Taylor Townsend awoke with a start and blinked away the sleep that was heavy upon her. For a second or two she had to remember why she was on a plane; but then, as her dream faded, the present was alive and vivid again. She was flying home, after four years of studying in France, she was back in America.
It seemed to her that she had been flying for days, weeks even. She had left Paris and flown into New York, and then onto Denver, and finally now, was making a final approach for LA. The young woman wiped away a small piece of droll from her mouth and looked out her window. The city was ahead of her and the world below her was still a mass of blackness, broken once and then by small patches of light.
Her mind drifted away as she watched the blackness pass before her. When was the last time she had flown over American soil? Ah yes—she remembered it vividly. It was the spring of 07, right after the famous earthquake. She had been with Ryan then; she had thought she had loved him, and him her—they had said those magic words to each other, but it had seemed so empty afterwards. He never loved me, she thought to herself at the time; looking back, it still seemed true. She knew her own feelings, but they were unimportant in the end.
The thoughts continued to pass through her mind, out of the plane and into the nothingness of the universe. Why was she coming back? She didn't really know the real reason, but she had some fairly decent ideas. She hadn't seen her mother in four years and a part of her—albeit a strange part of her, did love and miss her mother. Summer too had been pestering Taylor about coming back, at least for a visit. Well, this was more than a visit. Her studies in France were done and she wanted to come back to America; the feeling in her to return to her native country had never been strong for the first three years but now they were there, gnawing at her.
What was a girl to do? Taylor took her focus away from the darkness outside and tried to concentrate on a magazine someone had left behind. She tried to read the first article about Hollywood sex scandals, but her mind couldn't, wouldn't focus. Did she really want to go back to school, get a Law or Public Administration degree? Taylor wasn't sure, but the pull was strong enough for her to sell most of her large belongings and leave David back in Paris, heartbroken as he was. Love—what a ridiculous waste of time it could be, she thought to herself. It had made her flee Paris once, and had made her return to Paris as well. She knew she had never loved David, he had been charming and fun, but it hadn't been love. Had Ryan been love? There was a time she had thought so, but how different she was back then. She had needed love then, now, she wasn't really looking for it.
With a sudden jerk she realized the plane had landed. Where had her mind gone? The stewardess announced their safe landing and welcomed them to their destination, Los Angeles. It felt good for her to stand and she felt her mood improve as she got down her carry-on luggage and moved out of the plane; the thoughts and doubts she had felt on the flight were replaced by a calmness and happiness at being back in America. Her feet felt good to touch American soil and she breathed in deeply the American air. It seemed suddenly very right to have left Paris behind.
As she waited for her luggage at baggage claim, she tried to recall the dream she had just had on the way home. She had been hosting a tea party and Henri-Michal was there, as well as David; had Ryan been there? Taylor hadn't really thought about him the past year and a half but ever since her graduation a month ago, he was popping up in her dreams, sometimes sexually. She wasn't really all that nervous to meet him, what they had shared was a long time ago, but it was still strange.
"There she is; our little Ex-Pat has come home!" Summer's squeal of happiness brought Taylor back into reality. "Oh it's so good to see you."
"You too, it's been too long."
"Two years in fact." Summer looked her friend up and down and smiled; she was looking good, very happy. "We're going to have fun—two weeks of non-stop excitement."
"I can't wait." She beamed at Summer; the girl was glad to see such a happy face. Had they ever really been enemies? Her bags appeared in the corner of her eye so she excused herself and went to get them. "Two whole weeks of fun and then I get to work trying to find a place."
"So you're really staying?"
"That's the plan."
"Good, Cohen's been scooping out the real estate lately and I think there might be a few gems we can get you settled in."
Taylor only smiled and congratulated herself on another superior decision.