Episode 872: Green Light

Now that Enid was looking at her, Tansy wasn’t sure if she could repeat the question, open herself to whatever mean words it might bring, but Enid sighed when Tansy said nothing, and again, Enid turned to leave.

Tansy said, “wait.” Maybe if she put it out there, maybe it would somehow be fixable, wasn’t that what her counselor, Lucy, always suggested, that talking might help?

“I just,” Tansy started and that had Enid facing her again. Tansy took a deep breath. “I just wanted to know what I did wrong?” She’d thought keeping quiet might actually stop Enid from writing her off as a potential friend, but apparently it hadn’t. “What did I do? Is it maybe something I can apologize for?” Or was it something else, something about who Tansy maybe was that she shouldn’t have to apologize for. “You used to talk to me a lot but today, not at all, really.”

Enid blinked a lot. “I thought I was the one who’d done something wrong,” she said. “You almost never talk to me, Tansy, so I thought maybe I should stop bothering you and leave you alone. Lots of people think I talk too much, I figured you did, too. I didn’t want you to be so annoyed by me that you quit volunteering her, the animals need us both.”

“I don’t want you to stop talking,” Tansy said.

“But you hardly ever say anything to me. Oh, wait, are you shy? I should have thought of that.”

Tansy began to nod because it seemed as if Enid might be understanding of her not talking if she were shy and so maybe they could be friends after all, but she didn’t want to lie to her friend. “I’m not really shy either, I used to talk to anybody and everybody, I was a lot like you, but then, now, I mean, everything I say and do, other kids, some of them, they think I’m different and they don’t like different, they’re even mean about it. I wanted you to like me. So I’ve been afraid if I say or do the wrong thing around you that you won’t like me and it would be miserable here and I liked-”

“I like you,” Enid said. “I don’t know you very well yet, but I like you, you’re really nice to the animals, and you’re a good listener, I could tell that even if you haven’t said much in return. I don’t mind different. I’m all kinds of different, always have been, I think it’s interesting. And so since we’re both interesting, maybe we could talk each others’ ears off and it would be okay?”

Episode 873: This Love