Together

Waiting

Oh my gosh... only two more chapters in this book after this one. That's crazy. I'll probably finish it up this weekend, if all goes well. Info on the next book will be coming soon xxx. Until then, enjoy this one! Leave a comment and vote if you'd like. Happy weekend!
-ab

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December 17, 2026

Patrick

As I stand at Heathrow Airport in the Queen's Terminal, waiting for Harper's flight to arrive, I watch the sun setting and think about how excited I am to have her home. Her little private plane... well, Taylor's little private plane, isn't listed on the arrivals board, so I just have to rely on her text when she hits the ground. According to Taylor's communication with her pilot, that should be any minute now.

The last I heard from my wife, she was telling me that it's such a treat to get to fly around on Taylor's private plane. It's all posh and comfy, and especially when compared to her typical British Airways plane.

I walk up to an information desk, and speak to the lady.

"Excuse me, do you know anything about any arriving private planes? Under Swift, perhaps? Or Alwyn?"

"Name of traveler?" she asks in a monotone voice.

"Harper Elise Alwyn."

"It should be arriving in ten minutes," the lady replies, after typing something into her computer. "Have a seat, and she will come when she's able."

"Okay," I say, smiling. "Thank you."

At that, I turn and walk away from the desk, then sit back down in the chairs by the baggage carousel. I've been at Heathrow for almost an hour now. I suppose that I was just a bit too excited to see my wife, but we have never been apart for so long. It's been hard, that's all.

I can't wait to hear all about her experiences on Broadway and her fancy new New York friends... but there's also a tiny voice inside of me, scared that I won't be good enough for her anymore. I've never been good enough for her, really. Why she ever chose me is beyond my knowledge, when there are so many guys out there who would kill for somebody like her as their wife: talented, sweet, and gorgeous.

Time seems to drag on, but soon enough, I hear footsteps coming up behind me, combined with the sound of a bag being rolled. I whip my head around, and there she is.

"Harper!" I exclaim, jumping out of my seat and running up to my wife, then instantly throwing my arms around her.

"Hey, love," she mutters into my shoulder. Then, she pulls away a bit and my eyes lower down to her lips, where I then plant a tender kiss. Our lips move in sync for a moment longer than they should, probably, considering that we are in public and under the watchful eyes of the airport workers.

"Let's go home, and we can do our catching up there."

"That sounds perfect. I've missed sleeping in my own bed."

I laugh, then move my hand to the small of her back as I guide her out of the airport.

"I should probably call an Uber," I remark, pulling out my phone. "Okay," I announce after a moment, "our driver will be here in five minutes."

She sets her suitcase by the curb and then rests her head on my shoulder.

"I want to hear all about New York," I say, "but I'm sure you're tired right now."

"I am, but it's okay. I can stay up and tell you about it, if you want to hear... but you've got work tomorrow, love."

"You know that I would pull an all nighter for you any day."

She giggles a little bit.

"Plus," I add, "tomorrow is my last day before break. I'll be fine. Hearing about my wife's Broadway debut is much more important to me."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, babe."

We take out Uber home, and back at our little house, Harper slings her backpack to the ground, then rummages through her drawers to find some clean pyjamas. "I'll take care of my suitcase tomorrow," she promises.

"Your first real day of freedom after Anastasia," I remark. "What are you going to do with yourself?"

"Cry," she laughs.  "Seriously, I have no idea. This whole 'unemployed' thing is going to take some getting used to."

"You can do it," I assure her. "Do you need me to find you some chores?"

"No, I think I'll be alright," she giggles. I laugh and kiss the top of her head.

"So, you made some awesome new friends, it seems like..."

"Yeah. Everyone in that cast was great." Harper nods. Then, almost as though she's reading my mind, "But I wouldn't trade you for anybody in the whole wide world."

"You're the greatest wife I could ever have dreamed of."

"And you, the greatest husband, my love."

At that, she disappears into the bathroom for a bit, to freshen up after her day of travelling so that she can go to bed comfy.

Then, with wet hair and a big tee shirt and flannel trousers on, she climbs into bed.

"I'm so exhausted, love."

"We can talk tomorrow," I tell her. "You need sleep right now, and so do I."

"Wait," she says, suddenly springing up out of bed. "Before we sleep, I have to show you something."

She goes to her suitcase, and out of it, pulls a frame with a yellow piece of paper inside of it. "They gave me this at my last show, during curtain call."

"Oh my god," I tell her. "This is beautiful. We will have to find a nice spot on our wall to hang it, hm?"

"Yeah," she gives me a sweet little smile. "That's it. I just wanted to show you that, becuase I'm pretty excited about it, even though that sounds stupid."

"No, I can see why you are," I tell her. "That's such a cool gift. We will definitely find a special spot for it, and someday, our kids will look at it and know just how amazing their mommy is."

"You're ridiculous," she laughs, looking at my stupid, cheeky smile.

"But you love me."

"I don't think I could love you any more without exploding. I love your ridiculousness most of all."

I laugh. "I love you too, hon. Now, what do you say we get some sleep?"

"That sounds perfect," she replies, climbing back under the duvet. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I flick off the lamp beside me, the pull my wife into my arms and drift off to sleep.