"I hope you're ready for 30 minutes in heaven." I tease.

"Only 30?"

"You know I'm good for more than that."

We're standing line for a ticket to the London Eye; I'm trying to get Helena to see how much London has changed since 1899, at least from an aerial perspective. Both of us hate the tourist traps, but there's so much Helena has not had the opportunity to experience and to see from her old haunts. It's not quite sunset, but it will be dark by the time we're done; January might seem to be the worst time to embark on a trip like this.

"Let me use your card." I say, turning towards Helena. She fumbles around in her bag for her wallet which she then passes to me. I open it to find about five different currencies in various denominations and several credit cards from just about everywhere. It all looks the same to me. "Helena, which one's your British card?"

I hand her back the wallet and watch her comb through the contents. After nearly a year of being away, it's no surprise that her wallet is filled with numerous cards, currencies and bank account numbers for just about every corner of Europe, Asia and North America. She quickly pulls it out and hands it over to me. I pay for the tickets and then step ahead to board.

For a winter evening, it's quiet and we step into the capsule. There's already two men at the other end, standing next to each other, quietly talking. We sit on the bench in the middle and only get up once it starts moving. I stand up, holding my hand out so she can get up. Helena and I walk towards the glass and look outside at the City. It's been awhile since she has seen her home and to see so many additions, modifications and torn down buildings impresses upon her how much has changed.

We look out as we slowly move from position to position, Helena points out buildings to me and is happy looking at familiar sights. She stands next to me, but doesn't hold me or touch me. I realize that she sometimes dislikes public displays of affection; however, it just might be her 19th-century sensibilities getting the best of her.

I look behind me to see what we can viewed out of the other window and only notice those two young men with whom we are in this capsule making out with each other. Helena is still looking out the front, oblivious to what's occurring behind her.

"Sorry." The dark haired man says once he comes to his senses that he's not alone in here. He has an American accent, is well-dressed and looks a bit bashful as he releases his ginger-haired boyfriend from his embrace.

"No worries." I reply with a smile.

"It's nice having the capsule to ourselves, right?"

"Definitely."

"American?"

"Yup."

"What are you doing over here?"

"Oh," I glance over at Helena looking out the window, "seeing family and friends." She finally catches on that I'm engaged in a brief conversation with this fellow and turns to look at me. "You?" I ask.

"Same. Here to meet this one's parents. He's English." He nudges his boyfriend who finally turns to look at me. He gives me a quick wave and turns back to look outside, adjusting his glasses in the process. I smile and gesture towards Helena. He grins back. "The things we do for love."

"Yeah."

Helena shifts her head sideways and waves at the two men, then looks back at me. "Making friends, are we?"

"You know friendly, sociable me." I scoff.

When I press my lips to her forehead, she pulls me closer and places her hands on my face. We share a smile and a glance. My eyes instantly shut as I lean myself down lower to her level to kiss the palm of her hand. Helena then tucks her hands inside of my coat in order to pull me in closer to her. Our bodies are pressed together, we're just looking at each other, being completely content with the fact that we're here in London, so in love and don't seem to have any other cares. My hands swiftly move to grip the railing next to Helena, steadying myself as I angle towards her. Our lips collide, our mouths open, our tongues lick and tug, and we're perched 135 meters above the city, completely in awe of each other.

Ever since she came back a couple weeks ago, I need to pinch myself to remind me how fortunate we are.