I Let Love In

Chapter XXXIII: So Long

"Can't we take this one with us?"

Maude blushed bright red in Bon's embrace. He had grabbed her from behind, resting his chin on her head. Brett stood a few metres away, pouting under that silk scarf. 

"C'mon, Bon, leave the girl alone," Malcolm scolded while lugging his suitcase to the gate. It was almost as big as him. "An' if we take her, we take Hannah too."

"The more the merrier," Bon said with a grin. "Not enough women on our tours, c'mon, Cliff, help us out."

Cliff gently squeezed Georgeanne's hand. "I'm all set, Bon, that's your job now." Bon sighed and let Maude go. She hurried to stand next to me and I laughed. My laugh turned to a squeal as Bon lifted me off the floor into a hug. 

"Don't think you're gettin' away so easily," he said. I was engulfed in his hug and unable to breathe. I inhaled sharply after he set me down, ruffling my hair again. "Been good to have ya' around, Hannah Banana."

I coughed into my elbow. "You too...Bon Scott Apricot..." I noticed there was someone missing. "Where's Loretta?"

"Ah. She's goin' to a doctor to have her sunburn checked. Poor thing, ya'know?" he said with a sympathetic look. "We said goodbye this mornin', ya' know?"

"She's not coming with you guys?" Maude asked.

"Nah, she's gotta work. An' Claire's still visitin', she wants to stick with her for a bit longer, ya' know?" Bon gave Maude a very wide grin. "There's still another seat left on the plane...."

"N-no thank you, Bon," Maude said, flustered from the attention. Maude got quite a bit of attention but I don't think she expected Bon Scott to be in that group. Brett came over to us and hugged Maude protectively from behind. Bon raised his hands. 

"Alright, suit yourself, love." He winked at her. I may have been imagining things, but I could have sworn I saw Maude grin under that blush. Cliff came over and gave me a one armed hug, still holding Georgeanne's hand. 

"Hope to see you again sometime," Georgeanne said. "Our days out were fun." Maude ran up and gave her a hug. 

"Oh yeah, Linda told me you ladies went to do some shoppin'," Malcolm said looking cheekily at his wife. She fluttered her lashes at him. 

"But I didn't tell you what kind of shopping," she corrected.

"Well, it's not hard to guess."

"Get a room, Mal," Ang muttered. Malcolm pulled Linda in for a long kiss and Bon cheered. Cliff laughed.

"We'll see ya' again, ladies," he said escorting Georgeanne to the gate. I noticed Phil standing away from everyone else, his hands in his pockets. Before he could decide the best way to say goodbye, I did it for him. 

He stumbled backward catching me in a hug. "It was good to see you, Philip," I said. Phil chuckled at the use of his full first name. "Stay safe."

"You too, kid." I stepped back and finally saw a real smile on his face, despite his tired appearance. Malcolm and Linda must have finally separated from their pash because next thing I knew Malcolm picked me up similar to Bon. 

Only, I wasn't lifted as high off the ground.

"What's my brother gonna do without ya'?" he asked setting me down. "Grumble and gripe, eh, Ang?"

"Yeah, maybe," Angus said giving me a wolf like smile. Bon noticed his expression. 

"Have a wank in the toilets," he said. He narrowly dodged Angus jumping up to take a playful swing at him. While they settled their row, Linda hugged both Maude and me. 

"Men," she sighed. "I'll miss you both. It's been a lot of fun. Shame I missed the beach trip, we'll have to do that again sometime."

"Of course!" Maude said. "Georgeanne too, everyone." 

"Get your fuckin' tongue off my face!"

All three of us turned to see what the hell was going on. Apparently Bon had Angus in a headlock and Angus got out by....licking him. Angus wiped his mouth and came to stand by me. Bon wiped his cheek in mock disgust. "That's what he gets," Angus murmured to me. Bon said something about rabies. 

Maude and Brett stayed with the others while Angus grasped my hand and led me away. The airport was very small; surprisingly small for an international airport. It didn't take much effort to get from one side to the other. The airport Maude and I came to was much more intimidating. Once Angus thought we had some decent privacy he rested his forehead against mine. 

"You okay?" he asked. Saying goodbye had been hard but I kept myself together. Until now. I could only nod, fearing my voice would crack. "Hey," he said getting me to look in his eyes. "We'll see each other again, alright?"

I pulled him against me for a hug so he wouldn't see any tears fall. His strong arms held me tightly, his face buried in my hair. I wanted to remember this moment. Not as a sad thing, but as a promise. A promise that I would see him again. That I hadn't just lost the best man in the world....

Angus pulled back to look at me. "I uh....I also wanted to take you somewhere," he said. "Somewhere special, ya' know?" He cupped my face in his hands. "So I gotta come back for that."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he said laughing when I offered him my pinkie. He planted a passionate kiss on my lips, my back pressed hard against the wall. 

"Get a room, Ang!" Mal shouted in a mocking tone. One of Ang's hands left my cheek and I assumed he was giving the bird. After a solid minute of pashing Angus took to kissing my cheeks and jawline, and basically every inch of my face. I giggled as his lips tickled the bottom of my ear. "Angus!" Malcolm shouted again. "Angus, the plane is about to leave!" Angus ignored them. 

"Ang, the plane's takin' off!" Bon yelled. "It's ten feet off the ground! Twenty! Fifty!"

"Don't listen to 'em," Angus muttered. But I could feel the smile on his lips. 

"Angus! The plane is headin' towards the window! You're in the way! Angus!" Malcolm had to hold back a laugh. 

"Angus, there's a naked woman out the window!" Phil yelled. "She's got your name on her chest!" Angus stopped kissing me only to burst out laughing and I joined him. 

"Never mind, it's a man!" Bon shouted. "But your name's still there!"

Through my tears I urged Angus to join his band mates. "Your plane could leave any minute, you should go."

"It'll be months before I see my woman again, an' you're shovin' me out the door?" Angus asked kissing my tears away. I wasn't sure if they were from laughing so hard or something else. His beautiful eyes stared into mine. "I love you."

"I love you too."

With one last lingering kiss he pulled away and ran to grab his suitcases. I watched him and the band go through their gate and board the plane. Just like that, my second family was gone. 

Maude and Brett came to stand by me. Brett patted me on the head while Maude took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

The only thing keeping my heart from breaking in two was his promise.

We'd see each other again.

Some day.