CALLIOPE POV
The next few weeks seem to fly by. Mama healed at a slower pace than anticipated but was back at the assisted living facility within 2 weeks. There were some issues with her motor skills so we were thankful she was settled somewhere with medical support on hand.
She did not need a further blood transfusion which was a relief. I visited almost every day for at least a short time but wanted her to find a good routine with her appointments as well as making friends around the facility. There was an older man named Jackson who lost a leg overseas while in the Army that she was getting close to, so I also did not want to impose on their time together.
Jack is a kind man that seemed like a lone wolf. The first time Mama met him she was captivated by his bright smile but now they are taking time to get to know one another even more. He got along well with Val and was happy to see any of the Ivanov crew around. We always invited him to join if we brought over food or were hanging out so my Mama got even more time with a man I knew she enjoyed being near.
Val slowly moved into my apartment, bringing more of his clothes and kitchen gear each day. He essentially used his apartment as an office for awhile then finally moving his desktop gaming set up. He did not own as much as I anticipated, but that made sense. His dress clothes were easy to move since he did not use them often so every time he drove to our place it did not take long to bring a few loads of gear inside.
Everything felt like it was falling into place.
By the end of June I was working a couple days a week at the college helping Professor Ivanov with intensive summer courses he taught and meeting with a couple of higher ups about the research department they wanted to begin. We had a couple of new fellows from sister colleges across the country that would be joining us by September so my days became full of curating thesis statements and determining how to put those research projects in place.
It was everything I had dreamed of for my career. I had the chance to work with leaders in the field of psycholinguistics as well as sociolinguistics all with the full support of Professor Ivanov and other higher ups at my college. While my Dissertation was still a point of pride, it was incredible to have the chance to dig into new topics as well as collaborate with leaders in my field.
On the first Saturday in July I spent a few hours with my Mama at her apartment then headed home to get a load of laundry done. Val was gaming and yelling at Miles and Dmitri in his headset while they tried to find a way for their team to win.
He turned and waved at me as I came into the apartment then dropped my bag by a table behind our couch. We kept a catch all bowl for change there as well as mail, coupons for coffee, and a markerboard where we leave one another notes all the time.
Now I have a new folder on my phone where I take pictures of the sweet things Val writes, sometimes in Cyrillic. Good thing I keep up to date on my Russian language study.
We talked about putting a markerboard on the wall but agreed the smaller boards we have around the apartment are a better choice. Mamochka has visited a couple times and loves leaving notes for us, as well. Last time she stopped by was with Jackson and we had Val's lasagna with my homemade bread. It was an incredible meal and they left by 8 to get back before curfew but my Mom texted when she was back in her room a half hour later.
Watching her open up to someone new who lost a lot in his life made my heart ache with love for her. My parents were soul mates, but I believe you can have more than one soul mate in life.
After giving Val a quick hug then refilling his glass of water while he was gaming, I headed in to grab our laundry basket but found it was empty. A peek into my dresser showed the clothes that had been ready to wash were now folded and put away neatly. Val had even picked up some dry cleaning that was apparently ready earlier than I expected.
