Chapter 7
7
By three o’clock, my thoughts were still ricocheting between the only practical, rational, doable thing, and the impossible, ridiculous, reckless one that made my legs tremble and my brain feel as if it didn’t even know who Emmie Brown was any more.
Then I caught sight of Pip, striding through the airport towards me, and suddenly anything seemed possible.
‘Hey,’ he said, coming to stop with a crooked smile.
‘Hi.’
We looked at each other for a long moment, before being interrupted by someone asking for a coffee. I let them know that we were closed, then lowered the hatch, opening the side door so Pip could wait for me there.
‘I heard you got lucky this morning,’ he said as I whizzed through the last bits of clearing up.
‘What?’ I said, flicking off a couple of sockets. ‘Has Barb made a banner? I’ve not heard Gavin announce it on the tannoy.’
‘The guy in Security was telling everyone to head over here. Said you’d hit the jackpot and might be offering freebies.’
‘Well, that explains why I’ve been extra busy today.’
I handed him a box of pasties, then shut the door behind me and locked up, explaining what had happened while we headed to the food court.
‘Is lunch on you, then?’ He smiled.
‘Barb reckons I’ll splash out on either a flapjack or a new apron.’
‘Ooh. Tough choice. What’s it going to be?’
I grabbed a tray and started sliding it along towards the soup station.
‘I did wonder if there were any seats left on the evening flight to the Isle of Siskin.’
I caught Pip’s flinch in my peripheral vision, but by the time I’d steadied the tray and turned back to him, he was peering at the rows of soft drinks nodding his head non-committedly.
‘Wow. That’s… spontaneous.’
I tried to shrug in a spontaneous, carefree kind of way.
‘Great, though!’ His eyes kept searching the bottles. ‘A great idea. The island is great this time of year.’
‘Okay, well, that’s… great.’ I turned back, flustered by his response.
Was he pleased or panicking? Did I sound like a weirdo who had responded to a casual lunch invite by turning full-on stalker, wedding dress stuffed in my suitcase just in case?
I waited until we were sitting at my table before doing my best to clarify, hoping it didn’t sound as if I’d just come up with an excuse while paying for the soup.
‘For nine hours a day, six days a week, I watch people head through the doors of Gate Two, wondering if I’ll ever get the chance to join them. They fly to three destinations: Belfast, Düsseldorf and Siskin. I spend most of my life surrounded by walls, dreaming of wide-open spaces and a refreshing breeze. The last thing I want is a city break. And I haven’t seen the sea since I was fifteen.’
I hesitated before continuing, not wanting to reveal how little I knew about my own mother. ‘This week, I found out my mum visited the island before I was born. I don’t think she flew anywhere again, so it seemed as good a place as any for my first time.’
‘You’ve never been on an aeroplane?’
I ripped off a chunk of bread roll. ‘Every day, in my imagination.’ I tore that piece into two smaller ones. ‘I’ve never really been anywhere but here.’
‘Well, in my opinion, you couldn’t pick a better place to start.’
‘You think I should do it?’
‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ He checked his watch. ‘Although, is there time? Check-in closes in ten minutes.’
Now that I’d pretty much decided, I simply had to get on that plane. My passport was in my bag, because I used it to get through Security each morning. The bag also contained a pack of tissues, phone, purse, water bottle and a spare hair bobble.
Oh, and perhaps most importantly, in my morning fluster, I’d shoved the stash of envelopes in there. I’d left them downstairs the night before, forcing myself to put them to one side and study the kiosk contract, in some kind of penance for my snooping, then grabbed them on my way to the van. I had no intention of reading them while at work, but some deeper instinct made me want to keep them close.
‘Is it rude if I run to the check-in desk and find out?’
‘Not if I come with you.’
‘You’ll have to go back through Security.’
He glanced at the departures board. There were three flights in the next few hours.
‘I think I can handle that.’
We grabbed our bags, dumped the trays on the trolley for dirty pots and hightailed it out of there.
‘Here she is,’ Ivor on the check-in desk announced. ‘The lucky lady! Come to show off your prize?’
‘It was a hundred and forty pounds. You won more at the Christmas raffle.’
‘Oh.’ He folded his arms. ‘That’s a lot more boring.’
‘Which is why Barb didn’t tell you the amount.’
‘What can I do for you, then? We don’t often see a Parsley’s uniform this side of the tracks.’
‘Is it too late to buy a ticket for the ten past five to Siskin?’
‘If check-in is still open, it’s not too late. Hang on.’ He tapped away on his screen for a minute. ‘Your luck continues. We have plenty of space.’
‘How much is it?’
He peered at me over the top of orange glasses. ‘One two seven for the seat. Do you want to check in a bag?’
‘Um. No?’
‘A return flight?’
I shook my head. Ivor gave Pip a sidelong glance.
‘I don’t know what day I’m returning yet. It’s just a holiday. I am coming back!’
‘Oka-a-a-a-ay.’ He didn’t sound convinced.
I stood there, my brain freefalling as he booked the ticket and checked me in.
As soon as Ivor handed me the boarding pass, I slammed into reality.
‘What do I do now?’
‘Head to Security.’ Pip led me away from the desk, as a family were now waiting behind us.
I stopped dead a few metres away. ‘No. I mean… my house. My business. My life…’
He bent his head to meet my eyes. ‘Okay, the first thing to do is breathe. Slowly. Slower. That’s better.’
I wasn’t in any fit state to explain that his soft blue gaze wasn’t helping me regain composure, even if I’d been bold enough.
Instead, I closed my eyes, tuned in to the familiar airport sounds, told myself that there was nothing stopping me from coming back on the first flight tomorrow, and accepted that, however this turned out, I simply couldn’t spend another day standing in the same nine-square-metre box, doing the same thing, wondering if there was a whole other life out there, waiting for me.
Besides, I’d made a promise.
‘Right.’ I opened my eyes again, tried to sound as if I weren’t completely freaking out. ‘First thing, the Travel Shop.’
I must have hurtled through Security in world-record-breaking time, arriving at the shop breathless and giddy.
‘I’m going.’
Blessing straightened up from where she’d been stacking Robin Hood mugs on a shelf, took one look at me, ordered Pip out of there, and got to work.
Fifteen miraculous minutes later, I had a carry-on suitcase that doubled as a rucksack, a large wash bag crammed with miniature toiletries, underwear and pyjamas, two summery dresses, pretty T-shirts, a pair of cotton shorts, jeans and a hoodie saying Straight Outta Sherwood , because all the others were at least a size large. Blessing added a bikini and flip-flops, and declared me packed.
I handed her my house key. ‘I’ll send you a list when I’ve calmed down enough to think of one. The cottage is so small, you’ll have no problem finding whatever you need. If I leave you the keys for Parsley’s, can you take whatever’s in the fridge? Oh, and my van is parked in the staff car park, but should be fine for a few days.’
‘Yes, brilliant, I’ll take care of everything, but we aren’t finished yet. You are not running off with a hot farmer in shoes that belong on a nun’s car-boot stall.’
‘I don’t have time!’
‘There’s no way Ivor is letting that plane take off without you. This is the most exciting thing that’s happened around here since that woman tried to smuggle her Pygmy goat through security. Besides, they haven’t even announced the gate yet.’
‘It’s Gate Two.’
‘Get in the changing room.’
Despite being modest in size, the Travel Shop clothing section was a revelation, thanks to Blessing being in control of the stock. She found me a pair of wide-legged cotton trousers with a pale stripe, a strappy top and pale-blue jacket that perfectly matched the simple trainers she insisted I needed for travelling.
I didn’t recognise myself.
While the other staff member was taking my payment, she handed me a straw hat and a pair of sunglasses.
‘A present from me. Now, go. The boarding call was seven minutes ago.’
‘Is this the maddest idea ever?’
She gripped both of my shoulders. ‘Probably. But it’s also the best.’
‘Because you get to stay in my house?’
‘Go!’
As Ivor’s voice boomed over the tannoy, instructing Emmaline Brown to ‘get on the frickin’ plane!’, I scurried across to the gate.
To my horror, but what really shouldn’t have been a surprise, cheers and hoots of encouragement echoed behind me. As I skidded to a stop by the desk, Ivor not even bothering to scan the boarding card he’d issued me with less than an hour earlier before shoving me through, two voices rose above the rest.
‘Holiday-fling the heck out of that island! Don’t come back until you’ve officially fallen in love, even if that’s only with yourself!’
‘Emmie, what are you doing? What about that contract? You promised I’d have it by tomorrow!’