Landing
As the plane circled over London, Max looked out of the window at the sight of England below.
It felt like such a long time since he had left, and it had been two and a half months, but it seemed like so much longer.
When he was living in London, months could pass without much happening, without him noticing a change, but the last two and a half had been life altering.
He had done so much, pushed himself outside of his comfort zone, and he had changed as a person in ways he couldn’t have imagined when he nervously boarded the plane to Bangkok.
It was a grey, soggy day in the capital, and they had already announced that the temperature was five degrees with rain expected.
When he had left Sydney, it was twenty-seven degrees and sunny.
Weather and time zones had changed dramatically over the course of his twenty-four-hour journey back from Australia.
He was finally home again. Back to the start.
The wheels touched down with a bump, and after taxing to a stop at their gate, the bright ping sounded, and everyone got ready to depart the plane.
Max stood up, stretching his back, and noticing how tanned his hands were.
After travelling in warm climates, his whole body was such a different colour.
He felt so much more relaxed too, like somehow the sunshine had altered his brain along with his skin.
After Koh Phangan, Max had said goodbye to Abs, and then after visiting a few different islands in the south, he headed north to Chang Mai.
He joined up with a four-day jungle trek, and got to spend time with elephants, and swim under incredible waterfalls.
After that he headed back to Bangkok, and then he flew to Sydney.
He met up with Abs again, and some of her friends, and after a week in glorious Sydney, he spent five weeks travelling up the East Coast of Australia.
He made friends for life, experienced incredible things like K’gari Island, sailing the Whitsunday Islands, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, and skydiving in Cairns.
He lived each day like it was his last, experiencing life, people, and doing things he could only dream about in London.
Unfortunately, he had missed seeing Hope while she was there, their schedules not quite lining up.
After his East Coast trip, he spent the last few days in Sydney, enjoying the delights of Bondi Beach, before he finally flew home via Singapore.
It had been an incredible experience, but he was finally home again, and couldn’t wait to see everyone.
He had texted with Robbie when he would be back, but Robbie was busy at the shop when he arrived.
He would need to get the train back into London, and he would see Robbie back at the flat.
After collecting his backpack from the baggage carousel, heaving it up onto his back for one of the last times, he made his way towards arrivals, realising just how different he looked and felt.
Despite carrying the backpack, he felt so much lighter.
His hair was longer, uncut during his trip, he had a few weeks’ worth of stubble on his face, and he hadn't washed since Sydney twenty-four hours earlier. He was also wearing a pair of old jeans that were in need of a wash, and a T-shirt he’d picked up in Thailand for less than a cup of coffee in London.
Walking out of arrivals, he realised he would need something far warmer the minute he left the airport.
He was dressed for the warmth of Australia, not the cold, drizzle of mossy England.
Max walked through arrivals, knowing he needed to head towards the trains, when he suddenly heard his name being called.
‘Max! Max! Over here! Max!’ said a voice, and when he turned, he saw her, and his heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn’t believe it.
‘Bethan? What are you doing here?’ he said incredulously, walking across towards her.
He took his backpack off, placed it down on the ground, and they stood in front of each other.
After a moment, they hugged, and just feeling her body pushed against his, he felt like he really was home.
Max hadn’t spoken with Bethan since the night at the pub before he left.
They had texted a little, but he had no idea she would be waiting for him at the airport.
After they pulled away from each other, emotion flooding through him, Bethan looked at him and smiled.
‘I’m here because I spent all the time you were away thinking about you, Max.
About us. From the moment we met, we had something special.
We both felt it, and we almost got together, but then we didn’t.
I wasn’t sure I was ready, you needed time to work on yourself, but now you’re back, and it’s almost Christmas, and at Christmas we tell the truth. ’
‘Love Actually?’
‘Love Actually,’ she replied with a smile.
‘Like I said, it’s almost Christmas, and the truth is Max, I was afraid before because I knew just how much I liked you.
I couldn’t stand the thought of putting my heart out there again, of risking everything for love, but not having you here has made me realise just how much I need you in my life.
So, if you’ll have me, I’d love to spend Christmas together.
I want to be with you, Max. I think that actually, I probably love you too. ’
Max could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.
She wanted to be with him, and probably loved him too.
It was everything he wanted, had wanted from the moment they met at Common People, doing the cold plunge together, and sharing their grief outside the pub opposite The British Museum.
Bethan was everything he wanted, and still wanted after his travels.
‘Can I say something?’ said Max and she nodded.
He held her hands in his. ‘Travelling was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, trekked through jungles, snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but every day I thought about you.
My life has been amazing, I have experienced so much, but I did it all on my own.
The thing I thought about while I was doing all those unbelievable experiences, was that I wish I was doing them with you.
So, when I think about you, Bethan, I actually know that I love you, and spending Christmas together would make me the happiest man in the world. ’
When Max stopped speaking, he saw tears in Bethan’s eyes, and then they both leaned in, their lips coming together, and they kissed. Right there in Heathrow Airport, just before Christmas, and it felt like his life was exactly where he wanted it to be.
‘Wait,’ said Max when they stopped, still holding each other, both glowing with love. ‘Did Robbie know about this? He was being so weird about not picking me up at the airport because he was busy at work.’
Bethan smiled. ‘He knew. I went to the shop, and we had a long chat about it.’
‘Cheeky bugger, and what did he say?’
‘He said, he thinks we’ll make the best couple ever. After him and Eve, of course.’
Max laughed. ‘Of course. How was the shop?’
‘Busy. Anita has created the best chicken tikka sandwich ever. I think it’s gone sort of viral.’
‘Wow, blimey. I’ve been keeping abreast of things a little online, but I’ve been so busy.’
‘Just wait until you try it. Speaking of which, we should get going.’
‘Trains are that way,’ said Max, but it was clear Bethan had other ideas.
‘Follow me,’ she said, and Max picked up his backpack, hoisting it onto his back, before he walked out of the terminal, hand-in-hand with Bethan, towards the waiting cabs.
‘You don’t have to pay for a cab, Bethan. The train’s fine.’
‘Who said anything about paying,’ said Bethan with a smile, as they walked up to a black cab, and the driver got out.
‘Hello, mate!’ said Joe. ‘Welcome back to blighty! Let me get that bag for you.’
‘Joe!’ said Max. ‘You’re taking me home?’
‘Of course. Who else?’ said Joe, who looked thinner than the last time Max had seen him.
‘You look great,’ said Max, as Joe took his backpack, and put it up front.
‘Running, and sticking to the diet. Dawn’s all over it. She buys muesli in bulk these days!’
‘I bet she does. You’ve got a good one there, mate.’
‘Yeah, and so have you,’ said Joe with a cheeky wink.
They got into Joe’s cab, and they started the drive back to Clapham.
Joe rattled off a hundred questions about his travels, as Max sat in the back with Bethan, holding hands, their bodies touching.
In truth, Max didn’t mind answering his questions, and it was wonderful to see Joe again, but he couldn’t wait to be alone with Bethan.
Eventually they pulled up outside Rab’s Sandwich Shop.
‘A quick pit-stop,’ said Joe, and they all clambered out.
It felt odd to be back at the shop, almost as if he hadn’t ever left, but at the same time, as if he’d been gone for a year.
He had been texting with Robbie while away, so he knew the shop had been doing well.
They were busy every day, and Anita had been a godsend, although as Robbie had pointed out, Anita was a Sikh and didn’t believe in the Christian God.
She had definitely been a gift from someone though, and now she had created her very own viral sandwich.
As soon as they stepped outside, Robbie, Anita and Eve appeared.
‘Youse back, pal!’ said Robbie, walking across and enveloping him in a hug. ‘I’ve missed you, big man.’
‘Missed you too,’ said Max, and he really had. ‘How’s the sandwich business?’
‘Aye, no bad, pal, no bad. Anita here is a miracle worker.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ said Anita. ‘Welcome back, Max.’
‘Thanks, and thank you. I heard your sandwich has been a real hit.’
‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ said a bashful Anita.
‘Nothing? It’s been a huge success. Don’t sell yourself short,’ said Eve.
‘Are youse hungry, pal? I could do youse a chicken tikka special, if youse like?’
Max looked at Bethan, and she nodded. ‘I could eat.’
‘Then step this way,’ said Robbie, walking into the shop and they all followed him inside, which had been decorated for Christmas with a proper tree in one corner.
As soon as Max took a bite of Anita’s chicken tikka sandwich, he knew they were onto a winner.
It was delicious. As much as The Scotsman reflected Robbie, his heritage, the chicken tikka reflected Anita.
The chicken was incredibly soft, the sauce creamy, spicy and with so much flavour.
The heat was tempered with a mint and garlic yoghurt, and all the sauce was absorbed perfectly in Robbie’s spongy sourdough bread. It was perfect.
After eating, and catching up on everything that had happened in his absence, including Robbie joining Common People, Max was feeling tired and so he headed back to the flat with Bethan.
After Joe dropped them off, they went inside.
Max wasn’t sure what state the flat would be in, without his cleaning and tidying, but much to his surprise it was spotless.
No doubt it was the work of Eve, who had been living there full-time with Max out of the country.
‘So,’ said Bethan. ‘Are you too tired to—’
‘No! But I definitely need a shower first. Wait in the bedroom, and I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘OK,’ said Bethan, giving him a kiss before she skipped off towards his bedroom.
Max went into the bathroom and stripped off, discarded the clothes he had put on in Sydney before he left for the airport.
He looked at his face in the mirror, and it was so different.
He had lost weight, was tanned with more hair, but within the folds and creases of his face, in his eyes, he saw something else.
There was a change deep within him that wasn’t superficial like his tan that would be gone within a few weeks of the harsh English winter.
During his trip he had thought so much about his conversation with Mark before he left about forgiving Barry for the death of his parents.
At the time he thought it impossible, but with the space of being so far from home, with the time he had while flying, on overnight trains in Thailand, and on coaches in Australia, for hours and hours he watched landscapes fly past his window, he thought of the man who had taken his parents from him.
The thing was, he realised that Mark had been right.
Holding onto the hatred he had felt for Barry wouldn’t help him move forward, and he was right about something else too.
Barry shouldn’t have to pay for one mistake his whole life.
Max had made plenty of mistakes himself over the past almost two years since the accident, but people had forgiven him.
It was time for him to repay some of that generosity back.
Max had written a letter to Barry the last few days in Australia, and it was in his backpack, folded up in an envelope.
He would take it to Mark in St Albans, so he could pass it on to Barry.
It was time to put everything to bed, so he could remember his parents fondly with love and joy, instead of with the veil of anger, regret and hatred that had been across it for so long.
It was time to let go of the past and embrace the future with all its wonderful, messy possibilities.
Max stepped into the shower to wash away the dirt and germs of travel, before he walked across the flat and into his bedroom where Bethan was waiting for him.
‘Can I come in?’ Max asked outside the door.
‘It’s your bedroom,’ replied Bethan. Max opened the door and walked in. It was dark, and Bethan was already under the duvet waiting for him. Max quickly discarded the towel he had wrapped around him, and got under the duvet next to Bethen. He quickly cuddled into her naked body, and they kissed.
‘You sure about this?’ he asked.
‘I’ve never been more certain of anything my entire life. You?’
‘Ditto.’
She smiled at him in the darkness, and he smiled back. Every journey started with a single step. Max had been on so many journeys since the accident, so many false starts, wrong turns, but he was finally at the beginning of the best journey of all. He took a step…