“Congratulations, love. You did it.”
“Well, we’ll see. I haven’t gotten my results yet. They won’t come for months.”
“I believe in you. I’m sure you passed.”
“Keep your fingers crossed.”
As I peered into the house from the entry hall and through the doors to the patio, I was stunned. Through the crowd, I could see lights twinkling everywhere, a number of vases of carousel roses placed throughout the house and on tables in the backyard, and catered food on the dining room and patio tables.
“Did you do all this?”
“I had help.”
“I can’t believe you did this.” I started to tear up.
“You aren’t crying are you?”
“Just a little.” I tried to stop. “You make me so happy. I don’t deserve you.”
“I think you’ve got it backward.”
“I love you.”
“I love you. I would do anything for you. I’ll let you get to your party now. Have a good time. See you in two days for you, tomorrow for me. I’ll be waiting.”
“I wish you were here with me.”
“Me too.”
After a tearful goodbye, I handed the phone back to Stephen and joined the party. There were lots of high-fives among those of us from law school, greatly relieved that the exam was over. There also were a lot of congratulatory hugs from Will’s friends and from my college friends. Max, Daniel and John joined me quickly to add their congratulations.
“I hear you’re living here now,” Max said.
“Yes, since June.”
“You’ve got a pretty nice life out here,” Daniel added.
John said nothing as he tried unsuccessfully to hide the pained look on his face. He stared at the ground.
“We have fun,” I said casually.
“Where’s Will?” Max asked.
“London on business. He’s meeting me there the day after tomorrow.”
“I thought you were traveling with Pam?” John interrupted, sounding upset and unable to hide it.
“I am. I’m spending about a week in London with Will while Pam visits with a friend of hers there. After that, Will starts shooting a film, and Pam and I leave for Ireland and Continental Europe as planned. One change though since you and I last talked: no more Greece. Pam broke up with Alex so she doesn’t want to visit his brother now. We’re going to Scandinavia instead. At the end of the trip, I’ll meet back up with Will in London for a few days and we’ll come home together.”
“I’m glad you’re not giving up your trip for him.” John continued to stare at the ground.
I was annoyed at his insinuation. “He would never ask me to do that. Anyway, thank you, you guys, for coming. I appreciate it. I’m going to go get myself a drink.”
As I walked away, I could hear Max say loudly to John, “What is your deal?” I walked too far away to hear the answer.
John caught up with me later in the evening. I had just led one of my law school friends to the front door to say our goodbyes. When I turned around to return to the party, John pulled me into the empty living room, where we would be unseen by the rest of the crowd.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said in a low voice brimming with disappointment.
“There are a lot of people here to see.” I was flippant because I knew that he didn’t just mean this evening.
“That’s not what I meant. I was hoping we would see each other over the summer. I thought we were friends.”
“So did I, but how can I spend time with you when you keep crossing the line? I love Will. Anyway, I thought it would be better if you had the summer away from me to move on.”
“I am trying. I get it now that you two are serious. You’re living together.” He grabbed my hand. “When you come back from Europe, let’s start over, and have it be like it was, okay? You and I were good friends.”
“Yes, we were. We have to work together, so I’ll try if you try. Fair?”
“Fair.”
“But you’re going to have to stop holding my hand.”
“Sorry.” He let go.
“I’m going to get another drink and then why don’t we go find Max and Daniel?”
“Sounds good to me.”
I really enjoyed myself at the party even though I missed Will. I loved being surrounded by friends, old and new. In that moment, I thought that, despite my fears to the contrary, my new life with Will might work out after all.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The next day I busied myself doing laundry and packing my medium-sized rolling suitcase with an attached carry-on bag that was going to have to last me for the next five-plus weeks.
Since there were no paparazzi outside, I borrowed Colin’s Jeep and made a run to a local market to pick up travel-sized toiletries.
Before I knew it, it was time to leave. Will arranged for a car to pick me up at the house and take me to the airport. I met up with Pam at the Bradley International Terminal at LAX. We weren’t going to be sitting together on the plane though. My graduation presents from my parents were a plane ticket and a Eurail Pass, and my father had used airline miles to upgrade me to business class. Pam’s ticket was for economy class.
We stood in our respective lines, hers a bit longer than mine. When I arrived at the front of the line, a woman with a perfect British accent told me that I was in the wrong place and pointed me to an open agent at the first class counter. She handed me back my ticket and I looked at it more carefully. I then noticed that it had been upgraded and was dated about a month before. Will. I smiled.
After checking in, I walked over to join Pam in the economy class line and informed her of what happened.
“Lucky you. I get to sit in the cattle car.”
“Maybe we can trade off from time-to-time. I can spell you.”
It was finally Pam’s turn in line about thirty minutes later. The male agent took Pam’s ticket and punched it into the computer.
“I’m sorry madam. You are in the wrong queue. You need to see the lady down there at the other end of the check-in desk.” He pointed to the first class check-in counter.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day today as well.”
I led Pam to the first class ticket counter, where she received her boarding pass, reflecting a seat next to mine, and the economy class return ticket home was exchanged for one in first class as well.
We grabbed our carry-on bags and headed for security check-in. Once through security, we made our way to the First Class Lounge since we had a while to wait before we boarded the flight. We were both a little shell-shocked by Will’s change in the manner of our travel, but the First Class Lounge was a welcome treat.
Although it was late in London, I decided to text him.
“Got the tix. Thx. Can’t w8 2 c u.”
The phone rang a few seconds later.
“Surprise!” Will chuckled as he said it.
“Yes, it was, actually. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did. I want you well-rested when you get here. I didn’t want you sitting there worrying about Pam either. You know you would have. Besides, isn’t it better now that you can sit together?”
“Yes, but still,” I responded a little petulantly.
“Just say, ‘Thank you,’” he scolded me.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow and you can thank me properly. I love you. I can’t wait either.”
“I love you.”
“Goodnight. Get some rest. You’re going to need it.”
I understood exactly what he meant, and thinking about that made me ache for him at that particular moment. It was going to be a long flight if I didn’t find some distraction from these thoughts.
Pam and I drank champagne in the lounge and again on the plane. During dinner, we decided to watch movies on our private screens. Sure enough, one of our choices was Midnight 3. We both laughed at that fact and watched it at the same time. During a sex scen
e toward the end of the film, Pam looked over at me with her eyes wide, “You get to sleep with him like that?”
“Better.” It was an understatement.
“Wow! Lucky you. Does he have a brother?”
“Nope, but maybe he can introduce you to some of his friends in London.”
“You think any of them are as perfect as he is?”
“I don’t think anyone could ever be as perfect as he is. But I don’t know any of his friends from home, so you’ll just have to see if there is anyone you like.”
After the movie, I fell asleep, dreaming of Will. I awoke when I heard the sounds of breakfast being served by the First Class flight attendant. Pam was already awake. I looked at my watch and was happy that I got almost six hours of sleep. I had been so excited that I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep at all, but the champagne and my fatigue left over from the Bar Exam must have helped. We had about an hour or so before landing. I watched BBC News while I ate my cooked breakfast. First Class food was pretty good.
After breakfast, I went to the bathroom to tidy myself up and brush my teeth. I did the best I could to try to look like I hadn’t had the week from hell with the Bar Exam followed by a long flight to the U.K.
“How do I look?” I asked Pam when I returned to the seat.
“Good.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her. “I don’t look like I’ve been through the wars?”
“No. Not at all. Don’t worry. I’d tell you.” I felt better when I realized that she probably would have told me – and bluntly.
The closer we were to landing in London, the more jittery I became. I was always anxious to see Will after we had been separated, but this was worse. I felt nervous to see Will on his home turf. As it was, I wasn’t sure I quite fit in with his life in L.A., but at least I lived there. To some extent, he was on my home turf there. In England, however, his life was completely foreign to me. I hoped that I would not appear to be the square peg in his round hole life there.
We exited the plane, retrieved our luggage, and passed through customs more quickly than we anticipated although I was chomping at the bit the whole time. As we exited the terminal, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Would Will be there? Would he send someone? I didn’t think to ask beforehand. As I considered this, Pam and I weaved our way through the crowd and I caught sight of him, standing there with a big welcoming smile. I almost ran.
He put his arm around me and gave me a hug and a kiss and then gave Pam a hug and a cheek kiss. He took my suitcase from me and tried to grab Pam’s, but she said that she had it, so he put his other arm around me and we quickly walked out the terminal toward the car park. We headed toward a Range Rover that looked, from the outside, almost identical to the one he had in the U.S., but for the right-hand drive.
As we approached, I asked, “Yours?”
“Yes. My parents keep it when I’m in America.”
After Will lifted Pam’s luggage into the back of the SUV, Pam walked around to climb into the back seat. As Pam was settling in, Will grabbed me and kissed me hard.
“I missed you. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” I didn’t want to let go.
Pam expected to be driven to meet a train that would get her to Jane’s home south of London, but Will wouldn’t hear of it and we therefore drove Pam directly there. Pam had told Jane that she knew Will MacKenzie and that the friend she was traveling with would be staying with him, but I doubted Jane expected him to show up on her doorstep. She stammered in response as Pam introduced him. Jane asked us to stay for a drink, but Will declined, stating that we had plans. He added that he hoped that they would come join us in town over the course of the next several days.
The ride into Central London from the south was slow with traffic. Will held my hand intermittently when not having to shift the manual transmission gears.
“So what do you have in store for me tonight?”
“Actually, we don’t have anything that we have to do, tonight anyway. I just didn’t want to share you today. I’ve missed you and I want to be alone with you.”
As we drove through London, I traded off between looking out the window at the sights and looking at Will. Between the excitement of being in London for the first time in three years and at being with Will again, it was hard to contain myself.
While we were stopped at a traffic light, Will held my hand, turned to look at me and smiled.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m excited to be here.”
“I’m excited you’re here.” He squeezed my hand before letting go to use the gearshift and driving off after the light changed.
We made our way expertly through the streets of London to the Hampstead area. It was a beautiful area, full of red-bricked buildings and with a fairly busy central shopping area. We pulled up alongside a long row of red-bricked row houses with beautiful white stone accents. We found a spot along the curb and parked. Before I could lean back up after grabbing my purse on the floor, Will was around to my side of the door opening it for me.
As I stepped out of the car, I threw my arms around him and kissed him with more enthusiasm than I had planned. He pulled away after a few moments and chuckled. He leaned in toward me, kissed my neck, and whispered in my ear, “We’ll be inside shortly.” He chuckled again.
Will lived in a top floor flat at the end of one of the longer row houses that had been subdivided. It wasn’t a really large place, but I knew that, in London, it was all about location and this location was no doubt extremely expensive.
Entering the flat, I realized that there could not have been more of a dichotomy between the inside and the outside. The outside was dark, red-bricked with white stone embellishments and out of another time. The inside was light, airy and modern. The flat was beautifully furnished, with light hardwood floors and pale tones, but was still masculine as a result of accents involving sports and music.
There was a whole wall of built-in bookshelves along the far side of the room from the front door and a sofa, loveseat and chairs with end tables were set around a large square coffee table in the middle of the room, facing the wall opposite the bookshelves. I found the contrast with the bachelor pad in the Palisades striking, but for the one similarity in the large flat-screen television along the wall opposite the bookshelves, on the same wall as the front door.
“It’s beautiful in here,” I said as Will returned to the living room after placing my bags in his bedroom and I returned from the bathroom. “Did you do all this?”
“Not really. It was mostly my mother. She was trying to make it nice so I would spend more time in England.”
“Have you?”
“Not really. I’ve only owned this for about a year. Between filming and other commitments, and not wanting to leave you, I haven’t been here much.”
“Can you give me the tour?”
“Of course.” He grabbed my hand and led me around with a look of pride on his face.
There was a long row of windows along the wall perpendicular to the bookshelves with a built in bench along them. On the opposite side of the room, past the front door was a dining area with a light wood and glass rectangular table and chairs with a modern flair.
Behind that was a separate kitchen with windows facing the rear of the building. It was fairly large, and appeared to have been recently modernized. I had been in some older buildings in London in the past and had seen some of the miniature appliances. The appliances here were more of the size of those seen in U.S. homes. It surprised me.
Will then took my hand and led me through a hallway to the right of the front door that connected to the bedrooms. There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms back there, one attached to the Master Bedroom. Like many of the older buildings, the main toilet and bath were in two separate rooms adjacent to each other. The first bedroom was a smaller guest bedroom that had windows facing the rear of the flat. It appeared to be a little more feminine in decor. I gave W
ill a questioning look.
“My mum decorated it to suit her so she’d have a place to stay when she’s in town.” He looked down, a little embarrassed.
I giggled as I thought that was cute.
The room with the bath in it had a vanity area and a large shower tub, all done in black, white and chrome. The toilet area was similarly appointed with very modern-looking fixtures.
The second of the bedrooms was furnished as an office of sorts, its only window being a relatively small skylight, and furnished with modern-looking office furniture and framed posters of classic English films. The master bath must have been carved out of the portion of this room that included the windows.
Will’s room was quite a bit larger than the other two, with large windows facing the front and side covered in wooden blinds. The color scheme was navy and khaki, which gave the room a more masculine feel than the rest of the house. Instead of a closet, there was a large armoire and an even larger dresser on the far side of room to the side of the large bed located on the wall with the door. The bed faced toward the windows on the opposite side of the large room. Near the windows, in the corner, there was a table, with a closed laptop on it, and two chairs surrounding it.
I turned around and looked toward the bed. On either side of it were small tables with lamps on them. The table on the far side also contained an iPhone dock and a clock. The table on the near side housed a framed picture. I walked up to take a look at it and realized that it was a picture of the two of us at my graduation.
“How did you get this?” I asked, holding it, with what was surely a surprised look on my face.
“I asked your sister. She e-mailed it to me,” he said nonchalantly.
“I don’t even have copies of the pictures yet.”
“Well, you’ve been a little too busy to ask.”
“And you haven’t?”
“Well, I was motivated. When I came over here for the premieres back in June, I wanted to be able to see you.”
I returned the picture frame to its place and turned around to face Will. I looked at his face and wondered how he could look at me like that. He looked at me the way I probably looked at him. It never ceased to amaze me. I kissed him and, while continuing to kiss me, he walked me backward the few steps into his bed.
Away From the Spotlight Page 18
