“A drug company party? Do they have free food?” Bella sounds interested.
“Some canapes. Nothing much.”
“Free booze?”
“Absolutely,” Anna confirms. “It makes no difference to us because all our drug purchasing is done by central committees, but some of the American doctors have serious purchasing power.”
“Can you get us in?”
“Us?” Anna queries, as she rolls her sleeves up. Her shirt is thin but even so, the temperature in the packed immigration hall is making her overheat.
“Me and John.”
Anna shrugs. “Probably.” She’s never met Bella’s brother before, but if he is anything like his sister, he’ll be good company at a party. She roots around in her bag, searching for her passport, then peels away to the e-gate. Bella is routed to one further down.
Anna clears the gate and looks around. Bella is not through, neither can she see her at the gate. She finally spots her friend’s blonde head at a kiosk. She waits while Bella talks. Then she sees two uniformed officials descend on her friend and march her off.
What just happened?
LA LA Land
Anna watches in disbelief as her friend is taken away. Already on the official US side of the gates, she cannot go back. But should she go forward? Or should she wait? In the end, she sets off for the baggage hall. She will text Bella from there and at least she can sit on her suitcase if Bella is some time. Besides, she needs to visit a restroom and there is bound to be one in baggage reclaim. She could abandon her friend, but this far from home, Bella probably has no one else. Anna can’t remember if Bella’s brother is already in America or flying in soon.
She wonders what is going on. She hasn’t seen Bella in years. After they graduated medical school, they’d left to do their two years of foundation training at different hospitals. Bella had ended up somewhere in the north, while Anna had stayed in London. When you added in the overseas placements, it was easy to lose track of other’s careers.
Anna had known from early on that she intended to be an anaesthetist, but she was surprised when Bella opted for the same specialism. Anna had thought her friend was far more likely to end up as a General Practitioner. The hours and pay were better. No shift work, much less gore. She’d viewed it as a certainty. But here they were, years later, both qualified.
By the time Anna makes it to the hall, only a few odd bags are left on the designated carousel for her flight. She sidetracks to the restroom first. Coming out of the stall, she spots herself in the mirror and frowns. She is looking less than fresh. Her tiredness is showing in her face and the sweaty queue in theimmigration hall has left her with a waxy sheen. It will have to wait until she gets to the hotel. She washes her hands on surgical autopilot. Palm to palm, palm to dorsum, between the fingers, fingers to palm, thumbs. Rinse. Instead of drying her hands, though, she wipes her damp fingers over her eyelids to smear away the fatigue. Giving up on anything more, she returns to baggage reclaim.
Courtesy of its dayglow luggage tag, she spots her suitcase immediately and drags it off, before she takes out her phone and texts Bella.
What’s happening?
The answer comes immediately:IDK
That isn’t much help.Do you want me to wait?
Yes.
Maybe Anna should have phrased it differently.I’ll be at the hotel. Text if you need me. Then she thinks of being alone in Los Angeles and in trouble and her heart softens for Bella.I’m here in the baggage hall. Hopefully, they’ll let you go soon.
Thinking about how panicky Bella might feel, she adds,I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.
Anna sits in a corner on her suitcase and waits. After what feels like hours but is probably less than thirty minutes, she sees a golden head of hair appear. She double checks because she’s had quite a few false alarms, nearly accosting a passerby until she heard the incomprehensible language of Scandinavia. Bella comes up muttering, “Who knew you weren’t supposed to say you are working when you are working? What is a conference if not work?”
Anna tactfully keeps her mouth shut. She has travelled so much, she’s an old hand at answering immigration officials. When to be specific and when to be more general.
“Never mind,” she says gently. “Let’s get your bag and go. That bed is calling me.”
“I don’t have a bag,” Bella says with a shrug.
Anna looks down at the little cabin bag Bella has been dragging behind her. “You pack light,” she says.
“No. I’ve got a collapsible bag in there. I’m going to go outlet shopping. Fill it up with bargains.”
Anna nods. Just so long as Bella doesn’t want a companion when she goes. There are limits to friendship. All women are supposed to fixate on shoes and handbags, but it’s not Anna at all. She spends half her life in scrubs. A goodly part of the rest in pyjamas. She leaves fashion to her younger sisters. She probably has far fewer clothes than the average woman, but what she does have is good quality. A trip with her little sister, Lily, to a big department store twice a year, and her wardrobe is sorted. It would never occur to her to spend holiday time in a store.
“Then let’s roll.” Anna leans down to haul her bag upright. She and Bella head through customs and onto US soil proper. They exit through the gate and emerge into the usual melee of waiting crowd. Anna looks for the signs to the taxi rank, but Bella elbows her. “Is that you?” she asks, pointing to a large uniformed man holding a hand-written sign clipped to a board that reads,Doctor Anna.
