Page 58 of Just Like You
The things I did. And now I owed Faye favours, something that didn’t sit right with me, but I had no choice here. The only thing that mattered was Julian, and if this was the means to the end? I’d even send Faye flowers if it meant I got him back. I needed him back.
I had no idea where he would stay. We hadn’t got that far, despite Gina’s assurances that she had deposited him at work and he was fine. She’d given him the talk, and he’d… He was coming to me. So I’d got on the evening flight out of New York, made it there just after midnight, then I’d found the right space where he’d arrive and spent the night sat on a bench, hoping I wouldn’t fall asleep. In Brazil. What was I like?
And now I wish I had at least sought out a shower and a cup of coffee.
I couldn’t stand still, the tiredness giving me the adrenaline I needed to just walk around in a circle, anxious and excited at the same time.
He would come. I knew he would.
The sight of the familiar uniform but on other people made my heart race as the reality of it all hit me. He would be the last one; I knew from before. How he wanted to make sure his crew got through okay, and he would always bring up the rear. Always thinking of others.
That was his job, but he was also like that, with me. I could still feel his hands on my skin. His laughter rang in my ears like some constant hearing impairment.
And then suddenly he was walking towards me, anxiety written all over his face.
He had no reason to be anxious. No reason at all. And I stood there waiting for him to reach me, my arm held out for him. I couldn’t help it.
He fell into my embrace, just a short squeeze of him, his body against mine.
“I’m still at work,” he whispered into my neck.
“You came,” I said. I couldn’t even hide the relief that he had.
“Of course I did. It’s my job. And Gina dropped me off. I felt like I had some kind of police escort; she even got my bag out for me. Who the hell is that girl?”
“She’s fun. Different from what you’d expect.”
“Perfect description. I can’t believe you sent her to come see me, but yeah. Come on. Let’s go.”
I wanted to hold his hand, but instead I took his bag, letting him walk ahead of me towards the bus, where his crew was already ready on board.
“Guys, this is Kieron, my cling-on for the rest of this trip. Looks a bit scary, but he’s all right. Be nice to him, okay?”
That was how he described me to his colleagues? As an introduction? Thanks for that. But everyone was laughing, and I did too, taking my seat and immediately being offered a bag of sweets.
“What’s with the sweets?” I whispered as he sat himself down next to me.
“Bribes. People bring us gifts, thinking we’ll upgrade them. Not the done thing, but it is nice. At least we get a snack on the bus.”
“Poor people.”
“Nah. If people bring me treats? I look after them. Glass of bubbles. An extra blanket. Depends on the effort. A bag of Haribo gets you nothing. Basic chocolate? Good gesture but again, we’re not impressed.”
“Oh,” I said, choosing a chocolate praline from the box that was now being passed around.
“These ones are good, a gift from a first-class passenger. He just gave us chocolates because he was a nice guy. Those are the kind of passengers we like.”
“So I should have brought chocolates? I didn’t know.”
“You don’t have to. But it’s nice, you know? We’re all into those posh biscuits in the green box. Expensive but worth it. That might get you looked after properly.”
“Okay.” I was delirious but smiling. I like being looked after properly. “I like looking after you.”
“You’re worse than me. We’ll put you down for a nap as soon as we get in.”
I sat there, the chocolate melting in my mouth. I had no idea where I was going, but I didn’t care because he was with me. And then he grabbed my hand. Held tight.
“Thank you,” he said.
