Something Else Entirely

17 - Oh, he's a keeper, Son.

Sadie managed the beginning of the flight home okay. But after her nap in the middle, she was puking her guts up in either the toilets or the extra vomit bags the flight attendant handed her when she emerged after the first round. I had to trade seats with her so she could bolt to the toilet when she needed to. I felt so sorry for the poor woman . . . and the poor bastards who entered into the tiny cabin after her.

Dad and Madden, as always, were out cold as soon as they closed their eyes, so spent the majority of the flight sleeping and weren't awake for the worst parts of Sadie's international airspace morning sicknesses. I, on the other hand, was awake the entire trip, keeping an eye on Sadie.

I had stocked up on crackers, Pringles, potato chips and every other dry thing I could find in the grossly overpriced airport convenience store. There was nothing convenient about those outrageous prices. Add into the mix some gum, electrolyte drinks to re-hydrate her after the vomit, some extra pregnancy vitamins I stumbled across on the shelf, and some anti-nausea tablets that the guy at the counter assured me were okay for pregnant women, and the remainder of my American dollars were all but used. I didn't even have enough to scrape me in a simple black coffee, which I could have used to keep me functioning at even bare minimum capacity during our flight.

Thankfully, however, it was another direct flight from Honolulu to Melbourne, so we didn't have to make any pit stops along the way. Between my dad and myself, we carried all Sadie's carry-on luggage from the plane when we landed, Sadie claiming she slept awkwardly and woke up with a sore back so she didn't have to carry anything, the ceaseless vomiting really taking a toll on her the past 10 hours.

We collected the remainder of our luggage and made our way through Customs without too much hassle, the freak out over the boards still just as profound as it was on the way there, but everyone was okay thankfully.

Rounding the corner to the exit, I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw my boys, Ryder, Jasper and Byron, standing next to Tanner, with Byron holding a sign that said 'Jet' with a collection of glittery love hearts, and carrying a bouquet of vibrant pink Gerberas. They all took one look at me, standing there stunned, and burst out laughing, as did Tanner and the rest of my family beside me. They had asked me what time we were flying in, but I did not expect them to be here waiting for me.

"Oh, he's a keeper, Son," said Dad, clasping me on the shoulder, chuckling heartily.

I walked up to my friends, who I assume until now had never seen each other, but who had orchestrated a secret meeting without me just to surprise me at the airport when I got home. To say I didn't expect this was an understatement. To say I loved it and was so glad they did didn't even come close.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" I asked, gripping each one in a hug before taking the flowers Byron bought me.

"You said you expected Gerberas, so I bought you Gerberas," Byron laughed. "Also, I got my license yesterday and we all thought we'd surprise you. I thought, maybe, if it was okay, that we could take you home? Maybe go get some food and hang out before I took you back?" He looked over at Dad and Sadie hesitantly, waiting for their approval.

They each looked at each other, appraising each others' opinion on the matter of me getting into a car driven by a new driver, no doubt, before shrugging simultaneously and smiling at us boys. "Just please drive carefully, Byron. No speeding, and no distracting him while he's focussing on the road," directed Sadie, tacking on the end bit while staring at Ryder, Jasper and myself.

They grinned widely, and surrounded Sadie in a group hug which I had a sneaking suspicion was also meant to be a congratulatory one as well as a thank you for letting me go with them. I had warned them all again that when I got back, they weren't to say anything to her about it until she told them herself. It's not surprising to me that Ryder and Jasper were making a big deal of it. They loved her. And Byron clearly did already, too.

"Thanks, Sadie. I swear, I'll be real careful. 5 kilometres under the speed limit at all times," said Byron, letting go and hugging Dad and Madden as well, followed closely by Ryder and Jasper, who were regulars at our house so knew them both well.

"Well, I can clearly see I'm not needed here anymore," said Tanner loudly, looking around at everyone with a smile. "Gone for a month and I've been replaced with pubescent man-children." I hadn't greeted him yet in all the excitement of seeing my boys, and felt like an ass for it.

"Hey, Tann," I said, hugging him close. "How's Morgan and Will?"

"Missing you terribly. But they're good, mate. I'm happy you guys are home. Life without you all is kind of dull," Tanner said. "Seems your life over there, however, Jetty, was the opposite of dull. Hooking up with a girl and returning with a boyfriend?"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to face Dad. "You told him about Lahela?" But he just surrendered his hands in the air, shaking his head and claiming it wasn't him.

I looked instead to the boys, assuming if it wasn't Dad, it must have been them while they were waiting together for my family to emerge from Customs; but got the same reaction from them as I did him . . . leaving the one other person who knew.

"You guys should get going," said Sadie, her voice high with desperation and eagerness. "Airport parking will be costing your boyfriend an arm and a leg if you don't leave now."

I shouldn't even be surprised. She tells Tanner everything. Well, apart from her being pregnant it seems.

"Alright, Sade," I glowered at her jokingly. "We'll get going. But I need you to please make me a doctor's appointment for first thing tomorrow morning. For my ankle. Remember?"

"Can't it wait until next week when we're not still jetlagged?" she said, trying to deflect my very pointed questioning.

"Your ankle? What the hell did you do to your ankle? Bro, we have the grand final next week! Tell me you haven't injured yourself? We need you," said Ryder, getting himself into a panic. Jasper looked just as terrified.

"It will be fine for the game," I said, trying to placate their fears while remaining focussed on Sadie. "I just need to make sure that there's nothing wrong with it and I'm entirely healthy."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, saying, "Fine, Jet. Tomorrow it is."

"I can take him, babe," offered Dad, always ready to swoop in and do anything that would make her life easier. "You rest and catch up on sleep and I'll organise it all for him." He's really a most attentive husband, I'll give him that. When I finally find a woman to date, I'm hoping that I have absorbed enough of his relationship life lessons to be the type of partner he is to Sadie.

"That's okay, Ruby," she said, touching his broad chest with her palm seductively and reaching up to kiss him. She was so talented at distracting him and getting him to agree to things he wouldn't usually. "I think I might need them to check out my back anyway, just in case those damn plane seats have really messed me up."

"Are you sure? I'm happy to take you both," Dad said, looking concerned and rubbing his hand over her back lovingly, like he was trying to absorb all her apparent pain through his touch alone. I think it actually physically pained him to imagine Sadie hurting.

"I'm sure, Husband. Besides, someone needs to watch our babiest of babies." I doubt anyone but me picked up on the way her voice broke as she described Madden that way . . . for one of the last few times, no doubt. At least I thought I was the only one until I heard either Ryder, Jasper or Byron emit a small squeal of excitement beside me, which they all hastily tried to cover up with a group coughing fit, causing Sadie looked over at them questioningly.

And I'm going to kill them all.

"Thanks, Sade. I'll keep you updated where I am, and I'll be home before dark. Promise," I said, handing her my flowers from Byron to take home and kissing her on the cheek quickly before she could stop me running away with my tail between my legs so she couldn't query me about what the boys did and didn't know. I hugged Dad and Tanner again, roughed up Madden's already insane plane hair, then turned on my boys who were still dramatically patting each others' backs trying to catch their breaths and alleviate the backs of their allegedly similarly ticklish throats.