Travelling

Saying Goodbye

Olivia

The lounge was filled with our families, Theo's was significantly more sociable than mine was. My younger sister, Alexandra, sat quietly on her phone. My dad was watching his wife carefully who was inspecting her recently painted nails. I tore my eyes away from the sight which was ultimately painful to me and turned to look at Theo who was chatting happily away to his two younger brothers. His mum stood at the frame of the living room door, clutching a carry-case which held our cat, Lucifurr, in it (Theo's parents, being unbearably Christian and Conservative, thought that the cat was called Damien).

The goodbyes to my family were brief, Natalie had a hair appointment that she could not miss. She was out the door without so much as a wave and waited in the car. Alexandra smiled at me, almost as if she was apologising for her mother's cold behaviour
"I'll bring you back something nice." I promised her, and she laughed and hugged me, before leaving me alone with my dad. I looked down to the floor, refusing to meet his gaze.
"If you need anything." He rested a hand on my shoulder
"Thanks, Dad." I replied, and he sighed heavily as Natalie pressed the car horn impatiently and nudged past me to leave.

Theo's family looked sympathetically at me, and he walked over and pulled me into a reassuring hug. I leaned into his chest and closed my eyes momentarily, it felt like we were the only two people in the room. I pulled away from him and smiled gratefully up to him. He interlocked his fingers with mine
"You'll have a great time." His mum said, "And Timothy and I will take great care of Damien for you." Alex, one of Theo's brothers, sniggered behind his hand. Saying goodbye to Theo's family took much longer. Barbara looked more upset than all three members of my family put together as she embraced her eldest child. She moved over to me and bought me into a tight, loving hug
"Stay safe." She whispered into my ear and I pulled away and smiled, nodding. My emotions temporarily shifted from excited to quite upset as we waved goodbye to his family pulling out of our driveway.

"They're a nightmare, the lot of them." Theo laughed, draping an arm over my shoulders "I'm starting to think that I was swapped at birth." He added, and I grinned up at him
"You look too much like them for that to be the case." I reached up on my tip-toes and kissed him quickly on the cheek "Everything packed?" I asked, resting my hand on the roof of our car and he nodded
"This is going to be fantastic, Liv." He whispered, his hands resting on my cheeks as he pulled me in for a soft kiss.

The hum of the radio kept us company for the first leg of the journey. Rain hammered down onto the car, and as we pulled onto the motorway we were greeted with a large blanket of brake lights. I adjusted my seat and pulled off my shoes as Theo tapped impatiently on the steering wheel
"Great start." He laughed, and I glanced over to him "We won't even make it to Dover at this rate." He said as the traffic came to a standstill and he turned off the engine, sighing heavily
"It's fine, our dinner reservations aren't until seven and it's barely midday." I reassured, reaching over and putting a hand on his knee. He put his hand on top of mine and smiled, tenderly rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand.

I must have fallen asleep. I was awoken by Theo gently nudging me, I wearily opened my eyes
"We're here." He whispered, planting a kiss on my forehead, I stretched and pulled on my shoes "We have time for a walk along the beach before we have to go to dinner." He smiled, I took off my seatbelt and stood outside the car and looked around. Smiling over at the large white cliffs that we could make out in the distance "It's beautiful here, isn't it?" He asked, slinging my smaller travel bag over my shoulder. He picked up his and took my hand and we wandered into the hotel.

From our hotel room, we could see Dover Castle. I turned to him with a small smile
"Who built Dover Castle?" I quizzed, and he paused as he waded through his travel bag looking for his toothbrush, he looked stunned for a moment as he struggled to remember
"Come on, Theo, you have a History degree!" I laughed, wandering over to him and wrapping my arms around his waist
"That doesn't mean I know everything." He laughed, returning the hug
"It was William the Conqueror." I told him, grinning up to him "And there are tunnels that run underneath the cliffs." I informed
"Stop showing off." He chuckled, tightening his grip around my waist
"Never." I whispered, "They were used as air raid shelters, I think."