Never Be

chapter 2: autumn

Saying goodbye at the airport isn't as hard as he thought it would be. Yes, there are tears on everyone's part, and he lets his mum hold onto him a little too tightly for a little too long, but he doesn't feel like he has to linger at security, doesn't feel like he has to turn around and look over his shoulder at his family, waving and proud, as if he's being sent off to battle.

He makes friends with the people in his row on the plane; an older woman named Margaret that reminds him remarkably of his own grandmother sits to his left, and she chats with him quietly for the first half of the flight. She says that this is her first time visiting the States without her husband - whom passed four years ago - and she's planning on spending her time in North Carolina. He proposed to her on a beach there when they were 24 and 28, and she smiles when she jokes that he was always into older women.

Harry nods along, smiling. "My mum's mum was six years older than my grandfather. He said he fell in love with her for her wisdom, and stayed for her baking."

Margaret laughs. "A great baker, was she?"

"The best. I would go to war for her scones."

They chat for a while longer until their conversation dies down and Harry finds himself dozing off in between the scenes of the movie playing in front of him, something with Steve Carell and Dane Cook. He startles himself awake when the credits start playing, the music booming through his headphones, and he nearly cracks his head against the passenger's to his right.

"Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry," he says, rubbing the side of his temple. "Stupid Dan in Real Life scared the shit out of me."

She laughs. "Yeah, quite the horror film, innit?"

"Yeah, I'll say." He looks down and sees that she's writing a list of items in a notebook. Places, tourist attractions. "I take it your travel is thoroughly thought out?" he says, gesturing toward the paper.

She nods. "Yeah, it's my first time on the East Coast, and I have a lot I want to see. I didn't get the chance to explore New York or Boston or D.C. the last time I was here."

"Where'd you visit before?"

"I lived in Los Angeles for a semester. I studied abroad during my third year of university. It was absolutely lovely, but I never really left California."

"Oh!" His eyes go wide. "Awesome, someone that I can talk to! I'm actually on my way to study abroad, myself. First time in the states."

"Stop it! How incredible!" She smiles. "Is New York your final destination?"

"I wish." He purses his lips together, remembering his mum's words from before. "Landing in New York and then I'm heading to Hartford, Connecticut. Not too far away from the city, though, and I'm excited."

"Ah, that should be wonderful." She holds out her hand. "I'm Grace, by the way."

He shakes. "Harry."

"You're going to have a lot of fun, Harry. It's much different than home, but it's great."

"I've heard as much. Do you have any advice?"

She closes her notebook and sets her pen down on top of it. "You're there to study, and that's important, but don't make that your sole priority. Embrace everything that's around you, because if you take it for granted, you're going to realize as soon as you get home just how badly you wish you'd utilized it all."

"That's valid. Thanks."

"Of course."

Grace goes back to her notes, opening up the notebook again and writing in Martha's Vineyard , and Harry clears his throat before she's completely focused again. "Grace?"