Chapter 27
Eliza
Mac picks me up early on the Saturday morning for our flight.
He took care of booking everything; all I had to do was give him my passport details, and he took care of the rest. It was nice to not have to be in charge of anything other than packing my own bag.
That was stressful enough for this trip.
I wanted to make sure I had clothes for every type of occasion, unsure of what might happen while we’re in London.
We manage to make it through security quickly, and I load up on drinks and snacks as we make our way to our gate.
I loaded my Kindle before I left so I’d have plenty to read while we’re in the air.
When the announcement that they’re going to start boarding our flight comes over the loud speaker, I’m surprised when Mac nudges me to gather my things.
When they scan our boarding passes on his phone, he tells me our row, and I make my way towards the plane.
I check the row numbers above the seats, and I’m surprised to see we’re in what appears to be first class. I turn to look at him over my shoulder, and he’s just lifting my bag into the overhead compartment before doing the same with his.
“Window or aisle?” he asks.
I slide in to the window seat and look around in shock. The seats are wide and comfortable, with so much space between us and the people in front and behind us. I pull out my Kindle, a blanket, and a small travel pillow from my bag as I settle into my seat.
When I mentioned this trip to the girls, they gave me a ton of travel tips knowing I’ve never flown before. The thing all of them said was to bring a blanket because the planes are almost always freezing. Mac pulls his laptop out and I see him pull up his email and I shake my head.
“It’s Saturday and we’re travelling, are you really working?”
He looks at me before looking back at his laptop. “Yeah. There’s going to be a lot for me to do when we get there.”
I sigh. It really is a good thing I’ll be working while were away; at least I only have to work during the week, though.
Once the flight attendants go through their safety speech, Mac offers me a piece of gum.
“You’ll probably want this for your ears as we take off.”
I take it and pop it into my mouth, staring out the window as the plane backs away from the gate.
I watch as the plane makes its way down the runway and up into the air, the buildings and cars on the ground growing smaller and smaller the higher we get.
I feel my ears try to pop, but the more I chew the gum, the less I feel it.
Before I know it, we’re above the clouds and I can’t see anything on the ground.
Opening my Kindle, I pick up where I left off in my book. I don’t know when I fall asleep, but I’m woken up when Mac adjusts my blanket that must have fallen off.
He smiles at me when I open my eyes and whispers, “Go back to sleep.”
I smile back and see that he’s finally closed his laptop and seems to be reading now.
“What time is it?” I whisper, nuzzling back into my pillow.
“It’s only ten back home, we still have five hours left before we land.”
I yawn and stretch my arms, sitting up. I know I should probably stay awake now so I can sleep when we land.
I’m thankful when food comes, not realizing just how hungry I was until I dig in.
My eyes flick to Mac, and I wonder how we’re supposed to spend four more hours together like this.
After going three weeks with barely seeing each other, things don’t feel quite the same as they did when we spent an entire weekend together.
I throw in headphones and pull up a movie on my phone, hoping to kill time.
As the plane starts to descend, I watch out the window seeing if I can spot any landmarks. It’s dark outside, so much of what’s visible is just lights from buildings.
We slowly make our way off the plane once we land, and Mac leads us to customs. We make it through quickly and head straight for the exit where Mac finds a car waiting.
He loads our bags into the trunk and opens the back door for me, and I slide across, saying hi to the driver, who nods.
Mac slides in behind me and starts a conversation with the driver that tells me he knows him.
My focus is solely out the window as we make our way from the airport through the streets of London.
It takes us a little over an hour before the driver is pulling in front of a building.
I take in the difference between here and back home.
While the sidewalks are full of people bustling around, the buildings aren’t as tall.
It’s easy to tell that the architecture is much older, and the overall vibe of the area feels much more relaxed than the buzz of downtown back home.
As I slide out of the car, I look around, and when I circle around and meet Mac’s gaze, he’s smiling at me.
He and the man who drove us here carry our luggage upstairs, still in conversation about what I’m not entirely sure.
I haven’t been paying enough attention to be able to tell.
When they drop our luggage, we say our goodbyes and I slowly make my way around the apartment.
“Is this yours?” I ask.
“Kind of. It belongs to the company, but I stay here when I’m in London.”
There are very few decorations, much like his place back in Vancouver.
“Are you wanting to head to bed or?” Mac asks.
I cover a yawn and say, “Shower then bed, I think.”
He shows me where the washroom is and hands me a towel before leaving me to clean up.v