A Different Time, A Different Place

Happy New Year!

„What are you doing here? Did... did you just come all the way from LA?"

„Uhm... yeah, actually. I just... I wanted to see you, and... I knew you'd be here."

„When did you arrive?"

„Just now", she nervously ran a hand through her hair. If in her dreams of this moment he had simply pulled her into his arms, kissed her and carried her upstairs to his bedroom, without a single further word of explanation necessary between them, she could now safely say that she had been mistaken.

He wasn't exactly unhappy to see her. He didn't seem angry or upset. But he certainly wasn't thrilled either. At least not yet.

„I mean", she added pointing down herself, „Still wearing my travel jumper and jog pants. I just... didn't know where else to go, what else to do... To be honest, I haven't known in a while. I just... had to see you."

He took a deep breath and uncomfortably scratched his neck, he clearly had no idea what to make of this situation, and kind of neither did she. Maybe... this had all been the biggest mistake of all and she had achieved nothing but embarrassing him and herself. Maybe she just unerringly maneuvered from one disaster into the next, and everyone would be better off if she just disappeared, moved continents and changed her identity.

She was just about to take a deep breath to deliver the best apology and description of her feelings and inner turmoil that she could muster when he just shook his head and reached for her wrist to pull her inside, finally.

„Listen, I, I need to go back to the guests. Why don't you... if you want to freshen up, the bathroom's through there. Take your time, okay? Join us whenever you're ready", he gently rubbed over her upper arm and instantly she felt all warm and fuzzy inside. She could have sworn that he was nervous too, but it probably would have been too much to ask to make it all too easy for her. After all, it had been her who had put them both in this position, so she deserved having to put in the work to get them out of it again. If he even wanted to, that was...

After she had closed the bathroom door behind her, she took a look in the mirror and realized that she looked even worse than she had thought: she was tired, had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was both a pale grey, but then with red spots seemingly all over the place, she looked about ten years older than she really was. She took a deep breath, then splashed some water into her face and turned on the shower to try and get ready before midnight.

Colin, meanwhile, desperately tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. Had he already drunk too much and had he seen a ghost? Succumbed to wishful thinking? Or... was she really here? Had she come all the way from LA to Ireland to... well... to what? Most likely not because she had nothing better to do on New Year's Eve and hadn't found any other party she could join somewhere closer to home. Was she trying to tell him something? Apologize? Had she... even changed her mind perhaps? And if so, what was he supposed to do? She had broken his heart, should he just let her back in as if nothing had happened? What did he want? It had all been so painful for him that he hadn't even dared to think about such a possibility so... he didn't have the slightest idea. He couldn't ignore the fact that his heart was beating at 100 miles per hour, so the least he could do was get another beer.

„All good, mate?", he met Sean at the bar who must have just had a very similar idea, „You look a little pale."

„Uhm... yeah, all good! Having a good time?"

„Oh yeah, the best!", he raised his bottle to him with a smile and a ‚Cheers' before heading back to his wife.

Colin hadn't told him about their surprise guest in the bathroom, partly because he was afraid that if he said it out loud, he'd finally hear how crazy it all sounded, before he'd realize that the bathroom was empty.