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Tonight was Frida’s last night at home for a while and, in true Frida fashion, she’d slipped off to spend some time with Theodwin, her oldest friend.
Theodwin—or Theo, as everyone called him—was a clever young man with a willowy build and nimble fingers that he often used to draw or to build. He and Frida were opposite in many ways, but they both had active imaginations and a love for adventure. Even now as they both approached adulthood, their relationship had remained strong as ever. They’d slipped in and out of romance, but no matter the nature of the relationship, the two of them adored each other wholeheartedly.
On this particular night, Frida sat beside him, sipping her tea as she watched him draw. They’d both been silent for a while, but she didn’t mind. She always loved watching Theo draw—he was so intent and focused as he gradually translated the images from his mind to the paper.
“Theo?”
The boy looked up from his drawing. “Hmm?” he said.
“We’re always going to be friends, right?” Frida said. “Some people think that now that we’re older, we’re going to grow apart...but that won’t happen to us, will it?”
“Of course not,” Theo said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. “You’ve been a part of my life since I can remember. Just because you’re going off to have adventures doesn’t mean we stop being friends. It just means we’ll have more to catch up on when we see each other.”
Frida nodded vigorously. “And I’m not going to be gone forever,” she said. “I’m going to come back often enough—after all, I can’t exactly bring Sage along with me.”
“THat’s probably for the best,” Theo said, smiling. “I’ll be sure to check up on her while you’re away and bring her some vegetables from our garden.”
“Thank you,” she said, reaching out to squeeze Theo’s hand. “And...there’s one more thing I want to say.”
Theo nodded, indicating for her to continue.
“I love you so much, but I don’t know yet what I want,” Frida began. “I’m not asking you to wait for me or making any promises, but I just want you to know that those feelings aren’t gone. I know that others think I’m not truly serious about you, but the truth is that I’m so serious that I can’t bear making a mistake that would hurt you.”
“C’mere,” Theo murmured, pulling Frida to his side and kissing her forehead. “Take all the time you need. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and I don’t want you to feel as if we need to pledge our troth in order for our relationship to be worth anything. It’s already worth so much, and no matter what we become—friends, lovers, husband and wife, simply two kindred souls—we’ll always have each other.”
Frida breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against Theo’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you understand,” she said. “I just wanted you to know that I care about you so much.”
“I know,” Theo replied, ruffling Frida’s hair affectionately. “Now that that’s off your chest, you’d better get home—if Eadgyd finds out you’re missing, she might call off the whole trip.”
Frida groaned as she stood, giving Theo one last hug before getting up. “I hate that you’re right,” she said. “I just hope she’ll start feeling a bit more like her old self again after this.”
“It’ll be good for both of you,” Theo said as he picked up his pencil. “Now go home and go to bed so you’ve enough patience to put up with all of Eadgyd’s hovering.”
Frida laughed and blew a kiss to Theo. “Don’t you stay up too late either!” she teased. “You need to keep your eyes sharp if you want to turn all of those drawings of yours into buildings.”
“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll just finish this one and be off to bed. Happy?”
“Very,” Frida said, grinning. “Night Theo—love you.”
Theo waved farewell as Frida started towards the door.
“I love you too,” he called just before she shut the door.