***
The planeeventually landed safely and taxied into place. The moment theseatbelts lights were off, everyone, Crispin included, scrambled togather their belongings and exit the aircraft. It hadn’t been a badexperience, flying, but it was quite a long flight and after thatlast painful bit, everybody was keen to get off. Gwen could tellthat Crispin had a headache or something from the way he keptrubbing at the area around his ears.
Gwen didn’teven have time to pat herself on the back for surviving the ordealbefore switching into action mode. She realized very quickly thatCrispin wasn’t the most patient person in the world. She would haveliked to have taken her time to re-check her purse and carryon forall her possessions but he’d given her that look that told hershe’d best keep up or get left behind. Right away, that wasn’t avery good start.
On their wayoff the plane, they said goodbye to Anne, the flight attendant.Crispin had long ago abandoned his need to charm her and simplybrushed past her with a briskest of nods. Directly behind him, Gwengave her a trepidatious smile full of gratitude for her earlierintervention.
Now there werethe crowds to contend with. Gwen stuck as close to Crispin aspossible, even if it meant tripping over his feet a couple oftimes. He’d scowled at her but hadn’t said anything. He just keptlooking around, reading the signs that pointed them in the rightdirection. Gwen was ever so grateful for his diligence, because, atthis point, all she could do was follow him alongside the herd oftravellers all headed toward customs and baggage claim.
She couldn’tquite believe it but she had survived going through customs. Thehuge lines actually helped because they gave her time to ready herdocuments. And she was relieved when they were able to approach thecustoms officers together since the idea of going it alone atanything that required any form of prolonged concentration wasabsolutely unbearable.
She was tryingso very hard to contain her building anxiety at each stage of theprocess and her shoulder muscles felt as though they might snapfrom so much clenching. Yet so far, she was quite impressed withherself for not losing it. She knew Crispin’s presence was thereason she was able to get through this. As ill-mannered andirritable as he was getting, grumbling and muttering under hisbreath, he dealt with it all quite well.
Withoutexperiencing it for herself, she couldn’t have imagined how hugeHeathrow airport was. Having to walk its entirety, out of breathand on shaky legs, was no small feat. It wasn’t until they werestanding at baggage claim waiting for their luggage to appear whenshe was able to breathe properly. Even then, it wasn’t long beforethe next wave of anxiety hit her. She had been ordered by Crispinto stand back with their carryon bags while he claimed theirsuitcases. But as he started to walk away she felt herself panic atthe irrational thought of him leaving her there. But then, heturned back and asked her a question. A question she wasn’t quiteready to answer since her ears hadn’t opened up properly. It wasn’tuntil he grasped her tightly by the shoulders and gave her a slightshake that she finally heard him.
“Gwen? Come on, snap out of it. You’re safely on the ground.”He frowned, gazing at her with concern and frustration. “Tell mewhat your suitcase looks like so we can get out ofhere.”
“Bright pink and yellow tartan, hard shell,” she finally said,watching him scowl in distaste. For a second, she laughed and hertension was gone once again. She then realized how ridiculous herdaydreams of doing this on her own had been. Surely, she wouldnever have made it this far by herself.
Of course, it would have to be pink, Crispin thought with a frown. “Fine, stay put and I’ll beright back.” While he waited by the luggage carousel, he thought tocheck the time. It was now nearly 10 PM in London. He adjusted hiswatch five hours ahead to match the local time zone. Technically,it should only feel like 5 PM but he had to admit he was exhausted.Travelling really did take it out of you. Obviously, Gwen wasfeeling it too. At least, he hoped that’s what it was. She’d beenquite out of it since they had landed. He would have expected herto be excited and full of energy since she’d slept through most ofthe flight, but so far, if anything, she seemedoverwhelmed.
While she stoodwaiting, she took the opportunity to consult her notes. The nextstep of the journey would involve finding the London UndergroundStation attached to the airport. According to the instructions, itshould take an hour to reach Victoria Station on the PiccadillyLine. That didn’t sound too bad to her. The part that had her alittle concerned was having to change trains at Hammersmith orSouth Kensington to then get on the Circle & District Lineuntil reaching Victoria Station. From there it was an approximate200-metre walk to the Lemon Tree Inn.
Even though itseemed simple enough, she was glad she had scribbled this part ontoa smaller piece of paper in case she needed to consult it while onthe train without having to fumble through her folder. Good thingtoo, since Crispin, in an impatient huff, had forcibly taken itfrom her and tucked it into his carryon at the last minute beforeleaving the plane. In her pocket, she also had a handy print of TheTube map, again, just in case she needed to check it. Hopefully,though, she wouldn’t need to worry and they’d get to the Lemon TreeInn soon. She could tell Crispin was tired. He hadn’t really slepton the plane and the journey had been a long one.
Minutes later,Crispin stepped up to her with both their suitcases in tow. For amoment, she forgot all her concerns at the sight of her handsome ifnot reluctant travel companion.
“Right then, shall we?”
“Yes, thanks.” Gwen happily took her suitcase and passed himhis carryon.
“Where to now, young miss? Lead the way.”
“To the Lemon Tree Inn!” she declared, suddenly filled withexcitement. She’d done it.
