Weathered Love

BREAK

"Come on, it's our last Spring Break! We have to do something amazing!" Hannah insisted during one of my visits to the house. As part of my practice of confronting my past, I decided to get over myself and visit the house more often. I also wanted to fulfill my vow of living each day as though it was my last, so I was spending as much time with my friends as I possibly could. Truth be told, a trip during spring break would be the perfect way to live each day to its fullest.

"I'll try," was all I could promise. "Who's going anyway? And where would we go?" I inquired.

"So far, all the housemates. You can invite whoever you want, even friends from back home. And Andrew's definitely invited too," she pointed out, with a wink.

I smiled. "Well, I'm not sure his Spring Break lines up with ours, but I'll ask him. I still need to know where we're going," I pointed out.

"Somewhere tropical and cheap. So somewhere in the Caribbean," Hannah concluded.

"OK," I consented. "Let me just check with Drew to see if he can make it. And I need to make sure I'm actually able to take this trip too. But it sounds like fun!" I admitted. I stayed at the house a little while longer, helping Hannah find a good destination and figuring out some of the details. I then left to meet with Andrew for a bit before I had to go to class.

* * *

"What are we doing next week?" Andrew asked as we were hanging out in his apartment the next afternoon. Or rather, as he was recovering in his room from yet another round of tests and I was doing my best to tend to his needs.

"I don't know. Did you have something in mind?" I inquired, wondering what was so special about the next week.

"What? I don't get chocolates on Valentine's Day?" Andrew teased. I froze. Of course it was Valentine's Day the next week. I had absolutely no clue what to get Andrew and I had completely blanked on the fact that it was even February at that time.

"Wouldn't a home-cooked meal be better than some store-bought chocolates?" I quickly recovered.

"Can't I have both?" Andrew pouted through his smile.

"You're in a much better mood. I'm starting to think you don't need me to fuss as much as I do," I threatened, side-stepping the comment.

"I need the fussing, please," Andrew begged. I snorted at his reaction and set down the glass of water I had in my hand on his nightstand.

I then sat at the foot of his bed and simply looked at him. He was definitely worse for the wear, but looking happy. He had taken my suggestion and looked at some online support groups and searched for people with similar symptoms. He found a small group of people who might have what he had, so he went to get tested to see if his condition was the same. The group didn't have an answer to what it was they had, but there was already a team of researchers trying to figure out how to treat their condition. And if Andrew had the same thing, he could at least get some help figuring out how to prolong his life.

In the meantime, the online group was really supportive and offered tips for how to manage his symptoms for the time being, as well as ways to stay out of the hospital. Andrew was elated to finally feel like he wasn't alone in his suffering. I was a little jealous that he could connect with the group so easily. I knew the jealousy was misplaced, and I knew he appreciated the support I gave him. But there was something to be said about talking to people who were going through the same thing.

I knew that better than most. After all, I confided in my anorexia support group things that I couldn't explain to Ivan or anyone else. And while he and my other friends did what they could to help me out, being around people who knew exactly what was going through my head to bring me to that point was much more helpful and the exact support I needed during my recovery. I still stopped by every now and then, especially on days where I truly worried I'd lapse, but my visits were sporadic at best.