"You'll probably be glad to be done with me and this house after the past few days won't you?" Nick asked, disappointed at knowing she wouldn't be here for him to talk to.
Avalon turned around to look at him, "No, not at all. I don't mind the cleaning, and I've really enjoyed talking to you."
Nick was a little shocked that she actually seemed to mean what she'd said. Part of him had been surprised when she kept showing up- after his rudeness the first day, his breakdown the second, he was sure she had to be wondering what would happen next with him. "It's been.. good to have you here, I needed the company, obviously."
Avalon got the feather duster out of her bucket of supplies and began dusting the entertainment center, "Everyone gets to the point, that no matter how badly they want to shut everyone out, they have to let someone in. Telling someone about what's hurting you, letting them share your pain, eases the burden.."
Nick sprawled out on the couch, "But why is it that you can tell some people and not others? Like what makes someone comfortable enough to let one person know, but not someone else?"
"It's exactly that, I think.. some people just have more of an.. I don't know, aura... maybe, that allows people to feel comfortable with them.. lets them know that their secrets are safe, and they're cared about." Avalon answered.
"Even if you don't know the person that well." Nick said softly.
Avalon gave him a little grin, "I don't think it matters how well you know the person, sometimes you just have to trust how you feel about someone, that they're trustworthy or compassionate."
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"
Avalon wasn't quite sure how to take his question, "Yes, I pretty much always have something to say.."
"But it always makes sense, you always seem like you KNOW exactly what you're talking about."
Avalon laughed, "I like to think I know what I'm talking about."
"What do you think about soulmates?" Nick asked.
Avalon was a little caught off guard, "What?"
"Like do you believe in soulmates? Only one perfect match for everyone?"
Avalon thought for a moment, "I think you've stumped me on this one. I don't know.. I very much like the idea... that there's only one perfect person for everyone and finding them would just be... well, perfect."
"But what happens if you think you found them... and then... you don't have them any more? Does that mean you're supposed to be alone forever?"
Avalon stopped dusting, having no clue how to answer him. Finally she said, "I can't imagine that very many people are meant to be alone... I guess, there's always the possibility of mis-judging the "perfectness" of a match, like, thinking you've found THE One, when you haven't...which is probably why so many relationships don't work like people think they should.. they're trying to make them work with the wrong person."
Nick wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Could she be saying that Jamie might not have been the right one for him? He was surprised that as he contemplated the thought, he didn't really find himself getting angry, as he first started to, but pensive, really thinking about what she'd just said.
Avalon watched as Nick got lost in his thoughts and returned to her cleaning, hoping she hadn't offended him.
After a while Nick asked, "But what if what you had with the person that you thought was THE One was almost perfect?"
"Assuming that person wasn't THE One, and it was that good with them... just try to imagine how awesome things will be with the person who IS THE One." Avalon said.
Nick sank futher back into the couch, trying to think if things really could have been any better than they were with Jamie.
~~~~~~~
"Wow.. I barely recognize this place." Nick chuckled as he and Avalon walked around the house, inspecting her work. "Thanks.. you did a great job.. I'm gonna be afraid to touch anything and mess it up now."
"If you do.. you'll just have to call me and I'll come clean it up again." Avalon giggled.
Nick smiled and took a deep breath, "Would you maybe, want to come over, just hang out, like, on a non-business basis.. but for fun?"
"I'd like that very much." Avalon said, smiling back at him.
"Cool, how about, like, Saturday afternoon? We could go out on the boat, maybe.." he suggested.
"I'd LOVE that!!" Avalon clapped her hands together, "I've always wanted to go sailing!"
Nick looked at her funny, "You live in Tampa and you've never been on a boat?"
Avalon laughed, "Nope, weird, huh?"
"We're definitely going to have to fix that." Nick said, giving her a hug as she walked out the door.
~~~~~~
Avalon sat in the picture window of her room at Josephine's house, looking up at the stars. "Michael?"
A few moments later she heard, "Hello, Avalon. Things seem to be going better for you now."
"Oh definitely! He's improved alot in just the past two days, his personality is definitely perking up... the only thing is.. he asked me questions today, that I just didn't have answers for.. which is why I wanted to talk to you..."
"I'm not the one to help you there.. you'll need to speak to Noelle, she's the expert on relationships.. let me find her, I'll tell her you need to speak with her."
Avalon waited for Noelle, thinking that this was really the most satisfied she'd ever felt with an assignment. It was a challenge, having to give answers to questions, rather than just trying to ease pain by a familiar or comforting action. She liked the interaction though, liked being able to feel the accomplishment of seeing her work helping someone. And she liked the way she felt about Nick, though she wasn't quite able to exact identify what it was she felt.
"Avalon?"
'Yes?"
"This is Noelle.. Michael told me you had a few questions for me."
"Hi, Noelle.. Yeah I did.. my assignment, Nickolas was asking me questions today about soulmates and perfect matches.. and I answered him as best as I thought I could.. "
"Yes, I heard the questions, and you answered well. There is someone for everyone, and you were right, the reason so many relationships don't work is that the people involved aren't with the people they should be with. And you were also correct in your thoughts that Jamie may not have been Nickolas' perfect match- she wasn't."
"Will he find his One?"
"Yes, I believe that he will."
"He will fall in love again, right?"
"Yes, he will."
"Thanks, Noelle."
"You're welcome, Avalon."
Avalon slipped into bed, comforted that Nick would fall in love again, and hoping that she'd be somehow able to help him find his One.