Goodbye America

Goodbye America

With a cheery fake smile and a 'have a nice day' the check in lady
handed Tammy back her passport and boarding pass. Tammy smiled back in
reply and the check in lady reminded her that her check in time and
gate were on her boarding pass. Tammy nodded and yanked her carry on
bag up and onto her shoulder. She moved away from the line and was met
by Sean and Carrie, the two friends who had driven her to the airport.
Sean reached out a hand and took Tammy's bag from her. Tammy protested
at first, but let him take the bag, it was very heavy and they had a
little while to wait before she had to go to the gate. It was far too
early in the a.m. to be lugging a heavy bag around the airport. The
three of them walked into the departures lounge. The city had been
renovating the airport ever since Tammy had flown in over a year ago.
The departures lounge was the only thing that was finished then, the
departures lounge was the only thing that was finished now. On one side
of her Sean was joking that maybe the arrivals would be finished by the
time she, Tammy, came back for a visit. On her other side Carrie was
complaining that she was hungry and making a beeline for the nearest
'Wendy's'. Sean and Tammy allowed Carrie to lead them towards the
counter. Carrie eyed the menu hungrily, then glanced back at Tammy and
Sean.
"You guys want anything?" She asked. Sean shook his head.
"Get me a soda." Tammy said, digging in her pocket and producing a
dollar bill, which she handed to Carrie.
"You sure?" Carrie asked, "It'll be your last taste of American food
before you're back to the horrors of British cuisine." Tammy smiled at
the jab. The Anglo-American debate was the most common between Tammy
and her American friends. Carrie headed towards the counter and Sean
and Tammy looked towards the soldiers standing at the entrance to the
gate.
"Are you going to be okay on the plane?" Sean asked Tammy.
"Yeah, I like to fly." Tammy replied.
"How long is the flight?" Sean asked. Tammy rolled her eyes.
"About 11 hours." She said, "Long time." Sean nodded slowly. Tammy
glanced up at him. Sean had become, without a doubt, her closest friend
in the States. Within the large group of friends that Tammy, Sean and
Carrie were a part of there were little smaller groups. Sean and Tammy
were one of them. Carrie was a good friend to them, but neither of them
had ever felt as close to her as they did to each other. Sean and Tammy
had shared so much in so little time; tears, laughter, the secrets of a
lifetime. And now Tammy had to go back to England and leave him behind.
She was certain he would be fine. There was so much going on that he
probably wouldn't have time to miss her that much. Sean had college
stuff and summer break was coming up for him. He would be flying off
himself soon to his family home in Washington. Between then and now
Tammy was sure the rest of the gang would be having wild parties as
often as possible. So Sean wouldn't even notice she was gone. But Tammy
was going back to reality. Despite the 11 hour flight to think of
nothing but leaving her friends, there was the long trek back from the
airport to home, then the fog of jet lag. She would be fine as well.
She had her friends back home to return to who would want to hear her
stories from across the Big Blue. And even if they didn't want to hear
them, she would tell them anyway. Carrie came back to them, munching a
burger, a bag in one hand. She rummaged in the bag and pulled out a
soda for Tammy.
"Thanks, Carrie." She said. Sean adjusted the bag on his shoulder and
grimaced at Carrie as she shovelled the burger into her mouth.
"How can you eat that junk at this hour?" He asked.
"I dunno, it's a gift I guess." Carrie replied. Sean shook his head
and they wandered aimlessly around the departures lounge as Carrie
finished her meal and Sean and Tammy shared Tammy's soda. Carrie
continued a running commentary as she ate, telling the two of them
about the latest events in her turbulent and highly dynamic love life.
Neither Sean or Tammy were listening very carefully. Both of them,
however, were grateful she was there. Neither of them were comfortable
with 'goodbyes' and it was nice to have Carrie there to make the mood a
little more shallow. Tammy's flight was called over the intercom and
the three of them turned and started to walk towards the gates. Carrie
leaned around Tammy and eyed Sean deliberately.
"Oh yeah." Sean said and rooted in his pocket, "We got you a present."
He told Tammy.
"Ooh, presents!" Tammy exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Sean
rooted in his pocket and took out a plastic egg and handed it to Tammy.
Tammy tried to open it for a few moments until Carrie became impatient
and snatched it from her to open the egg herself. She handed the opened
plastic egg to Tammy and Tammy tipped it over into her hand. A small,
cheap plastic ring fell out into the palm of her hand. Tammy picked up
the ring between thumb and forefinger and waved it at Sean, frowning
quizzically.
"It's a wedding ring!" Carrie exclaimed. Sean grinned and
shrugged.
"'Cos we don't want you to go. So if you're married to one of us you
could stay." He elaborated.
"I see." Tammy said and slipped the ring onto her left hand ring
finger. A lump swelled in Tammy's throat. But she remained British
about it and suppressed her emotion at this touching gift. The three of
them had reached the security gate that led to the departure
gates.
"Well, 'bye Tammy!" Carrie said and pulled Tammy into an exuberant
hug. Americans were naturally more tactile than the British and Tammy
had slowly got used to it, but her British heart was still a little
uncomfortable with it. Carrie released Tammy and Sean and Tammy looked
at each other. He leant down and put one arm around her and Tammy's
heart jumped into her throat. It was only a quick hug. Tammy took her
bag from Sean and headed away to join the line to go through security.
While she queued she considered the various little dramas that took
place in an airport. The reunions, the holidays beginning and ending
and the partings. It got to her turn and she passed through the
security gate and picked up her bag at the other end of the x-ray
machine. She cast one last look back at Carrie and Sean waiting to wave
her off. They waved, both with forced smiles. Tammy waved back,
matching their smiles. She strode away towards her gate without a
backward glance at her two friends. As she walked away she was
surprised to discover that she was entirely in love with Sean. It had
crept up on her so slowly that she had never noticed before. Not until
she had to leave him on a different continent. She boarded her plane in
a daze and sat in her seat. As the plane heaved itself off the ground
she watched as the city underneath her got smaller and smaller. With
the first finger of her right hand she rubbed the purple plastic ring
on her left hand and began to cry.