“Of course. I will be right back withthe linens.”
“Thank you so much.”
I closed my laptop and adjusted the pull-out table that acted as a workspace. In packing away my laptop and notebook I felt a moment of weakness. I removed the letter from my satchel. It had been almost six months since I last looked at it. I tried desperately not to dwell on the words, but I wondered if Brooke did the same, or if she even still had my letter.
I was doing well until the bartender’s name at the airport threw me. Maybe I was naive to think flying to Japan wouldn’t make me obsess over her. I was about to be the closest I had been to Brooke in two years, but I could get through it. I could survive my two weeks in Japan the same way I survived the two yearswithout her.
I could get over her.
Maybe, Ialready had.
But—It couldn’t hurt to read the letter one more time.
Dear Holly,
I have started this letter a thousandtimes...
CHAPTER THREE
Speedy clearance through immigration and customs at Narita International Airport was exactly what I needed after stepping off a luxurious but long twelve-hour flight. According to the captain we’d managed to shave twenty-three minutes off the arrival time thanks to some heavy tail winds, which meant I was earlier thananticipated.
The automatic doors burst open into the arrivals hall, and the chaos began. There were people frantically buying train tickets, family members embracing each other, and several people waving leaflets in the face of the poor woman working at the information counter. I stalled for a moment, I searched for Beth, but I was unable tolocate her.
Instead, my eyes observed a young embracing couple who, in the midst of a crowded hall, were completely unwavering. The world moved around them, but I watched them remain completely still, solid in their joint endeavour—to be with one another. I wanted to know their story. I wanted to feel what they felt in that moment. It seemed as though the world around them had no meaning or context. I wanted to feel what it was like to be in a world where love prevailed.
Then, a man with four suitcases almost sent them flying like two heart-shaped bowling balls across the polished marble floor. I snapped back to reality. I spotted a curly brown-haired girl bobbing and weaving her way through the crowds. At five feet and eleven inches, Beth was hard to miss; it had to be her. She rounded the final human shaped obstacle, and there she was, all blue-eyed and refreshed.
“Holly!” She threw her arms around my neck. My hand luggage fell to the floor, and my complimentary pyjamas I’d been carrying around like a first-class first-timer went down with it. I embraced her vice-like grip, sinking into the space between her shoulder and her neck like a baby kangaroo waiting to snuggle down in its mum’s pouch. Beth felt like a piece of home, and to me there was nothing better than a piece of home when I was so exhausted. One glimpse at my reflection in the toilet mirror before we disembarked the plane made me concerned that my eyes might possibly sink so far into my head I’d be left withblack holes.
Beth squeezed tighter and tighter until I feared my neckmight snap.
“Beth. I can’t breathe.”
She eased off slightly, “I’m not ready tolet go yet.”
“I’ve missed you,” I said.
“I’ve missed you more.”
When I pulled back, she reached down for my suitcase. Her hair was bouncier than normal, or was it the colour? The length? Something was different. “Is your hair shorter?”
“Yes, do you love it?” She flicked her head left and then right. Her curls were elastic almost.
“I do.” There was something else; it wasn’t just the hair. Beth was radiating a different kind of energy.
“Youlook...”
“Pretty?”She grinned.
“No...”
“Model-like?” She posed with her handon her hip.
“No...”
“Pfft—way to make a girl feel good.” She sulked and grabbed my complimentary pyjamas from the floor.
“Obviously you’re both of those things, but that’s not it, you look... glowing.” I said it suspiciously, “Which means one of two things, you’ve either invested in a new skin care routine that’s working wonders for you, if so I’d like the details, or you’re pregnant.” The guilty look on Beth’s face indicatedthe latter.
