Lessons in love

chapter 13- this is real

Heathrow
Terminal 2
15:30pm

"Come on, you should be here by now"
Joe whispered to himself reading over the text dianne had sent him a few days before, double checking he had definitely read it right and he was in the right place at the right time.
Maybe she had already run from him? That was his biggest worry.

They had spent the last week talking back and forth, and it hadn't once stopped. Now they had figured out finally that nothing would get better unless they worked together, things were working, even if it was from across the world. The endless calls and texts the past week had struck up a small friendship between them. Now they weren't completly enemies, hating eachother which was a good start considering they were about to walk back into eachothers lives. The next few months trying to figure everything out was going go be hard but they were ready for it, they wanted it. It was all they had spoken about the past week.

"Joseph"
He heard a very familiar voice from behind him. It was definitely her. That faded Australian accent could be recognised anywhere, especially after he had missed hearing it in real life for such a long time.
Turning around, she was there.

She looked perfect.
Even though you could see her nervousness in her eyes and her already almost closed off body language in the way she pulled at the end of her sleeves with her hands and folded them front of her chest, she was beautiful just like he remembered her to be. Tired definitely, she had been on a very long flight but still beautiful. She was the same person he fell in love with five years before. Nothing had changed.

"Hey"
He didn't know what to do, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her, hugging her but it didn't feel right. Obviously now they were on better terms than what they were before but this overwhelming sense of worry was consuming both of them now. This was real.

"Hey, how are you?"
They moved away from eachother. Nothing was the same, but they were trying. It was always going to be a little bit awkward, especially considering that the last time they saw eachother they found themselves laying the the same bed naked. It was going to be hard to face that. It was one of the many things they would need to talk about.

"I'm ok, are you?"
He asked her, taking her bags instinctively. He wanted to show he wanted to make the effort and that was something he always used to do.

"Yeah, I think so. Tired though"

"We can always go straight home. I mean...that was always my plan but..."
He began.

"Yeah, I want to go home"
It seemed to be she wasnt up for talking much, but he understood. She had been on a 24 hour flight and was scared. Scared to be back. She didn't want this to end up even worse than it already was. She didn't want to be hurt again, but knew she would have to face things which would be difficult. The next few days were going to be crucial for them. Alot of difficult conversations would need to happen.
The two of them walked through the airport and to the terminals car park in nothing but silence. Dianne noticed the car as soon as she stepped outside. It wasn't hard to spot it considering it was big enough for the family they had planned to have but how seemed so far away...or so they thought.

"Are you alright?"
Joe loaded her suitcases in the car and then joined her in the front. She had already got there.

"Yeah...I'm fine"
She spoke quietly.

"I was thinking maybe we could go out for dinner later, once you've slept if you want to"
He suggested.

"What, like to talk?"
She knew exactly what he meant by going out for dinner. It wasn't just for dinner. It was to talk about everything. Some hard truths had to be faced and some decisions had to be made.