One evening, it happened to be routine that some of us would go for drinks at Time Bar. I told them I could only stay for two drinks on this particular Sunday evening, as I had to get to bed. You were landing in the early morning hours, and I had to go to the new airport that just recently opened.
So, I went home and made sure I had enough clothes to wear, as it was winter at the time and thermals were necessary. I jumped in the shower and went to bed. Only I couldn’t sleep, something about you arriving felt different. After drinking a double dose of sleeping tablets because the first ones didn’t work, I was still rolling around in bed for hours. So I had another tablet.
The following day, I woke up in a frenzy. I had more than twenty missed calls and many unread messages from Penny, Liz, and Andrew; they were all panicking, I wasn’t answering, and I was late for your arrival.
They were already waiting for me downstairs, and I’d just woken up. I managed to brush my teeth, smoke a cigarette, get dressed, and have tea, all in the space of minutes, and I was on the way out the door. I was sure I had forgotten a sock, my scarf, and perhaps something else. I only really woke up after profusely apologizing to Penny and her husband for being late.
We drove to the airport, and none of us knew where to go. There were temporary signs on the road and snow everywhere!
Thank the heavens above; as we drove into the parking lot, the plane landed at the exact moment. So there we were. Penny and I went into the waiting area. Now, as people started disembarking, I looked to see where you were, but some butterflies and nerves were pestering me from inside for some inexplicable reason.
Penny still asked, “how will you know it is her? Will you recognize her?” So I showed her a photo of you, and I translated it on the app, “I tried to memorize your face.”
Then you walked past the door, and our eyes connected. It was like a Bluetooth connection that said “Paired” now; this only meant that we were paired. Neither of us knew what it would be sending or receiving.
When you walked through the doors, you were desperately trying not to say that it was Fucking cold, but you managed to mutter that it was freezing. Brave as you are, you refused my jacket; even though I was also wearing thermals, you blatantly refused.
After taking you home to drop your belongings off, we went for our first lunch, and what do you think it was? It was PIZZA! I never thought we would still go for those today!