For around a half an hour, Andria just sat on her couch contemplating whether or not the last hour had actually happened. Her cheek tingled where Tom had kissed her even this long after the fact. The only proof she had that he had ever been here were the extra cup and plate and the damp towel that hung on the rail in the bathroom and soon that evidence would be lost.
Dria knew she needed to return to reality and head in to work in three hours, but it seemed like the moment she did that, it really would all just be a dream…
Tom, on the other hand, was as happy as could be. Of course he didn't need to question the existence of the girl that had been so kind to him this morning, though he had a feeling that she might be doing so to him. He knew that people seemed to have this sort of thought process that famous people were on another level; that they didn't just run into people the way that everyone else did.
Andria was sweet, generous, and best of all, read Shakespeare and made quite possibly the best apple crumble he had ever had in his life. Tom wanted to see her again. But he had to leave for his flight right after these last pictures, and he doubted his manager Luke's car would have good enough luck to break down outside her house as the one Tom drove here had done.
When his last shot was done and his movie hair and makeup was removed, Luke ushered him toward the car and began driving back toward the city. Tom stared out the window of the back seat and watched the countryside fly by. Knowing that in another ten minutes or so that they would pass Andria's house, Tom took one of the notebooks that Luke carried around in his car in case he got an important call on the run and began writing a quick letter.
By this point in time, Andria was already hard at work in the bakery, decorating a wedding cake for someone having a ceremony in the town this week. She had tried to forget Tom and the way he had quoted Macbeth to her and the stupid stumbling of her words, but thoughts of him were waging war on her concentration today. Dria's boss was nice enough and, seeing that she was obviously tired and distracted, let her leave early as soon as the cake decal was done.
When she arrived home, Andria saw an envelope sticking out of her letterbox. It wasn't with a name or address on it, leading her to believe it must've been hand delivered. Who would've gone out of their way to give me a letter like this? She thought and instantly her mind conjured up an image of Tom Hiddleston, but she instantly quashed the notion. No way, he had to come this way to get his flight, sure, but why would he stop?
She took the blank envelope inside and plonked herself down on her bed. Opening it, she saw it concealed a single sheet of paper with only a handful of words on it:
I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. I will be back in England a month from today, so I hope I can make up for it then.
Sincerely yours,
Tom x
Dria couldn't believe her eyes. It really was him! A month… I can totally wait a month. Totally. She thought. ...If he remembers me in a month. She sighed softly and pinned the letter up beside her calendar. It was a long shot, but at least with Tom's letter she had proof that when she woke up tomorrow that today wasn't just a bittersweet dream and that it perhaps wasn't a one off…
Andria looked at the calendar and sighed. She had marked off each day since the letter arrived and there were only two spaces left before Tom said he would return; today and tomorrow. She doubted that he would arrive casually upon her doorstep like she had imagined a hundred times over in her head. That was how it happened the first time, maybe it will again? She thought to herself as she marked off the last day beside the circle. Will he remember though? He might be too busy…
Dria sat down as she waited for some blueberry muffins to bake in the oven. The thoughts of whether Tom remembered may very well make these next two days the longest of her life and it was the weekend as well, just to make things that much more slow moving. There wasn't much to distract Dria apart from baking but even that required a period of her sitting idle in the lounge. She wanted to do something, anything really, to try to take her mind off of him and turned on the TV. What was on the screen you ask? None other than Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Thor.
Curling up more on the couch, Andria decided to just go ahead and watch. It appeared that life wasn't prepared to make it easy on her today. After half an hour she paused the TV to go and take out the muffins, making herself some tea and taking the cup and a muffin out to the lounge. When she was just about to sit down, there was a knock on the door that made her jump three feet in the air.
Her heart was racing a mile a minute as she made sure she looked presentable and went to open the door. "Hel-" Her heart sank as she saw it wasn't Tom. What did I expect? He isn't even meant to be back till tomorrow… "Hello." She greeted the man that stood before her. He was holding a huge bouquet of flowers and she figured he must have been lost on the way to the town.
"Hi, I have a delivery from a T. Hiddleston to this address." He said and held out the massive bouquet to her.
"O-Oh, um, thank you very much…" She said stunned as she took the flowers from him. She closed the door as the man left and went to sit down, putting the flowers on the table and checking the card:
I hope you are free tomorrow night.
-T.
