Where You Are

London

Jesse

I'd been mulling it over the entire seven-hour flight from London, to Addis Ababa and back to London again and could find no flaw in my new plan. I hated leaving Birgitta, absolutely hated it more than anything I'd ever hated in my life. Hadn't even liked it from the first day I met her. While I knew it would be tricky being in a long-distance relationship, I don't think that I realized how deeply I would love her when in the beginning. How could I have? It felt incredibly unfair that I'd finally found the woman of my dreams and she lived in a completely different continent.

I was thirty-two now. I'd had my fun as a younger man, but going out and drinking all night while picking up random women at clubs hadn't appealed to me for a while now. I wanted what my brothers had, a woman that loved me unconditionally. Someone to come home to, someone to grow old with, someone I could depend on.

Now I'd finally found it and she lived in an entirely different bloody country.

No, I was done messing around, I'd come to that conclusion on my birthday. Though, what Birgitta and I had couldn't really be considered messing around. We were both adults, in a loving, committed relationship. The long-distance part was absolutely brutal, but I could change that. Easily.

Jack landed the plane when we arrived at Heathrow, I was too fidgety to do it properly that day anyway. As soon as we were on the ground, I sent Birgitta a text letting her know I'd arrived safely. I would have rung her, only it was the middle of the day for her and I knew she was between night shifts and definitely sleeping at the moment.

I completed the post-flight checklist in record time and the hurried through Heathrow Airport. As soon as I was through customs, I pulled my mobile from my pocket again and opened it, pressing my Mum's contact information.

'Jesse, my love,' she answered on the second ring. 'What part of the world are you in today?'

'Our part of the world, Mum,' I told her with a little smile.

'Are you really?' She answered. 'Well, isn't that nice. Did you have a nice time with Birgitta in Albania?'

'Only the best,' I replied, smiling at the pleasant memories.

'Good, I'm glad to hear it.'

'Do you have any plans tonight?' I asked her. It was still early, she and Dad would have only just finished supper.

'Well, there's a few options,' she sighed. 'I might go out to the Bingo with Sue, but there's a programme on the telly your father's keen on.'

'Do you want to come to the shops with me?' I asked her.

'To the shops? With you?' She asked with a chuckle. 'Whatever for?'

'I need to buy a ring.'

There was dead silence on the other line. I actually moved the mobile away from my ear to look at the screen and make sure the call was still connected.

'Mum?'

'A ring?' She repeated. 'As in an engagement ring?'

'Well, that is how one gets engaged, isn't it?' It was my turn to chuckle. 'She might say no if I haven't got a ring!'

'Murray!' I heard her bellow into the receiver. I laughed and pulled the mobile away from my ear. 'Oh, Jesse, are you serious? You're going to ask Birgitta to marry you?'

'Yes, Mum!' I laughed.

'Murray!' She bellowed again. 'Oh, get over here, you have to hear this!'

'Are you coming or not?' I asked her. 'I need a woman's opinion.'