Safe Travels

Vacation

I stared out the window of the café and watched the people as they passed. I tried to imagine where they were going and what they were thinking. Thomas didn't say a word. My mother usually would've pulled me out of my trance by now, but Thomas let me look on.

I'd been with Thomas for a week now, and I knew a lot about him without really knowing anything at all. He was easy to figure out, yet he was an enigma.

When I first met him, I thought he was the starving artist type. Turns out, he had a job as an art professor at the University of Westminster. He had summertime off, and he spent that time painting and going to art shows. That was the only information he'd ever told me, and I never asked about anything else. I did figure out a few things on my own, however, by observing him every day. He had a very specific morning routine. Every morning he made chai tea and drank three cups of it. On his first cup, he'd get dressed. On his second, he watched the local news. On his third, he ate two pieces of toast. I always found it odd, how he always busied himself while he drank his tea. I found out pretty quickly that he hated wasting time.

He was a thoughtful man. He was always looking out into the distance. He didn't say much, but when he spoke it was full of meaning.

I didn't know much about uncle Thomas, but I did know that I was happy to live with him.

• • •

I never asked Thomas where he was taking me, I just let him take me places. Today, he took my to the university. He said I was old enough to start thinking about my college choices, and Westminster was a good place to start. It was probably the most he'd ever talked to me.

"Do you like working at the university?"

He nods, and I nod. I would've asked him what it was like there, but I figured I was going to see it anyway. That's another thing Thomas didn't like wasting; words.

I enjoyed the tour of the university that Thomas gave me. It was a nice place, and I knew that if I still lived with Thomas I would probably go there. I think Thomas was secretly glad that I liked it. I think maybe he liked spending time with me.

That night, Thomas invited me to watch movies with him. He ordered a pizza and handed me a beer. I was shocked, mostly because I thought he didn't drink, but he told me one wouldn't hurt anybody.

"So, why did my dear sister send you up here?"

I stared at him for a good minute.

"She didn't- she didn't tell you?"

He shook his head and repeated the question.

"I tried to uh- commit suicide." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and turned away.

"I wouldn't have guessed. You seem fine to me."

I nodded. Truth was, I had been a little better since I started living with Thomas. Not particularly happy... Just not hurting.

"I'm not as bad as I was, I guess. I don't remember much from the night it happened."

Thomas nodded and scratched his jaw. He dropped the conversation, which I was grateful for. I wasn't done talking yet though, this was the most we'd ever conversed, and it was kind of nice.

"Have you ever been anywhere but England?"

"I lived in the US with your mother of course. We grew up in New York. I went to Paris for school for a bit, then I moved here."

"Paris? Wow. I've always wanted to see Paris..."

I got lost in my fantasies of the city of lights. I imagined what it would be like to walk down the streets, see the Eiffel Tower. Maybe I'd think it was so nice I'd have a wedding there. Was gay marriage even legal in France?

"Hey Morgan, you zoned out again."

I turned to Thomas and smiled at the amused glint in his eye.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"We should go. We can go all over Europe. I wanted to travel this summer, now I don't have to do it alone."

My smile grew wider and I nodded shyly.

I'm really glad my mom sent me here.