The Third Journal

Pages 271+272

DIPPER'S JOURNAL

There was someone else I needed to make amends to...

my old partner, Candy Chiu.

We reunited during Weirdmaggedon, but it was far too brief, so after things calmed down, I went to visit her. Stanford had warned me about Candy's uneven mental state, but when I saw that she was living at the dumb, it became clear how deeply I had hurt this woman that I had once held so dear.

She was overjoyed to see me, and we spent hours talking. She was fascinated by my tales of the multiverse, and her probing questions made it clear that her excellent mind had recovered most of its enormous capacity. My feelings of guilt returned when the conversation turned to the subject of her self-induced memory loss, but C dismissed my attempts to apologize. Not only is this woman's mind superior to mine, but she has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen.

-----

I have found one way to try to make things up to her. During my visit, I discovered a large trove of blueprints. C dismissed them as "doodles," but in truth they are an amazing array of futuristic machines the likes of which I have never seen. I insisted that she submit these plans to the U.S. government. I believe the royalties will allow her to significantly upgrade her living arrangements. (And possibly wear shoes for the first time in 30 years.)

We also talked about our used-to-be relationship. Apparently, after we split up, she had started dating someone else who left her when she lost her mind. And she explained how even after leaving, she still loved me. And I realized that I had never stopped loving her, either. We're taking our relationship slow, though- for now, we're only friends.

Before I left, Candy insisted that I listen to her play the flute. I could have sworn that as she joyfully played, I could see the age lift off her face, and see the Candy who had been my girlfriend so many years ago.

I bid her good-bye for then- but I know we will have much to discuss in the future.