Chapter 21: Transitions

"My name is Michael Peterson. My friends call me Mike. I've lived in the valley for many years, but it's a remote area and other than a few close friends, I pretty much stay to myself."

Mike sipped his second cup of coffee, leaning back and thinking to himself that Madeline Jacobs baked a fine pie. He'd savored that slice. Good home cooking never escaped his appreciation. Like most elderly bachelors, Mike cooked to survive but he didn't often take time to turn out a gourmet meal. Madeline's pie qualified as gourmet.

"Your daughter has become very important to a special young man who is a student of mine. Her well-being, her safety, her happiness has become as important to him as his own. I've no doubt he'd offer his life in her defense, as young as he is. Of course there's no such threat to either of them, but I think it's important that you understand how deep his feelings go."

Frank shifted uneasily in his chair. Madeline glanced nervously from her husband to Mike and back, then stared into her cup for a moment before lifting her eyes back to Mike with a hard look.

"Just what is this young man's interest in our daughter? How old is he?"

"No, no, nothing like that! You misunderstand. I forget how differently things appear outside the valley," Mike explained. "I'll try to explain in words you may appreciate. Consider his interest as more brotherly than friendly. He is a special soul, very caring and sensitive. For a young man, still a teenager, he has a sense of ethics and morality that defies description. His concern for your daughter is nothing unwholesome, I assure you. In fact, I'd urge that you consider her as being well protected, well looked after."

Mike palmed and studied his coffee cup, ordering his thoughts. Frank and Madeline, more relaxed now, waited for Mike to continue.

"She is a very lucky girl, actually. She loves your sister, her Aunt Helen, and she's developed a case of hero worship for her Uncle Ken. He's a witty, charming character as well as being an exceptionally talented naturalist. She's totally enchanted with the home he's built, his collection of exotic birds, and the valley's wildlife that gathers around the grounds like a nature preserve.

"For Graydon Williams, that young apprentice of mine, she feels a special companionship and trust in him that is well deserved. They strike me as soul mates. I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable. For two people so young, they've had life experiences that make them much more mature than their years. They've been forced to face life and rely on their inner strengths well beyond their peers."

"I can accept that," Frank responded, "but you understand that she is much too young to be developing any interests in young men, right?"

"Of course," Mike agreed. "But that certainly isn't the case with those two. Their bond, their friendship, is not based on any sexual interest. You may be more concerned when I tell you that their interest in each other seems to go much deeper than that. I was serious when I said *soul mates.* I think you'll find they'll not be easily separated. She from him, especially. She looks to him as a source of assurance, safety, trust, all the positive elements that she very much needs during her recovery."

"But does she miss us?" Madeline interjected, almost too loudly. She was missing her daughter. She was not comforted knowing that Marilee had adjusted so quickly into her new home, so far away. She wanted to be with her daughter, as much as it seemed impossible that Marilee might return to her in Kansas City.

"Oh, be assured, she very much misses both of you. She wants her parents. Oh yes, she does. But she's also aware how difficult it might be for you. She cannot return here, and that is a closed subject. So the choice becomes one of two very difficult options: stay separated until she becomes of age and is perhaps able to put the horrors behind her, or you will have to relocate. Find new employment, transfer to a new office; sell this home and find a new one in whatever new location you choose. I can offer this counsel: she'll want to stay very near the valley. I don't think she'll agree to sever the new ties she's made. I'm thinking she'd settle for visits to Ken and Helen, but as much as this might upset you, she'll not stand for being separated by any distance from her young soul mate.

"We hadn't foreseen this, and it wasn't something any of us promoted. It happened. Her emotional need, and his innate sensitivity and protective nature caused the bond. Now that they've found each other, you'll not easily separate them. Nor would it be in anyone's interest to force it."

Frank's paternal instincts were warring with his intellectual decisions. He'd already lost a heart-breaking battle he'd never known was happening until it was too late. He had trusted and been betrayed. Now he was being asked to trust again. His emotions raged within, urging a cynical distrust, but his intelligence knew that this new friend had somehow exacted justice on their behalf and was now offering reassurance. Mike's judgment deserved to be trusted; his counsel offered a positive outcome for all of them. Included in that was a need to evaluate this young man, this apprentice, Mike had called him. He should evaluate this young man as something far different than a typical teenage male.