I saw Josh more than I expected. Whether he was on the cover of Star Scoop magazine with a gorgeous blonde or gracing the cover of Hollywood Enquirer, he was there, and yet so far away. And every time I saw him, my hand wrapped itself around the compass.
There was a poster bin in the grocery store full of Stellar Siege images. Natalie flipped through the rack. She looked at one poster and asked, “Is he that cute in person?” She stared at me, waiting for an answer.
As much as I wanted to, I didn’t think it was appro
priate to nod and grab onto the poster. I was proud of how detached I sounded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“He’s ok. But he’s not really my type. He’s a little too pretty for me. Now if we were talking about…” And she was off, listing the virtues of her celebrity crushes.
My eyes strayed to the poster. He was pretty. He was gorgeous. He had posed ready for alien action in his gray uniform. His hair was ruffled, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw set. He looked rather fierce—which made me want to laugh a little. With a rifle strap across his chest and a laser blaster in his hand, Josh looked cool even to Will.
“He’s not pretty, Nat. He’s got a gun.” Will stared at his sister.
I shook my head. “Okay, we need milk. Lead the way,” I said to Will. I flipped the posters back, hiding his poster from prying eyes. I shook my head at my own ridiculousness.
Other than missing Josh, which happened way too much for my comfort level, I accomplished a lot in two weeks. A real estate agent came over and gave me a list of things to do before we put the house on the market. We managed to finish the list of repairs and improvements and had a massive garage sale. Mom and I were pretty proud of ourselves.
The daily chaperoning of the kids took up most of the afternoons. Weekend sporting events, birthday parties, and concerts kept everyone happy and busy.
And I was writing. A lot.
Bedtime stories had been replaced with travel books. Each one of us picked out places we had to visit. By the morning of our departure, the book was full of colored tags and ribbon stickers.
The day we boarded the plane, I was so excited I thought my heart was going to beat its way out of my chest.
Our flight was long but surprisingly pleasant. Thank goodness for patient airline stewards, in-flight movies, and coloring books. With a sliver of my book-signing bonus, I finally gave in and purchased each of the kids a handheld gaming system. After a fellow six-year-old passenger happily taught them how they worked, the flight was relatively peaceful.
My heart seemed to accelerate with each mile travelled.
Stepping into London’s Heathrow Airport was like stepping back in time for me. The last time I’d been in London, I’d been a college student. It was one of those instant changes, from the smell of the air to the sound of the accents. We were far from home.
The kids were wide-eyed and chattering, staring around the airport. Will was awestruck by the different candy and began begging for “just a couple”. I bought a package of fruit pastilles and made them share.
Shannon was waiting with a large super-shuttle to transport us to the hotel. Once everyone and everything was loaded into the shuttle, we set off for the hotel.
“You look terrible.” Shannon shook her head. “You looked so great two weeks ago. Now you look sick.”
My mom whispered, “Being attacked by your ex-husband, filing for a restraining order, and putting your house on the market does a number on a gal’s stress level, Shannon.”
“Mom.” I’d forgotten how good Shannon and Mom were at tag-teaming.
I glanced at the kids in the back seat of the van. Will was still happily blowing up aliens while Natalie was plugged into her MP3, staring excitedly out the window. I relaxed. No harm had been done.
“What’s the agenda?” I asked.
“Well, we have a couple of days here in London. Today is a free day. I didn’t know how exhausted you and your mafia would be. I didn’t know if naps would be in order.”
My mother laughed. “Unfortunately, naps in the Collins household are a thing of the past.”
“I’m so glad you’re here, Marty!” Shannon smiled at her. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I’ve been in Texas for so long I almost forgot there was a whole other world out there.” My mother was clearly thrilled. “I missed the travel that came with Sidney’s time in the military.”
“I was sorry to hear about Sidney. He was such a sweet, sweet man.”
“He was. I was a blessed woman to have him for forty years.” I squeezed Mom’s hand, knowing she missed him more than she admitted to.
“How has retirement been?” Shannon asked.