[[[the wonderful mess that we've made]]] [[[part iii]]]

21.

Part of me couldn't quite believe this had happened. Of course this was what I had dared to imagine. But I didn't think it would happen. I hadn't expected her to forgive me. And I knew she hadn't forgotten what had happened, but she was willing to try. And that's all I needed. Just some time to figure things out together.

And here she was, tucked up on my chest, sleeping peacefully as though nothing bad had ever happened. As though she was a different person to the girl I'd met on the train five years before. She was so strong and brave. I had to keep her. I'd do anything to make sure we could stay together. But what worried me was that we'd never be a normal couple. We both worked away. We both had strange jobs. I began to think maybe she could be our tour manager again. Then we could travel the world together. We wouldn't have to live apart. But hadn't that been what I'd tried to do before? The reason we'd broken up before? Maybe we'd deal with that when the time came.

I watched her sleep for a little while before I gave in myself. And I slept so much better than I had done in months, with a smile on my face.