Chapter 4
Chapter four
"Imogen, you need to hurry up, the taxi will be here in five minutes," Rosa called up the stairs. She turned back to look down the hall at her case, all packed and ready to go.
"I'm coming," Imogen shouted back.
Rosa moved into the kitchen, checking for the umpteenth time everything that could be switched off or unplugged, was.
"I already told you I'll pop in and water the plants," Tanya said, drinking the last of her cup of tea. “If anything is amiss, I’ll sort it.”
"I know." Rosa laughed at herself. "I just…we don't go away often. I'm still getting my head around it."
There was a beeping from outside.
"Taxi's here." Tanya grinned. She put her cup down and passed Rosa her bag. "No need to check. Money, passports, phone—everything else you need is all there."
They hugged each other.
"Okay, I'll see you in a few days." Rosa smiled. She left the room and was just about to shout up the stairs again when Imogen appeared at the top and made her way down. "Ready?"
"Yep. We're meeting Janka and Robbie and Billy at Gatwick, right?"
"That's the plan," Rosa said, opening the front door and dragging her bag out. "Bye, Tan."
"Bye, girls. See you when you get back."
The taxi was right out front, engine running. The driver jumped out and took their bags as he whistled a happy tune.
"Gatwick North," Rosa said.
"He knows. You had to tell them when you booked," Imogen said as they climbed into the back and got settled.
"No harm in reminding," Rosa said.
The car pulled into a space outside of the departures entrance to let them out.
"Okay?" Imogen asked. The driver was already out of the car and pulling their cases free from the boot.
"Yes." Rosa smiled. "Let's get going, shall we?"
Getting out of the car, Imogen looked around, eyes searching. "There's Billy." She pointed and waved.
Rosa looked up and noticed her ex waving back.
Billy had her hair down for a change—all curls and mess that caught the light just right.
Rosa remembered why she'd fallen for her in the first place.
Though if she really allowed herself to think about those traits, and she didn't often, it was the smile and the overconfident bravado that had drawn her in and made Billy Fisk stand out from the crowd.
"Hey," Billy said, doing all of that as she approached and hugged Imogen, smiling over her shoulder at Rosa. "Figured I'd wait outside for you both."
"Have you seen Robbie or Janka?" Imogen asked with that sense of excitement only a teenager would have, completely ambivalent to anyone else in the moment.
"No, not yet," Billy answered, but it was Rosa she said it to. "Need a hand with that?"
Rosa struggled to lift the case up the kerb. "Nope, all good, thank you."
Imogen looked up from her phone. "Robbie said they're inside by the escalators." She bounced and clapped. "Oh, I can't wait. This is going to be the best birthday yet."
Billy saw the hurt flash across Rosa's face.
"It will be fun, but every birthday has been the best," she said, smiling at Rosa. "Your Mum made sure of that."
"Yeah, course." Imogen shrugged. "But skiing…with my besties?"
"Let's go in, shall we?" Rosa huffed. "I could do with a coffee and a sit down."
Billy nodded. "Onward then. We'll meet the girls and then head straight through. Then we can relax until we board the plane."
Rosa harrumphed as she pulled her case and headed for the entrance. Imogen passed her in seconds, but Billy walked quietly beside her pulling a smaller case.
Rosa glanced at it. “I suppose you have clothes already over there, like Imogen?”
“Just a few winter outfits really. I always pack light—don’t need much.
” She shrugged. “Clean underwear and some shirts, a spare pair of jeans…” The small talk tailed off as they came to the foot of the long outdoor travelator that would take them up to the entrance.
They both went to step onto it at the same time, banging into one another.
"Go ahead," Rosa said impatiently.
"No, it's fine, sorry…you go," Billy offered with that awkward, sexy grin of hers. There was a queue of people behind them all watching to see what the hold-up was, so Rosa didn't argue and took the initial step on.
She stood with her back to Billy as the travelator moved them up. Impatient people pushed past.
"Been working out?" Billy asked.
Rosa turned and frowned at her. "No. When would I have the time for that?"
She watched as Billy sized her up and down. "You look good is all." There was that smile again.
The compliment threw Rosa, and if it hadn't been for the loud warning about the end of the travelator, she might have tripped.
"Right," Billy said, taking charge. "In through here and then we should see them." She marched on, with Rosa chasing to catch up.
Inside the automatic doors was an expansive space with signs pointing in all directions. Coffee shops and eateries were on one side. Straight ahead, an escalator took people up to the next level. Standing beside it were Imogen’s friends and their families, all smiling and waving at them.
Billy was already greeting them, sounding loud and obnoxious in Rosa's opinion. There was no need to be quite so shouty, shouty, look-at-me, was there? She huffed and followed, plastering a smile to her face as she approached.
"Georgia, Pippa," Rosa said to Robbie's guardians. "Good to see you."
"Hi, Rosa." Pippa Samuels smiled, and her wife, Georgia, did her best to look happy, but was clearly not enjoying the experience.
"Thanks for…" Georgia began, "you know, taking this one with you." She pulled Robbie into a hug, and for once the teenager allowed it. But then she moved away and went to stand with Janka and Imogen, laughing and giggling at something on their phones. "It's…"
Rosa reached out. "No need to explain. We understand completely."
"She's in safe hands," Billy added.
"We've done the whole plane thing as a family, and she's been away with the school. I dunno why this feels—"
"Georgia, it's perfectly understandable. They're growing up and not needing us as much," Rosa encouraged.
"Yes, maybe that's it." Georgia smiled thinly. "Well, I guess we should head off. Leave you to it."
Pippa called out, "Cassie, Max, say bye to the girls. We're going now."
The two youngest in the family ran back from where they'd been playing and barged themselves into Robbie, who bent to hug them.
Rosa turned to Janka—the opposite of Imogen and Robbie. She was blonde, short, and quieter than the other two girls. "Did your parents leave already?"
"Yes, they both had to be at work," Janka said. She'd been in the UK for five years. Almost any trace of her accent was already gone, but vowels still had that slight lilt.
"Okay, well, we're all here. That's what matters," Billy said, while gesturing goodbye as Georgia, Pippa, and the kids waved from the door.
Rosa watched as Imogen took it in, and for a moment, she wondered what life would have been like had she and Billy not divorced. Maybe they would have had another baby, a sibling for Imogen, or maybe two. That had been the plan, hadn’t it?
She felt eyes on her and looked up to find Billy watching her watch the scene.
"Alright?" Billy asked.
"Yes, I was just…" She let her words trail off. What good would come from saying it out loud now?