each
face.
My mother was proud as
punch to see her little boy exploring the world once again, yet she also showed
her sadness of me leaving.
My father’s stony face
betrayed nothing at all, apart from a softening around the edges of his eyes.
Not something many people would be able to notice. He nodded as I looked at him
and we shared an unspoken exchange. I understood what he meant.
My sister was smiling, Alex’s
hand was on her shoulder. She dabbed at tears forming in her eyes, yet she was
clearly happy for me. Alex stood next to his wife hardly letting her have any
space. He had been like that since she had come out of her coma and Sarah
didn’t seem to mind one little bit. Alex smiled at me and winked and I returned
the gesture. We shook hands firmly.
“Well. I guess it’s about
time for me to head off.” I said to the group.
“It’s hard to say goodbye
but I know this is for your own good. Traveling has already changed you for the
better James.” Mum said, as she reached up to give me a kiss and hug, “I’ll
miss you darling. Take care of yourself.” She added.
“I’ll miss you too Mum.” I
replied, releasing her embrace. Surprisingly Dad took her place and held me for
a moment.
“Be safe Son.” He said in
his gruff voice, and he let go to place his arm around his wife.
“Keep in touch Jam and
don’t do anything stupid. If you need any advice just let me know and I’ll
obviously help you out.” Sarah said. We hugged for a few moments until she
released her arms and returned to her husband’s side.
“Have fun James” He said
with a smile.
“I’ll do just that Alex.
Thanks! Look after her will you?” I said, gesturing toward Sarah.
“Obviously.” He replied
still smiling, and held her closer.
Turning away from my
family was one of the harder things I’ve ever done. A frog was in my throat as
I walked towards the gate. Boarding had begun and I handed over my ticket.
“Thank you, sir.” The
attendant said, and I nodded my thanks. Slowly I walked down the ramp looking
up only once to wave to my family as they watched me go.
Chapter Eight
My flight from Adelaide
airport was not a direct flight. I landed in Sydney and changed to a plane
direct to LA. As far as international flying went, I was still fairly new to
it, and this particular flight was one of the longest I had ever experienced.
Probably due to the fact I was so excited to be at my destination, and I didn’t
manage to get any sleep. Having a child in the seat behind me, kicking the back
of my chair was no help to my cause.
I managed to endure, as I
thought of what was waiting for me on my arrival. I pictured Amanda standing at
the gate waving at me, more beautiful than ever. I would rush over to her and
give her a hug which lifted her off of the ground, and we would spin for a
moment lapsing into a kiss. I shook my head trying to clear my overly ambitious
thoughts. Perhaps we weren’t quite at the spinning embrace level.
A soft chuckle left my
lips and my neighbor looked over to me with a curious look on his face. “Sorry.
Just something I was thinking of.” I said in quick defense.
“That’s alright.” He
responded. “You looked like you were having a good time whatever you were
laughing at.”
“Yeah. I was caught up in
my own little fantasy world!” I said, smiling.
“We’ve all done that
before!” He replied, sharing my smile. He returned his attention to his book
and I returned mine to my fantasy.
Brad and Chris would never
let me hear the end of it if I ever shared such thoughts with them. Grinning at
the thought of the boys, and I hoped I would be seeing them again sometime
soon.
Hours passed and we made
our landing at LAX. I looked out the window and it seemed to be getting late in
the day. The flight had taken near enough to 15 hours to make my head felt like
it was stuffed with cotton wool.
The plane came to a stop
and a hostess welcomed us to LA, giving us the local time and wishing us
face.
My mother was proud as
punch to see her little boy exploring the world once again, yet she also showed
her sadness of me leaving.
My father’s stony face
betrayed nothing at all, apart from a softening around the edges of his eyes.
Not something many people would be able to notice. He nodded as I looked at him
and we shared an unspoken exchange. I understood what he meant.
My sister was smiling, Alex’s
hand was on her shoulder. She dabbed at tears forming in her eyes, yet she was
clearly happy for me. Alex stood next to his wife hardly letting her have any
space. He had been like that since she had come out of her coma and Sarah
didn’t seem to mind one little bit. Alex smiled at me and winked and I returned
the gesture. We shook hands firmly.
“Well. I guess it’s about
time for me to head off.” I said to the group.
“It’s hard to say goodbye
but I know this is for your own good. Traveling has already changed you for the
better James.” Mum said, as she reached up to give me a kiss and hug, “I’ll
miss you darling. Take care of yourself.” She added.
“I’ll miss you too Mum.” I
replied, releasing her embrace. Surprisingly Dad took her place and held me for
a moment.
“Be safe Son.” He said in
his gruff voice, and he let go to place his arm around his wife.
“Keep in touch Jam and
don’t do anything stupid. If you need any advice just let me know and I’ll
obviously help you out.” Sarah said. We hugged for a few moments until she
released her arms and returned to her husband’s side.
“Have fun James” He said
with a smile.
“I’ll do just that Alex.
Thanks! Look after her will you?” I said, gesturing toward Sarah.
“Obviously.” He replied
still smiling, and held her closer.
Turning away from my
family was one of the harder things I’ve ever done. A frog was in my throat as
I walked towards the gate. Boarding had begun and I handed over my ticket.
“Thank you, sir.” The
attendant said, and I nodded my thanks. Slowly I walked down the ramp looking
up only once to wave to my family as they watched me go.
Chapter Eight
My flight from Adelaide
airport was not a direct flight. I landed in Sydney and changed to a plane
direct to LA. As far as international flying went, I was still fairly new to
it, and this particular flight was one of the longest I had ever experienced.
Probably due to the fact I was so excited to be at my destination, and I didn’t
manage to get any sleep. Having a child in the seat behind me, kicking the back
of my chair was no help to my cause.
I managed to endure, as I
thought of what was waiting for me on my arrival. I pictured Amanda standing at
the gate waving at me, more beautiful than ever. I would rush over to her and
give her a hug which lifted her off of the ground, and we would spin for a
moment lapsing into a kiss. I shook my head trying to clear my overly ambitious
thoughts. Perhaps we weren’t quite at the spinning embrace level.
A soft chuckle left my
lips and my neighbor looked over to me with a curious look on his face. “Sorry.
Just something I was thinking of.” I said in quick defense.
“That’s alright.” He
responded. “You looked like you were having a good time whatever you were
laughing at.”
“Yeah. I was caught up in
my own little fantasy world!” I said, smiling.
“We’ve all done that
before!” He replied, sharing my smile. He returned his attention to his book
and I returned mine to my fantasy.
Brad and Chris would never
let me hear the end of it if I ever shared such thoughts with them. Grinning at
the thought of the boys, and I hoped I would be seeing them again sometime
soon.
Hours passed and we made
our landing at LAX. I looked out the window and it seemed to be getting late in
the day. The flight had taken near enough to 15 hours to make my head felt like
it was stuffed with cotton wool.
The plane came to a stop
and a hostess welcomed us to LA, giving us the local time and wishing us
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