Day Fifteen: Together
It was six p.m. when I left Paris. I've just arrived in New York and it's eight p.m. The flight was seven hours long. It's almost too much for my jet-lagged mind to grasp.
But even my fatigue melts away, washed away by elation as I see him. Seth. There he is. I catch sight of him before he spots me and by the time he does I'm already walking towards him at a fast clip with a smile that might well split my face.
"I missed you," I say and throw myself into his welcoming arms.
"I missed you too," he says, his face buried in my hair so that his breath tickles my ear.
I give him an extra squeeze. "I'm so glad to be home." I feel his body tense as I say the word and all at once my nerves are on edge. "Is everything all right? Nothing's happened has it?"
"No," Seth says, drawing back to look me in the eyes, brows furrowed. "Everything's fine. It's just..."
I bite my lip. I've been checking my emails of course but Ephraim or Seth would have called if there were anything wrong. Surely they wouldn't wait for me to get home... "Just what?"
"It's been so humid of late, the varnish on the new bookcases took longer to dry that I'd hoped. So..." He pauses to clear his throat. "Things are a bit messy."
I sag against him and close my eyes for a moment. We're in the middle of a busy airport, people bustling to and fro, all caught up in the rhythm of their lives. They have no idea how quickly it can all just... stop.
"Eirika, are you all right?"
"Yes. I'm tired is all. I haven't been sleeping well. And..."
"And?"
He looks so serious, so worried. I shake my head. I thought I was over all of this. I thought I was done with being afraid. "I just need to be home. With you."
He takes my suitcase with one hand and puts his other arm around my shoulders. "Let's go home," he says.
Right now I can't imagine anything that could be better than that.