Where You Are

Manchester

Birgitta

I'd never been to this section of Heathrow Airport before, where all the short-haul, national flights departed from. Unlike the type of plane I usually took from Toronto to Moncton, the one from London to Manchester was a bit bigger, though smaller than the one from Halifax to London. Bigger population, I guess. Probably more to do in Manchester than Moncton.

Needless to day, boarding was quicker than my flight from Halifax and even though the flight was only going to take an hour, Jesse had already texted me a selfie of him waiting for me at Arrivals in Manchester.

I was really falling for him. Already fallen, whatever. It didn't matter, I was a goner. I savoured every picture he sent me. He just looked so good, with his light grey, V-neck t-shirt, aviator sunglasses and hair that had been cleverly styled to look messy. And he was all mine. I was actually a little disappointed he wasn't at either or my gates waiting for me in Halifax or London. He had me spoiled already. Now this just felt like a normal long-distance relationship, having to wait until I got all the way to Arrivals to see him.

I felt terrible about our misunderstanding a few weeks ago. I knew it was all my fault. I was the one to bring it up, after all. But after the day I'd had, and knowing that I was in love with Jesse and how important it was for him to someday have children, I needed to discuss it with him. I hadn't wanted him to break up with me over it, but I wouldn't have blamed him if he did. That's what people did to me in the past. Forgot about me as soon as I stopped giving them what they wanted. I was used to it.

But Jesse hadn't.

I seriously hadn't been expecting him to give all of that up just because of me. According to his friends, having children was practically non-negotiable to him. I'd been fully prepared for him to end the relationship over it. The fact that he still wanted to be with me despite me not being sure about kids was baffling. Because no one had ever done that before. I had never been more important than anything else to anyone.

Shit, and we were only four months into this relationship. Almost five now, technically, but who was counting? Was this even normal?

I just couldn't wait to see him again. I'd never been on a flight this short before, so I was grateful that only minutes after we'd reached cruising altitude, we started to descend again.

I thought it was foolish, really. I mean, how long of a drive would it have been to get to Manchester from London? Three hours? That was the same as driving to Halifax, and there were no direct flights from Moncton to Halifax. I wouldn't have minded a three hour drive through England with Jesse, but he was hellbent on going to Manchester, so I was going along with it.

Manchester Airport was bigger than I was expecting it to be. Even though Jesse had said I could check a bag and it wouldn't cost me or him anything, I honestly hated the stress of baggage claim. First of all, trying to find it, then trying to find the right carousel, and then praying that my bag was even going to be there. I had packing down to a science, I could fit everything I needed for three days in my 50L backpack. And if I stayed longer, it was just a matter of finding a washing machine or a drug store. There was hardly anything I needed that couldn't be found most places in the world. I did like bringing things back from my travels, but checking a bag was much less stressful going home than it was leaving. Baggage claim in Moncton and Halifax was much less intimidating than it was in an unfamiliar airport.

At least everything was in English. Once I got off the plane, I simply followed the signs for Arrivals, grateful that the stress of navigating an unfamiliar airport was enough to distract me from how anxious I was to see Jesse again.

I craned my neck as soon as the wide, sliding glass doors opened to the exit. There was another long, barrier made of glass separating the passengers from everyone else that spanned almost the entire length of the hall. The door had spat me out right in the middle of it, I wasn't sure which way to go to get around.