I stopped on the other side and turned around. Cat was still there, smiling through her tears. She blew me a kiss, then I turned and pushed that wretched cart into the terminal.

Goodbyes suck so fucking much.

PART TWO

Chapter 10

“So, what are you gunna do if he doesn’t show up?”

I was sitting in the backseat of my best friend, Lindsey’s, car on the way to the airport. Her husband, Nick, was in the passenger seat, and it was obvious he was intent on torturing me with ridiculous questions. He’s the big brother I always knew I never wanted.

“Ha, ha. You’re hilarious,” I replied drolly.

Lindsey swatted him as though he was a naughty fly. “Ignore my horrendous husband.” Nick turned in his seat and grinned at me. “He’ll be there,” continued Lins, “and you’ll have a ball.”

I nodded, clinging to her words of encouragement.

But Nick had hit a sore spot. I was only mildly terrified he wouldn’t show up and I’d be sitting in a hotel room halfway across the world by myself. Self-doubt can be such a buzzkill, especially when you’re about to fly somewhere you’ve never been before, to meet up with someone you haven’t seen in months.

Lins snuck her car between two four-wheel-drives and pulled up to the kerb at an odd angle. As always, Sydney airport was brimming with drop-off traffic. “Here okay?” she asked unnecessarily. I was hardly going to say “no” and have her pull back out into traffic to find the elusive “better spot”.

She put the car in park and Nick leapt out to retrieve my suitcase from the boot. I grabbed my carry-on from the seat beside me and joined Nick on the footpath.

“Have a great time, Sez,” he said, giving me a quick hug that squeezed all the air from my lungs. Nick is a huge guy.

“Love you,” Lins called through the car window with a smile. Nick climbed back in the passenger seat and gave me one of his lopsided smiles that said, “yeah, me too.”

“Love you back,” I said, waving goodbye. “Look after Domino!” I added as an afterthought. My poor cat—he’d become an afterthought. Nick’s hand waved out the window as the car pulled away from the kerb and I took a moment to catch my breath.

What if he doesn’t show up? Or, what if he does but it isn’t the same between us? Oh, my god, what am I doing?

I was having a mini meltdown out the front of Sydney International Airport, that’s what I was doing. As I do when faced with situations just like this one, I took a deep breath, adjusted my big-girl knickers, and got the hell on with it. I grabbed the handle of my suitcase, slung my carry-on over my shoulder and, chin lifted, walked into the terminal.

As soon as I was inside, my phone bleeped. I hoped it wasn’t Nick laying it on again; I wasn’t in the mood for brotherly teasing. I took my phone out of my carry-on.