outbound | haaland

03.

Erling slid his hand into his pocket, fingers fluttering around the edges of his plane ticket.  Wallowing was all that he would have if he went through the security line.

His body made the choice before he finished processing his thoughts.

He was going to help Nova.

He tossed his bag over his shoulder and started jogging to catch Nova. At a minimum, he could help sell the break-up narrative. He followed Nova's figure and caught sight of two people standing next to each other with a sign reading "Nova Reyes".  Nova headed straight toward them with shoulders squared in determination.

They wrapped Nova into a group hug, and Erling was steps away.

As Nova pulled away, the shorter of the two asked, "So where is he?"

"Well..." Nova started.

"Nova, there you are!" Erling called out with a joking relief. Three sets of eyes landed on him; each set reading with more surprise than the next, the most surprised of all was Nova. Erling giggled naturally, pawing at her shoulder. "Were you that excited to see them that you couldn't wait the two minutes it took for me to get my bag?"

Confusion swept over Nova's face. She was speechless. Erling mentally apologized for messing up Nova's plans.

"Sorry," the tall one said, "You are?"

Erling grinned, stepping next to Nova and clasping their hands together.  "I'm the boyfriend," he said, naturally twining their fingers together to drive home his point. He rolled eyes and confidently added: "Obviously."

Erling almost heard the pieces click into place for Nova. A sudden and loud laugh, "Ha! Ha-ha.  Yes, yeah, I'm sorry, b-boyfriend. My dear, sweet, lovely, incomparable, tangible boyfriend, sweetie.  Honey." Nova cleared her throat.  (Nova was a bad liar. This much was clear. Erling made the right decision to bail him out.)

Erling nudged Nova with an elbow and muttered under his breath, "Introduce me formally please."

"Ah, yes. Ingrid, Christian, this is my- this is Erl- my boyfriend, Erling.  Erling, this is my Ingrid and Christian."

The shorter of the two plastered on a broad smile and pulled Erling into a tight hug, "Hello, Erling. Lovely to meet you."

"Christian, personal space," the older one - Ingrid, Erling supposed - hissed through her teeth, tugging Christian's sweater.

With a final squeeze, Christian released Erling, clapping a hand down on his shoulder to follow up an even warmer smile. Christian placed his hands squarely on his hips, looking between Erling and Nova who, well, for the time being, was her boyfriend.

"Erling," Christian softly said. "Does anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like that footballer?"

Erling caught a look of complete mortification on Ingrid's face before the girl covered her face with both hands and whispered, "Oh my god."

Erling nodded. Many times, in fact, he had been told that he resembled himself.

Ingrid and Christian led Nova and Erling back to their car in the parking garage. Christian filled the space where silence should have been; unprompted, he launched himself into a story about the pains he had been going through to find the perfect gift for his parents. Ingrid looked pained; it was clear that Ingrid was very much caught up on this non-saga.

"Did you draw the short straw?" Nova whispered to Ingrid.

Ingrid shook his head and lowly replied, "Mum and Dad needed time without Christian to prepare the holiday gift. Yay me."

Erling tuned back into Christian's story and hummed along to each rhetorical question that he posed.

"What do you think?" Christian stopped turned on his heel, making full eye contact with Erling.  "Is that something you think he'd like?" This must be what a deer in headlights felt like. He still stared at Erling, clearly waiting for his two cents about the gift plans.

"Well," Erling cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly between his feet.  "I don't really know your parents, yet."

"Let's get home!" Ingrid interjected. A brief moment of regret overcame Erling. Nova didn't ask for this, and maybe now, Erling stepping in to help out would end disastrously. Perhaps, it was Nova's facial expression that sowed this seed of doubt in Erling. He couldn't quite read it, and he dreaded the idea that he might be adding, yet again, to Nova's not so awesome day. His affection for Nova encouraged him to power through and just help her however possible.

Erling and Nova slid into the back and Ingrid buckled herself in.

"So, Erling," Christian started the car and asked, "What is your job? Nova only ever talks about herself."

He glanced around the car as the vehicle started moving. Ingrid slumped forward; she clearly knew. Erling wasn't sure about Nova or Christian, but if he was going to run into more people from Nova's life, someone else was bound to recognise him.  There was no point in lying.

"I play sports."

Christian chuckled. Erling glanced at Nova, still unable to decipher her expression.

"Like, at a sports club? That's so cool!" Christian followed up.

Erling clicked his tongue, "Um, kind of."

Ingrid coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. She cleared her throat and sniffled, "Must be coming down with something."

It must have been a secret signal between Ingrid and Christian because Erling received no follow-up questions.

Erling suppressed a sigh and turned to the window, watching the nighttime landscape shift. Nova's family must have lived on the outskirts of the city where homes had more privacy and there was more space to breathe. Erling's heart ached, suddenly longing for a childhood that he had always dreamed about but never lived through. It struck him once again that his upbringing left him cold. He longed for the freedom of a quiet bike ride and a warm welcome home.

Did Nova grow up here? Was she a happy child, a rebellious teen, a loving daughter?

He leaned his forehead against the cool window of the car and closed his eyes. Maybe he missed the idea of having an ideal childhood. He had been scouted plenty of times as a teenager in both ideal and in less than ideal situations. He guessed he only felt bad because he had a pseudo-youth through his career, and his father.