"Are you sure you want to go?" I stared out the window in the backseat of my family's blue Yukon SUV. The rain was splattering small onto the dirty glass, and sent the previous droplets racing down until they reached the bottom of the glass. The rain was thick this time of year; mixing with the icy temperatures. It wasn't quite rain, and it wasn't quite snow. The weather didn't surprise me due to the fact I lived in these winter conditions my entire life. "Melanie?" I continued to stare out the window in silence. The voice that spoke to me felt as distant as the dark clouds that covered the rising moon on the horizon. He was my father, and I felt guilty for not replying, but what was I going to say to him? There was nothing to say to him really. His voice has a small break in it as he spoke as if he lost it due to illness or hours of screaming. This was my fault. His eyes were hazel and had deep bags that tinted purple from his long hours of lost sleep. This was my fault. These bags under his eyes and developing white in his hair unjustly spoke his age, because just three months ago he looked so young and lively. This too was my fault. We both seemed to glance at each other at once, he looking back to see if I was even listening, and me glancing forward to see if he dared to attempt to speak to me again. He quickly looked back to the wet road and gripped tightly onto the wheel.
"Justin calm down," The passenger spoke, my mother. Her expression glanced over to my father, and her hand reached to his shoulder where she gripped lightly. When she spoke it was a hoarse whisper; a whisper that was aimed to exclude me, "just leave her alone okay?" Letting her hand fall from my father's shoulder and to her forehead where she rubbed the worrying lines on her face. These were only half my fault. My mom and my dad were a good couple, an odd couple, but a good couple. Justin is well over six feet tall, and Leanne was barely three inches over five feet. I am taller than her. They both had brown eyes, my father's eyes lighter, and my mother's like chocolate. I got her eyes. They've been married over thirty years and have two kids including me. I am the only one still in the house. My father tries his hardest to be a stable provider, and my mother tries to be the good housewife. They took good care of me. I was the trouble child.
The car became quiet, and the only real sound was the windshield wipers over the Christmas music that was playing softly on the radio. I could hear my mother's breathing in front of me. She was nervous. My father kept his eyes focused on driving, but his body would adjust occasionally as if he was uncomfortable in his seat. He was nervous. My own mine was racing and my lips debated on parting to speak in response to both of their nerves. Opening my mouth lightly I breathed in the warm air of the car and exhaled through my nose as my tongue wet my dry lips. Shifting in my seat I looked forward to the windshield. My fingers in my right hand dug at the skin in the palm of my left hand. I was nervous. "Tanya said I should get a change of scenery." It was like another being spoke for me, gave me the courage to actually speak. My parents both glanced at me, my mother smiled. Tanya is my therapist. Both of my parents smiled, and my father looked back to the road. My mother continued to look at me as I continued, "I think this will be good for me—"
My father began to cut me off, "It will be, Mel!" He and my brother were the only ones who called me that. Sighing with a sense of being content he continued, "Shay and Felicity are very excited to have you…" He went on, on those two. Shay and Felicity Bennett lived in Sydney, Australia. Not in the Sydney that everyone assumed: opera house, harbor bridge, but in the suburbs to the west. My father does business with Shay, and we have become close family friends with their family. Have being to Australia before, I knew what I was getting myself into. This time was different only on the idea that I was traveling alone. Shay and Felicity had three kids: Harrison, Bridget, and Darcy. They were all in close age ranges; Harrison was my age. It would be a good vacation.
"Think of this as your senior trip." My mom added in with a cheery tone. She was right. Spending over a month in Sydney was quite the trip. But it wasn't for the reasons why I really wanted to go. I feel terrible thinking I was forced to go, but I was forced. It was my dad's idea to send me to Australia due to how close we were with the Bennett family. About two years ago they offered me to visit, and as I was breaking my father jumped on their offer. I needed a change in scenery. We pulled up to the airport.
To be fair this wasn't just my senior trip, this was my Christmas and half of my birthday present. It was a good gift, along with some new clothes to wear in the sun. Being from Seattle we had limited summer wear. My dad was the first to park the car and the first to get out. I followed after him and my mom was the last to get out. We both stretched before grabbing my bags from the back. Earlier they shipped my riding tack. I ride horses, and Felicity wanted to take me to their stable. I had a large black suitcase with a pink ribbon on one of the handles. This will become easy to find at baggage claim. My dad travels a lot. My mom was already getting emotional as I grabbed my carry-on and slid the strap over my strong shoulder. Looking to her my eyes fell with grief. I always felt terrible leaving my mother's side. My dad rubbed on her back as he pulled my rolling suitcase. Soothingly he spoke to her, telling her that I was an adult now, and I will be taken care of. This was true. I think my mom had a problem with not having a complete watch over me. She had to get over it. Yes I was missing Christmas, and yes I was missing New Years. That was the only part that ate at my brain and stomach. That's what she was upset with. It also didn't help that my brother and his wife were at her parent's house this Christmas. My parents were left with my crazy aunt and her two adult children.
Checking my bag went smoothly, and so did going past security. My parents were allowed to come to the terminal with me. I was flying on United, which my dad had frequent miles on due to his business. During the walk my parents both spoke to me in haste tones. They wanted to get their point across. My father was checking the important things: my passport, my carryon, my money, my emergency money in case I got stolen. While my mother was demanding me to answer if I packed enough underwear… She means well. When we arrived to the empty area near the terminal I looked to my parents and sighed, "I have everything under control." I said confidently, "I promise." Setting my carry-on I slouched into the black leather seat. "This'll be fun," Smiling up to my parents I let my knees sway back and forth and collide, "Will you miss me?"
My mother started to cry. Quickly she reached up to her flooding eyes and wiped them. "More than life itself, hon." Her voice was breaking with emotion. She sat down next to me and put her arms around me, pulling me tightly into her embrace. I couldn't breathe. My dad recognized this and told my mother to let go. She did and wiped her eyes. I smiled brightly to her and grabbed her hand. "Just don't forget to call." Her thumb stroked the top of my hand.
"I'll call you everyday mom." I told her, leaning close and pressing my forehead on hers and closing my eyes. "I promise." My mom kissed my nose. Looking to my father I rose and embraced him tightly. He picked me up briefly as we embraced. He told me he loved me, and promised me that I would have fun. I trust him. We waited about a half an hour until my flight was called: One way trip from Seattle to Sydney. Eighteen hours and ten minutes. Grabbing my carry-on I gathered my ticket and smiled to my parents before walking to the walk-way. My dad looked happy, and my mom was crying. When my back was turned to them I rolled my eyes slightly and broke my statue face into a small smirk. My mom worried too much. The attendant scanned my ticket and told me to proceed forward and to have a safe flight. I was scared of the flight. Taking one last look back I blew my parents a kiss before walking in the carpeted aisle to where the plane was. Eighteen hours and ten minutes…
The flight was long, longer than I expected. My fear of planes caused my anxiety to kick into full drive of sweaty palms and quick breathing that made everyone around me nervous. I couldn't help it. I see the worst out of every situation. About eight hours into the flight I started to calm down. I listened to music and wrote in my journal. I drank nothing that flight due to fear of going to the bathroom, so I just snacked on the pretzels they passed around. I wasn't really hungry anyway. I took about three naps, but the turbulence woke me up every time. When I got to fourteen hours into the flight I kept my eyes locked on the projected front screen that showed where we were on a map. I watched the white poorly digitalized plane cross the blue. I watched until we reached Australia. The announcement came over the intercom that reminded passengers to stay buckled in their seats; we were going to be landing. I didn't have a window seat, and my eyes looked over to where the window was anyway. The lucky bastard who got to sit at the window seat didn't even look out of the window the entire trip. I envied him. My nerves were catching up to me, and I felt uneasy until the plane's wheels tapped down onto the ground below us. I was thankful the flight was over.
It took about twenty minutes until I actually got to leave the plane. I took my carry-on and thanked the flight attendants as I left. I always thank people; they didn't have to be as nice as they were with me. I was an anxious mess. When I was walking on the very similar walkway from the plane to the airport, I felt out of my element and my comfort zone. Keeping my head low I watched my feet as I walked. It felt as if it was instantly when I heard my name called out in a dirty accent. I paused from walking and looked around confused. My name was called again, "Melanie!" It was a male voice. It was Shay. But I couldn't find it so I started to walk again towards the swarm of people. There was a loud whistle and I looked to where it came from. There he was. Shay was a fairly tall tan man. He was balding, but kept his hair short so you barely noticed under the baseball caps he always wore with some beer logo. He was wearing a white shirt that had his sunglasses tucked at the neckline. He was an older man, around my father's age, but he always acted like he was in his twenties. With one hand on his hip he motioned with the other a very welcoming wave towards me with his smile bright. His wife was next to him, Felicity. She is a tall woman as well, almost as tall as her husband, and kept her hair in a short bob. It was dark brown. She too was tan, but looked paler than Shay because she wasn't outside as constantly as he was. What she was wearing made me blush because it made my yoga pants and loose knit sweatshirt look like I was some charity case. She was wearing what looked like a work suit with heels and jewelry to embellish this look. I know Felicity, and she always dressed to impress. When she saw me she took off her sunglasses and smiled large, waving at me over with open arms. At this moment when Felicity's arms opened for an embrace I felt my eyes sting a little with tears. I was so far from home.
My fingers dug into the strap that was on my shoulders as I gave a small jog over to Shay and Felicity. Dropping my bag to my feet, I wrapped my arms around Felicity. She rubbed my back, "How was your flight, darling?" Her accent wasn't as dirty as Shay's was. She reminded me of royalty how she spoke. It flowed from her like velvet. As she spoke she kissed my cheeks.
We pulled away from one another and I looked to her blue eyes and grinned, "Long." I said breathlessly as if I swam to Australia instead of flying on a plane.
Shay laughed and pulled me into a hug, picking me up lightly, and cracking my back. I gave a small grunt and he dropped me down to the ground. When he spoke he too kissed my cheeks. Well that's what happens when ye' lose a day!" Shay reminded me that I was a day ahead of myself. My face seemed to fall in shock and he laughed out loud. We then started to walk, Shay taking my carry-on and leading me through the whole security, customs, and baggage claim. My anxiousness and awkwardness started to fade the more Shay and Felicity talked to me; it wasn't like they were total strangers in my life. I have known them for years. Felicity wouldn't stop talking to me about the plans she had made for my visit, and how excited all her friends were about me staying with their family. I didn't want to socialize. Shay told Felicity to stop talking, because this wasn't about Felicity rather it was about me. This is why I like Shay the best. When we got my bag there was a small argument because I felt like I should've carried something to their car, but Shay insisted he would carry both bags. Felicity reminded me that I'm their guest. I reminded her that I was practically family.
It felt weird getting into the Bennett's car, not because I was uncomfortable, but because the cars were different in Australia. No matter how many times I've been here it seems that I will never get over the fact that the driver side is opposite than how it is back in the states. Shay and Felicity thought my amusement of this was silly. The first thing Shay and Felicity felt they should do was take me out to lunch. I was hungry. They were kind and took me to whatever I wanted. I wanted Thai Food. Shay liked my taste and took us all to the small hole in the wall restaurant. We spent a lot of time in that restaurant. They asked me nearly everything about life, and honestly it felt amazing to just spill to them about what is going on. Wasn't that why I was here? After lunch I took my medicine and fell asleep as Shay drove us to the Bennett house. When we arrived I was woken up by the calm voice of Felicity, and my eyes casted upon what seemed like the most generic family house. It is two stories high, with brick as well as white painted wood. There was some shrubbery, but nothing as green as home. I stretched when getting out of the car and grabbed my carry-on while Shay grabbed my luggage bag. Walking on the stone walk way up to the red painted front door I breathed in the warm air. Sadly I could admit that I was starting to sweat. This is embarrassing. Felicity opened the door to their charming house and hollered out to her three children. It seemed seconds after she hollered that a set of footsteps came down the stairs. There was a small creak which caught my attention and I looked to the staircase to find Harrison. He had grown since the last time I saw him, but he still had the baby fat on his cheeks which made me grin. He looked a lot like his father with the same dark eyes. His hair was dark like his mother's. Freckles scattered under his eyes and across his nose. He looked at me, he smiled and paused at the landing on the staircase and leaned over the rail, "Well how was your flight from the States?" He asked in an accent that was similar to Shay's.
I felt my cheeks blush. Turning away from his gaze I looked to Felicity and Shay with a sigh before looking back to Harrison. "It was long." My expression grew to a brighter smile. I just nodded, not knowing what else to say to him. I was never good at talking to boys.
There was more footsteps, and side conversation coming down the stairs. When the two came to the landing where Harrison was they froze with a confused expression growing on their faces. Their eyes adjusted to where I was standing and they both cracked a smile. The girl was named Bridget, and she was a small girl with a perky grin and long honey hair. Her eyes were dark like Harrison's and she had the same pattern of freckles. The mannerisms on her face resembled that of her mother's, and so did her brother Darcy. Darcy was about four inches taller than Harrison and was about two years younger. He had blond hair that was longer than his brothers, but still cut short and styled to the right. His eyes glimmered blue, and his skin had no trace of freckles. Their smiles all looked similar. Bridget was the first to say 'hi' out of the two and was the first of the three to travel all the way down the stairs to embrace me. Her hug was tight, and at first I didn't know what to do but hug her back. When the hug pulled away I was then greeted by Darcy and Harrison who decided to come down the stairs. Both of them kissed my cheeks after embracing me. I forgot that this was their culture… Harrison offered to take my bags up to the room. I thanked him. Bridget then showed me around the house and to where I would be staying. The house was nice; very spacious. On the lower level there were two gathering rooms, a bathroom, a powder room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a nook near the kitchen where a small table was set. Upstairs was all the bedrooms and bathrooms, but there was also an activity center with an assortment of games. This is where the boys spent most of their evenings.
Bridget plopped down onto the guest bed, laying back she spread her arms out and sighed out a content breath. I walked over and plopped down beside her. She looked to me, "I've never had a sister before." Her voice was soft like a secret, and her nose crinkled as she grinned wide.
I smiled back and gave a small laugh as I adjusted my weight and looked up to the ceiling, "Well you get me for well over a month, Bridgy." I reminded her that I was going to be here a while… It was almost as if I was reminding myself because it felt like a bandage was being ripped from my chest. I was so far from home for so long, and even though the Bennett house was beautiful, it was nowhere as close as being home.
She propped up onto her side with the support of her arm to gaze towards me. Moving the bed lightly she caught my attention during this process and my eyes questioned her actions. Smiling she spoke at a normal tone, "What should we do first?" She asked.
Feeling the jet-lag get to me I chuckled out a groan and reached to rub my bare face. "Bridget I am exhausted right now." Bridget was about three and a half years younger than me, and was obviously more excited about this experience than I was. I could tell by her falling expression that she was disappointed by my response. Sighing I sat up and patted on her knee, "I'll tell you what," Pausing I thought carefully, "Let me shower and catch up on some sleep today and tonight, and tomorrow we can hangout." Bridget seemed not to respond and lingered on my bed. Smacking her knee lightly I caught her attention back to me, "How does that sound?"
Bridget sat up and nodded, "Sounds good." She smiled genuinely and wrapped her arms around me, "I'm glad you came." Standing up she stretched and spoke as she left, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." The door shut behind her. I plopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyes could barely stay open, and they shut into sleep.
