3 years. 1095 days. That's how long it took her to finally come clean with her feelings for Delia Busby. At the beginning there was a lot of denial and then came the pain, but it was worth it. So worth it. The development of her feelings was the scariest thing she had ever had to go through. She had no guidance; it wasn't like she could just ask for advice. It also meant that she had to open herself, something she had never done before, or at least in a long time. Patience Mount was lost, but eventually she found the way.
It all started in 1955. Delia was 18, I was 22. I was practically on my way to being a nurse and she was just starting her journey. Every year, the eldest students were supposed to show the new ones around. She wasn't there yet, she was late. I later found out that her train had a malfunction. So Matron asked me to take her when she arrived. Just the two of us. You and me. Alone. She was cheeky and liked to tease a lot. Everyone knew I was someone not to be messed with, but since the beginning she saw right past through that, didn't care about what the other girls had to say about me.
That's how we became friends. We didn't become close immediately. We started by greeting each other, swapping lecture - notes, sharing a cup of tea. She had her group of friends and I had mine, sort of.
Ever since I laid my eyes on her, I felt something that I hadn't felt before. I couldn't place into words what it was. I knew that I enjoyed her company, liked her personality and… that I wanted to be around her. Those feelings grew, stronger and stronger. At first, I chose to ignore them, pretend that I didn't know what was happening. I have always been scared of the unknown. But after a year things couldn't be ignored anymore.
One ordinary day, after finishing my shift, I found Delia sitting on a bench looking absolutely broken. I stopped right then and there not knowing what do. I've never been good at comforting people. But I couldn't leave her, no like that, not ever.
I sat down next to her, trying not to startle her. Should I hug her? Hold her hand? Offer her a hankie? Talk to her? My thoughts were all over the place, but I had to do something for God's sake! I decided to stop thinking and take her in my arms. I could sense how hard she was trying to stay in control of water it was that was troubling her. After some comforting words, she just broke down sobbing in my arms. After some time of pure silent, I noticed it had gotten colder and neither of us had a coat. We went to my bedroom, I hold her again while she cried. We didn't speak, it wasn't necessary. And it was okay.
That's when it hit me, hard. Right then and there. I wanted to be comforting Delia. I wanted to make her feel better when something was wrong. I also wanted to be the one to make her smile. I wanted this.