Addison sighed as she watched the passengers from Johannesburg make their way down the staircase and through the door marked Arrivals. Who would have guessed that flights into such an out of the way place would be on time? That meant Mary Kate would be leaving right on schedule, in less than an hour.
It was probably just as well. She had run out of things to say once they reached a point where everything made Mary Kate cry. Both of them had slept poorly after the tacit suggestion that the Sopa Lodge might be their last night as lovers. As she lay awake, she played out their parting in her mind’s eye, vowing to remain upbeat and hopeful, regardless of her sense of dread. As much as she hated to admit it, she understood Mary Kate’s doubts about trying to turn this chance meeting into a relationship. It was a lot to ask of someone who had discovered only days ago that she wasn’t the woman she had lived her whole life to be.
“I wonder how long it’ll be before we board,” Mary Kate said, grasping Addison’s hand beneath the jacket that spread across their laps.
“Are you ready?”
She shook her head. “No, I could sit here like this all day.”
Addison knew she didn’t mean it, but she appreciated the sentiment. Once they parted, the pressure about their future would be off. “What? You aren’t looking forward to spending the next twenty hours in a space smaller than a sleeping bag?”
Mary Kate chuckled. “As long as we don’t bounce around, I’ll survive.”
“You’ll be home this time tomorrow.”
“I know. I bet I sleep for three days.”
For conversation’s sake, she thought about asking if Bobby was picking her up at the airport, but Bobby was the last thing she wanted to hear about. “I’ll probably sleep all the way home.”
“I would too if I were flying first class like you.”
“Yeah, having Reginald Falk for a father comes with a few advantages. But I won’t get back to Miami until late tomorrow afternoon.” The way her life was going right this minute, she expected to find a Sold sign in the yard and a pile of rejection letters on the floor behind the mail slot.
Her stomach knotted as the operations crew gathered at the podium. It appeared their boarding announcement was only minutes away.
She touched her booted foot to Mary Kate’s as they both stared at the floor. “I miss you already.”
“You’re going to make me cry again.”
“We certainly don’t need any more of that.”
Obviously fighting tears, Mary Kate leaned close so that only Addison could hear. “I want you to know that I love you, and that this has been the most wonderful two weeks of my life. If I can find a way to do this, Addison, I will. But if I can’t…”
Addison felt her own tears welling and remembered her vow to leave things upbeat. “Don’t think about your family or Bobby or me. Just decide what’s best for you and be proud of yourself for taking charge. That’s the whole reason you came on this trip.”
Mary Kate wiped her cheeks and nodded grimly.
Addison shuddered as the boarding announcement came. “You have my phone number, right?” It was the third time she had asked.
“Yes.”
The line had shortened to only a few people, prompting the hostess to make a second call.
“You have to go.”
Mary Kate pulled her to her feet and they hugged each other tightly. “I miss you already too.”
Addison drew in a deep breath to stifle her tears. “I love you. Don’t forget.”
Mary Kate planted a quick kiss on her lips and whispered, “I love you too.” She looked over her shoulder and waved twice before exiting, and once more when she reached the top of the stairs.
Addison slumped back in her chair and watched as the door closed, the stairs were hauled away, and the plane rolled away from the window toward the end of the runway. Like Mary Kate, she was saying goodbye to the best two weeks she had ever spent. If she managed not to cry any more today, it would be a miracle.
“Addison!”
She turned to see Ann and Nikki coming through the security station. Nikki darted off to the restroom, while Ann came to take the seat Mary Kate had just vacated.
“You ready to go home?”
“Hardly,” Addison said. “I don’t even know where home is anymore.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re moving to London.”
“Looks that way.” With thoughts of working for her father, her day just kept getting worse. “Off to be Reginald’s lackey.”
“Where’s Mary Kate?”
“You just missed her.” Though a part of her wanted to wallow in her misery, another part welcomed a distraction from the empty feeling of watching Mary Kate leave.
“Did you two have a good time?”
“Yeah, we did. How about you?”
“Mostly okay. Nikki got food poisoning on the second night, so she missed a day on safari. But we saw a lot.”
“Food poisoning,” she said, shaking her head. “You know, considering the odds, it’s kind of amazing more of us didn’t get sick.”
“Yeah, but who knows what parasites we’re carrying home? Three weeks from now we could all be hospitalized.”
“Oh, that reminds me. It’s Larium day.” Addison reached into her backpack for her pills and bottle of water. “I hope Mary Kate remembers hers.”
“When will you two get to see each other again?”
Addison was surprised by the question, since she thought they had been relatively discreet. Maybe someone had seen her coming from Mary Kate’s room after all. “We talked about a visit, but nothing for sure.”
“I got the idea it was working out pretty well,” she said, patting Addison’s hand.
Addison momentarily debated deflecting the remark, but her curiosity got the best of her. “How did you know?”
“Are you kidding? The sparks were flying off both of you that first day at breakfast.”
“No way.”
“Way,” she said, nodding emphatically.
“Jeez!” She covered her face with her hands. “Did everybody know?”
“I don’t think Brad did, but Nikki told him.”
“So much for privacy.”
“Look, you can’t spend eight days as close as we all were and not notice things like that. You two were always hanging back or running off together. That’s what people do when they fall in love.”
Addison could feel her face growing red.
“My oldest son was the same way with his”—she made quote marks in the air—“best friend. I knew they were in love with each other before they did.”
“Your son is gay?”
“Yep.”
Nikki joined them, but buried her nose in a paperback.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, Ann. This is all new for Mary Kate, and her family might not be able to handle it. It isn’t exactly what they had planned.”
“Pffft. Hardly anybody gets what they plan. Besides, it’s not their life.”
“I know. I told her all those things, but she’s worried about disappointing them.”
“Jumping out of the nest is hard enough without having your parents hold on to you. But you’ll both have to do it eventually if you’re going to be your own person.” She pulled off her vest and dropped it on her seat. “Watch my stuff. I have to find a bush.”
Addison chuckled at her reference to the trail. She wished Ann had gotten here sooner so Mary Kate could have heard her talk about loving her gay son. And that leaving the nest part, if Mary Kate wanted to be her own person…
“…you’ll both have to do it.” That’s what Ann had said, that it wasn’t just Mary Kate. She too had to jump out of her father’s nest to be her own person.
Another plane came to rest on the tarmac where Mary Kate’s had been. This one was Kenya Airways, Addison’s flight to Nairobi. It was going to be a long, miserable trip, and there was nothing to look forward to at home.