They walk through the courtyard of the Center hand in hand. They seem very happy, as if they fear nothing in the world. Pascal and Nathalie have known each other for a long time: they love each other and hope, one day, to live as a couple, to marry perhaps. But at the same time, the thought frightens them a little. Nathalie confides in me: "When I see Francoise, a friend from the Center, she struggles with her two children. She cries often, gets scolded...
I don't think I could care for a child. I wouldn't have the courage to hold one in my arms for so long. If it fell... there would be other people to look after it. And that's not right... Pascal, he could do it because he knows how to do so many things. Yes, but when he's working he'll be too tired."
Pascal goes on: "I've talked about this with Rosa-Maria, a social worker, and with Silvia, a nurse. They explained everything to us well—love, marriage, children. They answer all our questions. But I know that all of this isn't what matters. I know a guy who goes out with lots of girls—he's not serious. I don't like that way of doing things. I'll do what Nathalie wants." He looks at her. "I like talking with her and holding her in my arms. I've never known anyone like her."
They leave arm in arm. He walks her home and then returns to his. I can only marvel: so it is possible.
This deep affection that makes them so happy, combined with mutual respect, and also, undoubtedly, the struggle of walking a path so different from what surrounds them and what they see every day. Like those tiny flowers, so fragile yet sometimes so stubborn, that manage to break through asphalt. Listening to Pascal and Nathalie speak, one understands how precious the education that guides a disabled person truly is. How precious are the conversations that clarify, the information shared even when it is difficult to express—all of it has surrounded their growth and the unfolding of their love. Without question, this is the answer to the mystery: a network of parents, friends, and professionals who, with patience, each within their own expertise, have guided this young couple toward a life of feeling and affection.
- A.C., 2003