Page 82 of Wish You Were Here
‘Probably. But isn’t that what love is?’
‘You know you have Lou Sanders to thank for this.’
‘I heard about Lou. I’m sorry, Sas.’
‘It’s okay. Before he died, he gave me some money and told me to choose love. You can’t ignore a dying man’s last wish.’
‘No, you can’t,’ I say, and she smiles at me with a glint of something mischievous in her eyes. ‘What?’
‘I haven’t told anyone else about this, but it feels right telling you. Another of his last wishes was to see my tits. So, just before he closed his eyes for the last time, I flashed him.’
‘So, the last thing he saw before he died was your tits?’
‘That’s right.’
‘What a way to go!’ I say, and she laughs.
Saskia and I sit and talk for another half-an-hour before I start falling asleep. The jetlag hits me hard, and I can barely keepmy eyes open. I still have no idea what day it is. We say goodbye and when she is gone, I lay back on her bed, waiting for sleep to come, but with a huge smile on my face. However, before I get the chance to really fall asleep, the door opens, and Brian appears.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Ben, mate, but I thought you’d like to try my jetlag cure,’ says Brian, holding a glass of green liquid. ‘I discovered this little beauty a few years ago on a trip to Mozambique. It’s mainly spinach, but it also has some cherries, avocado, banana, capsicum, ginger, eggs, green tea and a few other secret ingredients, but I can’t tell you those, Ben, otherwise I’ll have to kill you, eh. Do you want to give it a go?’
I look at the green juice and I am either going to be cured of my jetlag, or I am going to rush to the toilet and throw it all up. Brian looks so excited for me to try it, I can’t say no.
‘Go on then, Brian. Thank you,’ I say, taking the glass.
I give it a quick sniff and it’s quite potent.
‘Smells weird, right?’
‘It does. Well, bottom’s up!’ I say, and I take a big sip of Brian’s patented jetlag recovery juice. It tastes better than it smells, which isn’t saying much.
‘What do you reckon?’ asks Brian.
‘That I’ll be awake for a while.’
‘Good on yer,’ says Brian, and with that I decide to start searching for flights home to see Saskia. Fingers crossed I’ll be back in London within forty-eight hours, and finally Saskia and I can be together. I’ll be able to kiss her, hold her in my arms and then we’ll have to figure out what to do next. I always wondered how far I would go for true love and now I know the answer – across the world and back.
34
Saskia
‘We should make him a funny sign for the airport,’ says Hugh. ‘Something like, Welcome Home Ben You Muppet!’
‘Or Why Didn’t You Let Her Know You Were Coming!’ suggests Simon.
‘What do you think, Saskia?’ says Poppy, but the truth is, I’m not really listening.
We’re in the pub, having a last-minute drink before we head to the airport to get Ben. It has been four days since he got to Sydney, and he finally found a flight back again. We have spoken on FaceTime every day, and it has given me time to do some sightseeing in London and get to know Ben’s family and friends. Everyone is so lovely, and they have made me feel right at home. Simon and Abigail have been the best, and I have spent a lot of time with them. Simon was doing research for a new video, and so I spent one of the days with him, exploring London, eating, drinking, and it was such a brilliant day – despite the weather! Fortunately, Abigail leant me a proper British coat that is warm, and I bought a woolly hat and gloves, which have helped heaps. I just can’t wait to see Ben. Even though I have enjoyed spending time in London, it has felt like I’m just waiting for the moment he arrives.
‘Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,’ I reply.
‘We were just saying,’ says Hugh, ‘we should make a funny sign for the airport.’
‘Yeah, sounds good,’ I say, but all I can really think about is the moment when he comes walking out of arrivals and we get to meet for the first time.
I don’t know if Ben had time before he left to have a clean and a tidy, but his bedroom is spotless. I dread the thought of him in my bedroom in Glebe because I didn’t have time for a clean and tidy up. I didn’t have time to hide all my old lady underwear, the sort of undies I only let boyfriends see after about six months. Hopefully, Mum had the thought to have a clean-up before Ben arrived, change the sheets on my bed and do my washing. Sleeping in Ben’s bed, it smells like him, which is strange because I have seen him online, we know so much about each other, but the one thing you don’t get over FaceTime is the smell of someone and it’s so visceral. It really makes you feel close to that person in a way that other senses don’t. I know it’s just the smell of his aftershave and deodorant, but it’s him. I had a look through his wardrobe, running my hand along the selection of shirts, the suit jackets and the jumpers that were hanging up. It’s weird getting to experience his life without him in it. It’s like I’m getting a small glimpse into the real Ben before I meet actual Ben.
‘I suppose we should make a move,’ says Will, finishing his pint. ‘You’re driving, Poppy?’
