Page 81 of Wish You Were Here
‘It’s so hot here.’
‘I know! I was literally just there,’ she says, and I laugh.
‘Right, yeah.’
‘So, look, Beno—’
‘Sas, can I go first?’
‘Umm, yeah, go for it.’
‘Because I feel like this is all my fault. I told you we couldn’t FaceTime anymore, but the truth is, the moment I told you I knew it was wrong. I regretted it from the moment I said it because the thing is, Saskia, I think you are the one for me, and I know we live ten thousand miles apart, but apparently, we’re both prepared to travel across the world for love. I know we haven’t met in person yet, have a lot to figure out, practical things to discuss, and I don’t have all the answers, but you know once we sit down and go through all the—’
‘Beno?’
‘Yes.’
‘Please just say it, and I promise, if you do, I’ll say it back.’
I look at Saskia on my phone, in my bedroom, and she smiles at me, and I smile back. Ten thousand miles between us yet it feels like we’re closer than ever.
‘I love you, Sas.’
‘Love you too, Beno.’
We both fall into smiles, laughter and I’m sure I see tears in her eyes. I suddenly feel so overwhelmed with emotion myself, and maybe it’s the jetlag, the craziness of the last forty-eight hours, but I start to cry too. So, there we are, both crying with happiness, both jet lagged on opposite sides of the globe, but madly in love with each other. Eventually, we stop crying, and after Saskia leaves to find a tissue – I don’t have any actual tissues so toilet paper it is – she returns, sits down on my bed and looks at me.
‘The question is, Beno, what do we do now?’
‘I think it’s obvious. Give me a day or two, and I’ll get back to London as soon as I can.’
‘Yeah? You don’t want me to come there?’
‘It’s all right, Sas. You stay put, enjoy Flatmate Simon’s great cups of tea—’
‘He does make great tea, eh?’
‘He does. Also, a more than passable spaghetti bolognaise if he offers to cook. Enjoy London, stay warm, and I’ll get back there as soon as I can.’
‘Okay.’
‘And Saskia?’
‘Yes?’
‘I know people will think this is crazy, but I do love you.’
‘I know, Beno. I love you too.’
‘When did you first know? When was the moment?’
Saskia looks at me, her beautiful face on the screen of my phone.
‘The first FaceTime. As soon as you smiled at me. What about you?’
‘You know, I don’t know whether I was in denial, whether I didn’t want to think about it because it was too crazy, but that first FaceTime too. I knew from our emails and messages that we had something, but the second I saw your face, it hit me.’
‘Are we crazy?’
