office and ran back to the car.

I didn’t recognize the house. It was the same, but at the same time, it wasn’t. It looked brand new.

There was a note stuck to the gate. “Follow the stars.”

I followed a path of garden lights into the backyard. A small veranda opened to a new room. There was a wooden sign over the door that read, “Yaron’s Office.” The room belonged there so absolutely that it seemed as if it were a natural formation. Honeysuckle climbed up one wall like a lattice, winding all the way up and over the thick wooden shingles. There was a little path of flat stones that led up to the quaint arched wooden door. I opened the door and took a quick look inside. The room decoration replicated the one in my current office in every detail. Even the pillows and the paintings on the walls.

Vee was standing at our spot, on a picnic blanket surrounded by pillows. There was a pile of books at her side, a telescope, and a large toy flying saucer hanging from a branch of the tree. I marveled at the sight of the garden. It was filled with colorful flowers, plants, and trees.

She was wearing a denim skirt, a short-sleeved V-neck tunic, and sandals. A casual outfit very different from the sophisticated designer clothes Raven Black usually wore. The two pendants I gave her were hanging from her neck.

I instantly felt closer to her than ever.

“Look, we match,” she said, twirling around. “Do you like my hippie outfit?”

“Vee ... what are you doing here in this house? How come there is a replica of my office here?”

She was looking at me with a mischievous look on her face. “Surprise!”

I smiled at her, shaking my head.

“What do you think, Yaron?” Vee’s voice was soft; it fit the perfect quiet of the storybook scene. I opened my mouth, but said nothing.

“This was what you had on mind?” she asked me, biting her lower lip.

“You are the one who bought the house,” I breathed out.

“Guilty as charged. Do you like it?” Vee looked excited, and began jumping up and down. “I mean, we could change anything, if you want.”

I shook my head. “It is perfect as it is. You read my mind.”

“Do you love it?”

“Of course, I love it. How could I not? Vee this is...” I just opened my arms, unable to find the right words to describe what I was feeling at that moment.

“Let me show you the improvements they made,” she said, pulling my hand. “I had never been so nervous in my life, Yaron. I fantasized about this moment a thousand times. This is the living room with a fireplace where we can read stories in front of the fire. With a kitchen that smells of orange and cinnamon.”

The fireplace was lit. A wall had been knocked down that joined the dining room to the kitchen, giving it a spacious feel. The ceiling beams had been restored. I could see Vee’s touch in every corner. An ethnic blanket on the burgundy sofa. Piles of boxes of cookies and candy on the kitchen counter.

There was a dog blanket and two stained-steel dog bowls.

“I didn’t forget Freud, of course.”

We entered the master bedroom. The bed was made, although the wrinkles in the bedspread showed me that Vee was still a disaster at housework. Her clothes were placed in the closet. There were no fancy designer dresses, no loud colors of soft and sophisticated fabrics, no high heels. They were just comfortable clothes for a city life; clothes that fit the Vee I had loved.