Time after time

Lost in the Wild

Elle POV

I woke up at dawn on my first day of my master's class. The place next to me in bed was empty, Noah must have gone for a morning run. His internship was difficult this summer. Being a second year student at law school, the tasks assigned to him are increasingly difficult. A few times he arrived from his internship discouraged, wondering again and again if he was cut out to become a lawyer. I believe that we are all built to become something and that it is not necessarily easy to know what!

If I put myself in the shoes of 18-year-old Elle during that famous summer who hesitated between going to Berkeley with Lee or to Harvard with Noah, I think the process led me to know myself. Did I think I would end up with a master's degree in physical therapy 4 years ago? No! But I had to learn about myself and make choices. I changed and Noah changed too.... We tried to find our starting line that will mark the beginning of our adult lives...

I had to leave early this morning since the university is located 45 minutes by public transport from the apartment. We could have moved to an apartment closer to the city center since I am no longer at Harvard but the prospect of having to look at apartments and do boxes at the same time as my internship did not tempt me more than it should have. I wanted to enjoy the summer despite everything! And walking a bit on the way to and from the University will probably do me the world of good.

I had an 8 minute walk along the bike path between the bus stop and the main building of the university. One thing I have always appreciated about Boston is the large number of parks with nature integrated into the city. It allows me to feel lost in the nature even in the middle of the city. Okay, we are far from the wilderness like in a National Park!

I allowed myself to admire the leaves of the trees still green for the most part with a few leaves slowly starting to turn red. It's crazy how quickly time flies when you look at nature!

I arrived at the university and there was a striking contrast between the modernity of the place and the historic buildings of Harvard. I settled into the amphitheater for my first class (and yes I did not get lost). There were no Harvard alumni I recognized among the few students already in the class that I could connect with. The first familiar face I ran into was... Ron Howard, the former Boston University quarterback. He and Noah had run into each other at Chloe's graduation party and Ron had tried to intimidate Noah. It was the first time since Noah walked away from Marco on the beach in LA 4 years ago that I thought he might get involved in a fight again. Instead, Noah had accepted Ron's challenge and won the beach football game with the help of his teammates that day. I hoped Ron wouldn't see me...

Unfortunately, after looking around his eyes landed on me. He frowned before coming to sit in the seat next to me.
- Excuse me, you're the only familiar face I see in this auditorium. But I'm having a really hard time remembering where I've seen you." He said to me.
- We met at Chloe Winthrop's graduation party 2 years ago." I said to him, looking ahead.
- Ah! I knew I never forget a face." He said to me enthusiastically. "I don't know if we introduced ourselves properly last time, I'm Ron Howard and I'm from Boston University.
- Elle Flynn and I'm a Harvard University alum." I said to him, shaking his hand.
- Flynn? ... Are you related to Noah Flynn, the former Crimson quarterback" he asked me.
- Yeah! I sleep next to him every night... he's my husband!" I answered him hoping that it would create a little distance between us.
- Oh!!! " he told me a little nervous about the way he had treated Noah and by reference me during that famous day."He wasn't too angry with me during that famous game?
- No, Noah has become much less reactive over the years. In high school it was a different story. You probably would have ended the game with a fight." I told him laughing softly.
- How long have you been together, if you've known him since high school?
- We've been together for almost 6 years and we've been married for 3 years.
- Wow! You got married young?
- I was 19. But I think I was ready! We were in Boston together for college for a year. We built a life together here!
- And what is he doing now, Flynn! He didn't get drafted by the NFL! It would be convenient for him to have his own physical therapist.
- No, he's in his second year of law school at Harvard. His football career is over!
- So you're going to be a couple consisting of a lawyer and a physical therapist.
- Yes, but we have to go through the master's degree though! I don't know if it's comparable, but Noah's first year of master's was something.
- It won't necessarily be easier for us!" he told me with a wink.