For All Eternity

If You Were

"Now that is a head full of thoughts if I've ever seen one," Amy said, sitting next to the redheaded dancer. Amy had a coffee cup clutched in her hands and she felt significantly paler sitting next to the woman who had returned from Australia not 2 days earlier.

"It is." Dianne said simply, deciding to scrape her hair back, having failed to do so as she rushed Connie out the house, late.

"Want to elaborate or tell me to shut up?" She joked, sipping her coffee. The Welsh dancer had to admit she was surprised to see her friend in so early, she was usually one of the last to enter, speiling something off about traffic or taxis, or more recent, Connie and even Joe.

"I'm okay for now. I'm trying to figure them out if I'm honest. But I'm a bit to tired to do that. You were clever buying a coffee. I just wanted to get out of the rain."

"Want half? We both know I won't finish it," Amy suggested, as the door opened and Neil came in greeting everyone.

"Would you mind? This jet lag is killing us."

"Us?" Amy raised an eyebrow, taking a last gulp before passing it to her grateful friend.

"Thank you. Yeah. Joe, Connie, me," she listed after nearly downing half the cup, "Connie struggled waking up. I left Joe all tucked up in bed, his coffee went cold twice. We were a tad late to school because we all woke up so late and she refused to eat anything because it feels like the middle of the night. It's not been the best morning."

"You definitely needed that more than me then. How was your visit home? How's Oz" Amy asked gently, they had messaged a few time and she had seen the photos.

"Eventful. Too eventful for nine thirty in the morning. Maybe we could grab a drink after, catch up," Dianne suggested, the hall was filling up more by the minute.

"Sure. And you can talk about what's in your brain as well," Amy gave her a pointed look, just as Karim sat down next to her.

~~~

"So," Amy clasped her hands together the moment Dianne returned with her coffee and a portion of fruit.

"So." Dianne didn't sound nearly as enthusiastic, "where to start? Right. So much has happened Ames. Connie called me Mummy."

"What!" The Welsh woman had covered her mouth in excited shock.

"Yeah," Dianne smiled, and began telling her friend the story, this time managing not to cry. It had settled in slightly.

"Oh Di, I'm so happy for you. It sounds so lovely," Amy squeezed her friend's hand. She had got to see, almost first hand, what having Connie in her life had done for Dianne. She had got to see the little drawings Connie did that took their pride of place on her dressing table the previous year.

"It was. It is. I'm a bit more used to it now. Especially because Joe uses it. So yeah she was poorly though. Even through the airport she wasn't entirely herself. And Joe actually. He was sick too. With a cold."

"Sounds especially rough. But your flights were all okay, baring it getting cancelled?"

"Sort of. I had a panic attack in the middle of a crowd in Dubai airport," Dianne looked at her lap, it hadn't been her best moment and she had felt so stupid when she looked back it it.

"Oh babes, why? Was Joe with you?"

She nodded, "and Connie. I just, I don't know. I felt really overwhelmed. I think the crowd didn't help. And I couldn't really see Connie. I don't know but I suddenly couldn't breathe."

"Bless you. I presume Joe helped through, once he figured out what was going on."

"Yeah, amazingly. But then Connie and I were really poorly on the second plane. There was a tonne of turbulence. She gets car sick at the best of times. So it was inevitable. But I was sick. Which doesn't happen often. I don't get air sick. I'm convinced it was the f-."