Day Twelve - Nest
Teddy and I are in the kitchen washing up the dishes from dinner together. I like this time in our days when we can spend this quiet moment together. Working side by side, towards the same goal. Most nights after work and after dinner he shuffles off to the sitting room to continue working on his project with William. I don’t see a lot of change being made to the room, but I do know that they are trying to hide it from me.
Teddy is in the middle of scrubbing a pot when he raises his head up, like something came to mind.
“Do you consider this place your home?” he asks.
“It’s where I live.” I say.
I suppose it is my home if I live here, but it’s also the temporary home of many others who come and go. Though lately our guests have been staying for a longer period of time.
“No,” he says, “I mean like do you think of it as your own? Like how a bird would like of its nest as a home for itself?”
“In a way. I sometimes feel like although I live here, that I’m just watching over this place until the next keeper of the house comes along.”
“And when would that be?” He asks.
“Probably when I’m ready to retire, or when the next person is born into the family. Or if that doesn’t happen, I’ll have to find someone else to take care of the house when I’m gone.”
It’s dark to think about, but if no one is around to look after the house, they would be no one to give the ghosts a place to stay.
I finish drying my glass and put it into the cupboard.
“If you’re going to be here for a long time, is there anything that could be done to make this feel more like your home?”
I think about it for a while. When I first moved into the home after graduating high school, I didn’t think of it as “mine”. The house has always been it’s own entity, and I talk about it like it’s still owned by everyone who’s ever lived here. I suppose that while I’m living here I can consider it my own, and if it is my own, how would I make it feel more like it?
“I guess I’d want more decorations, a place for my books, a comfy reading spot.” I think about it some more. “A different colour to the walls? More colour.”
Teddy nods thoughtfully and moves onto scrubbing the next dish as I continue to dry the cutlery.
“I’ll do my best to help you make this house into a home.” I hear Teddy say quietly but firmly into the pan he scrubs.
Having him here is already a step in the right direction.