outbound | haaland

02.

"Nova. And you are?"

Erling blinked. His airport disguise was either quite effective today, or Nova didn't recognize him at all. How refreshingly wonderful. Erling could just be a normal, anonymous person for a minute. He rarely had those kinds of interactions anymore; he cherished them. "Erling."

"Nice to meet you, I guess."

He smiled. Nova seemed kind. Erling turned back around and quickly order Nova's replacement cupcake and selected a Strawberry Short Cupcake for himself. The server behind the counter looked utterly bored and didn't give Erling the chance to request the cupcakes in separate boxes before they were pushed toward him.

He spared an apologetic glance to Nova as he handed over the requisite cash to pay for the cupcakes.

With the cupcakes in hand, Erling turned around to see Nova taking a seat on one of the nearby benches. Swiftly, Erling bridged the distance between them and took a seat by his new unfortunate acquaintance. He opened the box and plucked out his cupcake, passing off Nova's to her as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Nova pursed his lips, glancing at Erling with a furrowed brow. Erling could read her face quite well; Nova had no reason to trust Erling, not really, and she was clearly considering how deep he should be with her honesty. Nova gripped her new cupcake box and shook her head, "Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"  Erling asked as he began to peel the wrapper off his cupcake gently. He plucked off the fresh strawberry garnish on top and popped it into his mouth, waiting for Nova.

Nova licked her lips and sighed. She turned her body toward Erling, "Erling.  Will you take this to the grave?"

Erling nodded.

"Pinky swear?"

He extended the pinky of his free hand to Nova and gestured for Nova to seal the deal. Nova even stamped the promise with her thumb. It was sweet in its sincerity; Erling had a growing soft spot for Nova.

Nova leaned further forward and spoke in a low voice, "I really stuck my foot in my mouth on this one.  It's just- you know when you tell one white lie just to get your mom to stop asking about your relationship status? Then you keep lying and being elusive because your mom keeps pressing for details and it snowballs out of control, and suddenly you're promising to bring home a boy for holidays when he doesn't actually exist just to get her off your back. And then you're on the flight home without anything close to a boyfriend and haven't figured out how to tell any of your family or friends, who are very excited to meet this boy you've been talking up for like two months, that you lied and you're still very single?"

Erling processed for a moment. Somehow, it made sense. He didn't have a prying mother, but he was familiar with the felling. He had felt that pressure; being asked over and over about his relationship status and finding there was no way to answer that question to make people leave it alone. He empathised with Nova's situation.  Erling clicked his tongue, "Oddly enough, yes."

Nova stared blankly, "Oh."

"Oh?"

Nova shrugged, "Well, I don't know.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. I figured I was in a more unique position than it appears I am."

Erling quickly polished off his cupcake and dusted off his lap. He considered what advice he might have to offer this woman. He didn't have much practical experience in family situations.  He wanted to help. He mulled it over while chewing his last bite. He swallowed roughly before responding, "For what it matters, I think you could just tell them the truth."

"Are you crazy?  The embarrassment alone would send me to my grave."

Erling thought for a moment, "Then he broke up with you and you don't wanna talk about it."

"Huh," Nova grunted, looking down at her cupcake, "I hadn't thought of that.  Thank you."

Erling patted her shoulder and smiled brightly, "This has been lovely, Nova. I wish you luck with your family."

He gathered his things and checked his watch; he still had plenty of time to make it to his gate before his plane took off. Nova offered a small smile in return and stuck out her hand, "Glad to have met you."

Nova rose to her feet and looked toward the exit.  She exhaled deeply, "Time to face the music I suppose.  Goodbye, Erling."

"Bye, Nova," Erling offered a small wave and watched as his brief companion dragged his bag along with him toward the reception area.

Erling lingered on her retreating figure.