“Alright, cugini, hop on in your seats. We’ll be late selecting up Mr. Bellamy, and also you don’t need Aunt B to get in hassle, do you?”

I herd them into the again of the automobile and their respective seats, guaranteeing they’re buckled in securely.

“You wouldn’t get in hassle,” Ava says matter-of-factly. “I’d defend you.”

“Me too,” Jett nods in settlement, not desirous to be not noted.

These children. I swear to God. If I didn’t have a job to do proper now, I’d be a melted puddle on the ground. For an nearly four- and three-year-old, the issues they randomly say are so considerate it blindsides me typically. I can solely hope that my very own children, every time that occurs, are as form and candy as these two. Normandy and Chelsie are doing one thing very proper with them.

“Nicely, thanks. I admire that,” I’m lastly capable of say as I get behind the wheel. “It’s good to know I’ve you two on my facet.” I look at them within the rearview mirror. “Able to go to the airport?”

They rambunctiously reply within the affirmative in unison at a decibel degree I don’t assume is suitable for the inside of a automobile. Oh no. Mr. Bellamy is in for one hell of a loopy welcome to America.

* * *

Mischief Motors is extraordinarily near the airport, so I’m not likely anxious about being late selecting up Mr. Bellamy. Being a automobile service, having a location close by is sort of crucial for enterprise.

We arrive with a while to spare, so I park and take the youngsters inside to fulfill Mr. Bellamy at baggage declare as an alternative of the common pick-up and drop-off spot.

We’ve an indication that reads “BELLAMY” that the youngsters argue over who will get to carry. They finally comply with my compromise, and every takes a facet of the signal. It retains them collectively and, in my sight, at the very least.

Normandy didn’t give me an outline of what this Mr. Bellamy is meant to appear like, however contemplating the sorts of books he writes, I’m assuming he’s an older gentleman. He’s most likely a tweed jacket-with-patches-on-the-elbows sort of man. Perhaps he even smokes a pipe. Do individuals smoke pipes anymore?

My thoughts wanders as I search via the gang of newcomers circling like vultures across the baggage carousel, anxious to get their luggage first prefer it’s some sort of achievement. I don’t see any older gents with patched elbows within the group.

What my eyes do catch on is a tall man in his early to mid-thirties, with blondish hair that’s properly reduce however nonetheless longish on the highest, well-tamed scruff on his sq. jawline, and in very well-fitting denims, with a button-down shirt and darkish swimsuit jacket. An ideal instance of touring enterprise informal.

Our eyes meet and lock, and one thing occurs in my chest that I’ve by no means felt earlier than. I swear one million butterflies are preventing to fly free from my rib cage, and all rigidity leaves my physique. Each nerve on my pores and skin involves consideration, and my mind appears to stutter as we stare upon one another.

I feel time passes, however perhaps it stands nonetheless. I can’t inform, and I don’t care, both. I can’t restrain my smile, and he responds together with his personal, and it’s attractive. It lights up his complete good-looking face. I’ve no clue what we’re smiling about, however we’re, thirty yards aside in the midst of a busy airport and smiling like idiots at one another. What the hell are we doing?

“Perhaps he didn’t come.” Ava’s voice reaches me from distant, and I reluctantly drag my eyes away from the person to look down at her.

“What’s that?” Her phrases nonetheless aren’t registering in my mind. I search for shortly, looking for the person I used to be simply supernaturally linked to. I don’t understand how else to place it.

That wasn’t only a second we shared; it was an expertise. I would like to search out that man once more.

Instantly.

Ava says one thing else, perhaps repeating what she simply stated, but it surely’s drowned out by my pounding coronary heart, needing to search out that particular person I simply noticed. I can’t imagine I can’t find him. It’s as if he magically disappeared as quickly as I regarded away. Nice.

Perhaps I imagined the entire thing. Perhaps he was smiling at somebody behind me, in a roundabout way at me like I assumed he was. I flip round shortly to see if there’s somebody there, and there isn’t.

Am I going loopy?

Then I discover him. Or he finds me. I don’t care which. We each should have been looking for the opposite as a result of our smiles are again as soon as we reconnect. He begins to stroll towards me, and I do one other fast verify behind me to ensure it’s me he’s smiling at, and I nonetheless don’t see anybody there.

It’s me. He’s smiling at me. Holy cow. I must know who this man is and why I’m reacting this approach to him from out of nowhere.

As he will get nearer, he notices Ava and Jett. He tilts his head to the facet, rubbing his chin, and a frown erases the smile he simply wore so superbly. I don’t perceive the sudden shift in moods. I additionally don’t admire the scowl he provides the youngsters.

Who the hell is that this man?

“I take it you’re Normandy,” he snaps, his tone edged with disdain. He doesn’t ask if I’m. He simply pronounces it.

“No, that’s Aunt B,” Ava explains in a rush, correcting him. “My mother needed to go to the hospital to assist Aunt C have a child, so we got here to get you. And we’re gonna have french fries. Aunt B promised.”

“I stated a snack. I didn’t say which sort.” I can really feel my ears turning pink with embarrassment, however I cannot be pressured into french fries. It’s solely now that the scenario dawns on me. He thought I used to be Normandy.

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