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Then, he was a college student and star athlete, playing D1 hockey for Denver—the very college I’m here to work at.
Now, he’s filled out.
He’s lost a little of that boyhood charm from his face.
And instead, he’s all man.
A very fine man, at that.
Needing to get my mind off of how I wouldn’t mind climbing him like a tree, I focus on the bit about his sister being away for school. “I can’t believe Olivia chose Minnesota. She always talked about UCLA or anywhere warm.”
Justin shrugs a shoulder. “They have one of the best?—”
“Dance teams,” I interrupt sadly. “I know. She told me. I just hate she’s so far away.”
When I spent part of my senior secondary schooling with the Johnson family, Olivia was closest to my age. Moreso, she and Layne are about the same age, so it was easy to gravitate towards her.
Justin had already been in college, but I’d met him when I first started my foreign exchange year, as well as during holidays and summer break before I left back for Australia. Olivia and I weren’t in the same school building then. She’d been in what they call the junior high, and then there were the two younger children, Rilee and Noah.
Noah was barely starting his schooling when I was here last. I believe he’s in year eight now.
Rilee recently got her driver’s permit!
Where does time go…?
“Says the girl who’s from Australia, clear down undah,” he mimics my accent. “Mom said you didn’t check a bag. Is there anything else you need before we head out?”
I shake my head and walk beside him through the busy airport. The only thing I remember about Denver International from seven years ago was the white tents that make up the airport’s roof. The moment I saw them in view through the small airplane window, I felt as if I’d come home.
Which is funny, considering I only spent eleven months here, out of my entire twenty-four years.
Those eleven months easily made me the person I am today.
The Johnson family had been the perfect host family. They supported my studies and extracurricular activities in a way my own mother would never. Sometimes I wonder if my mother hates being a mum, but then again, she dotes on Layne.
I love my little sister to pieces. She’s easy to love.
And while I’m not jealous of her, I do often find myself envious of the relationship she has with our mother.
For years, I thought I was the problem.
Heck, I was told Layne was the prettier sister. The smarter sister.
But within the walls of the Johnson household, I learned that I was a worthy addition to a family. I was a great big sister. A thoughtful daughter. As well as worth every accolade and accomplishment I made.
I didn’t have to fight to be seen, only to be met with, “Well, what did you expect when you put forth the effort?”
As if I didn’t put effort into my elite gymnastics career every freaking day until I gave it all up at seventeen. But then again, my effort wasn’t worthwhile, not when Layne was excelling at Australian Rules, a sport our mother loved.
As parental figures, Renee and Bill Johnson were the stark opposites of my own mother.
Their objective and desire in being a host family was to bring a different culture into their family. Not once did they make me feel less than because they received an Australian student and not someone more worldly like…a French speaking student from Paris.
My goal with the foreign exchange program was to learn what a loving family could be like.
It was the best eleven months of my life.
Now, I’m back.
