The Golden Hour

Chapter 1

Maggie's eyes followed the baggage carousel as it slowly transported suitcase after suitcase to waiting passengers. Some received their precious cargo hurriedly, quickly speeding away towards the exit signs when they finally did. Others waited more patiently, their eyes glued to their phones with only a brief intermission every few seconds to check for their bags. Then, a red suitcase caught her eye. She slightly shifted her body in its direction, waiting for it to make its way to her. She kind of wished that it would take its time, but soon it was within her reach, and with only some difficulty, she lifted it off the carousel. She turned towards the escalator, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, before proceeding. Her heart felt like it was going to beat straight out of her chest any moment. She was home for the first time in nearly ten years. And, for the first time in those nearly ten years, she was going to see her brother again.

Ben was only two years older than her, but she was pretty sure he had been born thirty. He had always been the mature and responsible one. Good grades, first row in the lacrosse team, captain of the debate team. To tell the truth, when they were younger, she had always been a little jealous of him. Her stomach churned as she thought about seeing him again. She wondered as she had so often throughout the years, what he would think when he saw her again. She had often imagined, hoped, it would play out like in a movie. She would step off the escalator, her eyes searching the airport carefully, before finally landing on the tall, blond-haired man. He would see her, his smile growing as he waved at her from across the airport. And then she would run to him, and he would catch her, and envelop her in a warm hug. That was how it was supposed to be, but reality is often disappointing.

Someone shoved past her, breaking her out of her reverie, throwing a hurried 'sorry' over their shoulder. Only then did she notice that she had stopped walking. She gripped the handle of her suitcase harder and stepped onto the escalator. She had to be brave. Her eyes started roaming the room below, but there were so many people moving about that it would be near impossible to spot him. She stepped off and made her way to the row of windows on her right, making sure she was out of the way of the crowd, before starting her search again. Her eyes wandered from passenger to passenger. Businessmen talking on the phone as they walked. Mothers struggling to keep children and luggage straight. Couples, some smiling in welcome, others crying at departure.

Suddenly spotted him in the distance. He was looking around, a small frown on his face. He slowly looked around the room and then his eyes landed on her. He waited a moment, almost like he was hesitating, gave a small wave, and started making his way towards her. She tried to calm the feeling in her stomach and forced her legs to start walking. Soon they were standing in front of each other.

"Maggie." his voice came out, almost hoarse. She tried but couldn't place the emotion on his face or in his voice.

She tried to give him a small smile, but it faltered halfway, leaving a strange look on her face. "Hey, Ben."

He looked almost exactly the same as when she had left, except for a few extra laugh lines around his eyes and he now sported a rather impressive beard. She could feel the tension in the air. And she hated it.

"I like the beard, it suits you." she said, trying to fill the awkward silence enveloping them.

His hand made its way to his face and he absentmindedly scratched it. "Yeah, thanks. I thought I'd try it out for a bit. A change of pace, you know?"

Ben then looked at his sister's face and realized that she didn't know. How could she? They hadn't seen each other for so long and hadn't really kept in touch that much. Sure, there were the yearly birthday and Christmas messages, and important announcements like new apartments and relationships, but nothing beyond that. They didn't really know anything about each other.