"Thanks for the ride" Natalie said.
"It's the least I can do" Bo said, as he got her suitcase out of the car.
"You've done a lot for me" she said, "Don't think I don't know that"
"Call me when you get to Michael's. I know you won't want to talk much after that, but, if you do-"
"There isn't anyone else I'd call" she said, taking her bag.
"I'll keep trying to get John" he said.
She looked down, "thanks"
"You ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready"
She hugged him.
"Take care of yourself" he said.
"I always do"
"I'll see you soon"
Natalie, with Liam's hand in hers went into the airport. Once they made it to their gate, Liam tugged on her shirt.
"Yes, honey?"
"How much longer until we get to meet Uncle Michael?"
"The plane ride is going to be a while"
"How much longer til we get on the plane?"
"Not that long, half an hour" she said.
"Will you tell me a story?" he said, "I don't want to watch my movie until we're on the plane"
Natalie picked him up and sat him on her lap, "What story would you like to hear?"
"The one about you and Daddy in the airport"
"You've heard that story a million times"
"Its my favorite. Its better than any of the stories in Grandma's books"
"Alright then" she said, beginning to recount the tale, "Well, once upon a time, Daddy was very confused. He knew he loved me, but he thought he loved someone else. I was afraid to tell Daddy I was falling in love with him again. You see, he'd been there to help me when n o one else knew how, and I remembered how much I used to love him. I think he remembered the same way" she said, "I was so scared, I was going to move to London to be with Uncle Kevin and not tell anyone"
"Not even Daddy?"
"Not even Daddy" she said, "You see, I thought he loved that other woman, and he had always been my friend, and I wanted him to be happy. I thought me moving far away would help him" she said, reliving the pain that she'd gone through in making that decision, "But when your Grandma Roxy heard, she thought that was a bad idea. She knew I loved your Daddy, even if I wouldn't say it"
"Because Grandma Roxy always wanted you to be with Daddy"
"yeah, she did" she said, "And so she told me to write him a letter and tell him the truth. I told him if he loved me and didn't want me to leave, he had to tell me before midnight, and that I'd wait for him at Rodi's"
"The restaurant he used to own"
"Yeah, me and your Daddy used to hang out there all the time"
"That's why he bought it"
"Yeah" Natalie said, "So I sent him the letter, I made sure it got to his mail pile myself" she said, "And I waited for him at Rodi's"
"Did you wait for a long time?"
"Yeah, I waited for a really long time" she said, "And eventually, I got mad. I was sure he was going to ask me to stay, so I went to the police station. I saw Daddy, but the other woman was there, too. I thought he'd decided he wanted me to leave" she said, mentally laughing at how she'd managed to keep the story so PG when so much had happened, "So I went to say goodbye to everyone I hadn't said goodbye to yet"
"And Daddy-"
"Daddy had just got the letter when I saw him. He hadn't gotten it with the rest of his mail because that woman took it and hid it. She finally gave it to him, but by that point I had left Rodi's"
"And he started looking for you"
"Yeah, he looked for me everywhere" she said, "He actually beat me to the airport, and by the time I got there my flight had left. He tried to talk to me, but I thought he was trying to say goodbye, so I tried to get another ticket" she said, actually smiling, "And then Daddy pulled me away from the ticket counter and told me not to leave because we belong together"
"And then he kissed you"
"Yeah" she said, "That's the story"
"I love that story" Liam said.
"Me too" Natalie said.
"I don't know what we've been doing these last few years, but above all others you belong with me"
All this time later and those words still made her teary. He'd been right, they did belong together, he'd been the only one to talk her through losing Jared. She'd been the only one who let him be the way he was. They were meant for each other, and she needed him now. When they were together, she wasn't afraid of anything, she knew at the end of the day John was in her corner and there was nothing the two of them couldn't handle together.
That just made going through this without him all the harder.