February 1st made it a year since Clarissa and I met again.
We'd corresponded via email and made the conscious decision to limit our phone/Skype chats for that unspoken tension aspect of a reunion. You don't want to say everything before you meet but then again, you don't want to lose touch.
Clarissa flew into London on the 1st February 2012, a day earlier than she had informed me she would. Seems that ol' pesky time difference thing reared it's ugly head and I had an email's warning, just before she left for the airport to change my travel plans to meet her.
So, I threw away our train tickets and booked a pair of tickets on the National Express Bus service and headed to the station to get the 6 am bus to London- Heathrow Airport. At this time, Clarissa was en route.
I was feeling somewhat nervous. I am a person that likes warning, advance warning...the more advanced the better and given that my notification was, on this occasion, all of half a day earlier, I had little time to prepare.
I was living in the family house in Sheffield with my brother and, given that he is loathe to help out much, I found myself running around the house with the vacuum cleaner and a feather duster. Yes, very manly I looked too.
I had so much stress and nervous energy building up in me I had real trouble sleeping. I needn't have set the alarm, I woke every hour on the hour.
The taxi arrived at 5am and we were off to the bus station.
The ride was fairly uneventful, but due to the remaining tension I was unable to enjoy reading my book or relax in any way. If I'd been able to pace, I would have.
I arrived (via a connection at London Bus Station) at Heathrow Airport and made my way, as relaxed looking as I could, to the terminal. I got lost on the way. Not crazy lost, where you end up in Bristol, but lost as in I took the wrong turning and ended up at a totally different terminal, all the was across the airport. No real issue and quite expected as I tend to get lost on a regular basis- having gotten lost as a Cub Scout looking for a post box (it was just over the road-I was distracted).
So, I finally ended up at the correct terminal, but given my nerves, I had gotten the earliest bus possible and now had 1 1/2 hours to wait.
I enjoy people watching and made ample use of my wavering, erratic eyes. I also made an unconscious decision to drink coffee (something Clarissa would later refer to, as I forgot to buy some chewing gum and subsequently had not-so-pleasant breath).
The minutes rolled by...slowly.
At last, the doors to duty free opened and the first of the passengers started to trickle through.
A series of lost looking individuals wandered out (the lonely ones are always in a hurry to get out, then they just stand there), then a few families, then a traveller or two (the hippy/twenty-something variety) and then, then I saw her.
Clarissa was looking quite relaxed and perusing the duty free champagne.
Now, I like Champs as much as the next fella, but, given that it'd been a long trip down, a long night before, the nervous tension of getting back in touch and that we had not physically seen each other in a decade...I had hoped that she might run through the gate at a sprint and throw herself into my arms.
But no.
She stopped shopping, turned and walked towards the gate.
Time slowed. I promise you, it really did.
She saw me, I saw her.
She slowed, then sped up.
I had strategically placed myself at the opening to the visitors barrier and made sure that there was a clear line of sight and access.
I walked, then ran.
Arms out, not hint of embarrassment on either side, we collided, grabbing each other and holding each other tight. I kissed her (on the cheek- don't be so presumptuous) and we looked at each other, ignoring the other passengers around us.
We pushed the trolley and her bags out of the way, past the other visitors/families and to an area with a little more space.
We stopped and looked at each other.
Always the one for the romantic gestures and realising that 10 years is just 1 decade too long, I grabbed Clarissa a kissed her squarely on the lips.
She kissed back.
So, her we are, 1 year on.
We celebrated with beers, peanuts and a few games of pool.
We'd corresponded via email and made the conscious decision to limit our phone/Skype chats for that unspoken tension aspect of a reunion. You don't want to say everything before you meet but then again, you don't want to lose touch.
Clarissa flew into London on the 1st February 2012, a day earlier than she had informed me she would. Seems that ol' pesky time difference thing reared it's ugly head and I had an email's warning, just before she left for the airport to change my travel plans to meet her.
So, I threw away our train tickets and booked a pair of tickets on the National Express Bus service and headed to the station to get the 6 am bus to London- Heathrow Airport. At this time, Clarissa was en route.
I was feeling somewhat nervous. I am a person that likes warning, advance warning...the more advanced the better and given that my notification was, on this occasion, all of half a day earlier, I had little time to prepare.
I was living in the family house in Sheffield with my brother and, given that he is loathe to help out much, I found myself running around the house with the vacuum cleaner and a feather duster. Yes, very manly I looked too.
I had so much stress and nervous energy building up in me I had real trouble sleeping. I needn't have set the alarm, I woke every hour on the hour.
The taxi arrived at 5am and we were off to the bus station.
The ride was fairly uneventful, but due to the remaining tension I was unable to enjoy reading my book or relax in any way. If I'd been able to pace, I would have.
I arrived (via a connection at London Bus Station) at Heathrow Airport and made my way, as relaxed looking as I could, to the terminal. I got lost on the way. Not crazy lost, where you end up in Bristol, but lost as in I took the wrong turning and ended up at a totally different terminal, all the was across the airport. No real issue and quite expected as I tend to get lost on a regular basis- having gotten lost as a Cub Scout looking for a post box (it was just over the road-I was distracted).
So, I finally ended up at the correct terminal, but given my nerves, I had gotten the earliest bus possible and now had 1 1/2 hours to wait.
I enjoy people watching and made ample use of my wavering, erratic eyes. I also made an unconscious decision to drink coffee (something Clarissa would later refer to, as I forgot to buy some chewing gum and subsequently had not-so-pleasant breath).
The minutes rolled by...slowly.
At last, the doors to duty free opened and the first of the passengers started to trickle through.
A series of lost looking individuals wandered out (the lonely ones are always in a hurry to get out, then they just stand there), then a few families, then a traveller or two (the hippy/twenty-something variety) and then, then I saw her.
Clarissa was looking quite relaxed and perusing the duty free champagne.
Now, I like Champs as much as the next fella, but, given that it'd been a long trip down, a long night before, the nervous tension of getting back in touch and that we had not physically seen each other in a decade...I had hoped that she might run through the gate at a sprint and throw herself into my arms.
But no.
She stopped shopping, turned and walked towards the gate.
Time slowed. I promise you, it really did.
She saw me, I saw her.
She slowed, then sped up.
I had strategically placed myself at the opening to the visitors barrier and made sure that there was a clear line of sight and access.
I walked, then ran.
Arms out, not hint of embarrassment on either side, we collided, grabbing each other and holding each other tight. I kissed her (on the cheek- don't be so presumptuous) and we looked at each other, ignoring the other passengers around us.
We pushed the trolley and her bags out of the way, past the other visitors/families and to an area with a little more space.
We stopped and looked at each other.
Always the one for the romantic gestures and realising that 10 years is just 1 decade too long, I grabbed Clarissa a kissed her squarely on the lips.
She kissed back.
So, her we are, 1 year on.
We celebrated with beers, peanuts and a few games of pool.
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