It's You [H.S.]

5.4 | You without me

24th August 2016

Eloise ducks her head to exit the tiny plane, pausing at the top of the steps to appreciate the blazing warmth of the Caribbean sun on her face. Grinning broadly, she takes in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the heavy, humid ozone.

It feels like holiday, in an instant. Off duty and off the grid. Literally; they're disembarking at a little private airstrip nestled between the Blue Mountains and the northern coastline.

"Welcome to the island, ladies!", their driver calls up to them, arms outstretched as he rounds the bonnet of the open air jeep idling at the end of the runway.

Eloise skips excitedly down the steps with Glenne hot on her heels. "I'm Carlton, from Geejam", he introduces himself with a broad grin and an infectious, hooting laugh.

Loaded into the jeep, when he pops the lid off an ice box, Glenne cheers and wastes no time grabbing a can of Red Stripe.

Carlton smiles at Eloise in the the rearview mirror. "He said you hate beer. There's water and soda at the bottom. We'll get you a daiquiri soon enough, no problem!", he laughs again.

Over the noise of the dancehall blasting from the radio and the rush of wind assailing her in the back of the jeep, Eloise gives up on trying to hear Carlton's running commentary to Glenne upfront, and instead lets her mind wander as she takes in the scenery.

Skirting lush and vibrant jungle on one side of the road, to the other, a fringe of palms allows quick glimpses of colourful settlements and tantalising snatches of pristine white sand and the rich blue of the sea, glittering under the midday sun.

Just thirty minutes more and she'll finally be back in his arms again.

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Eloise had been in LA since the beginning of June, prepping and rehearsing for Daisy Jones & The Six.

Having filmed Dunkirk on and off across France, the Netherlands and the UK since May, Harry had arrived in LA at the end of July for his final few weeks of filming.

With his hectic schedule, ferrying between his home in the Hills to the Universal Studios lot and a secluded Malibu beach, to train for and then shoot the intensive water and flooding boat scenes, they didn't see nearly as much of each other as they'd been hoping for and looking forward to all summer.

She'd been pulling double duty, finalising her script with Phoebe at the same time as prepping for the film. So, more often that not, their only quality time was snatched in bed, late at night or early in the morning, before bleating alarm clocks pulled them apart again.

Once he wrapped filming in mid August, and saw how busy Eloise's schedule was for her final two weeks, Harry decided he needed to find somewhere without any distractions to properly focus on the album again.

He'd intentionally put music entirely on hold whilst working on the film, and as a result, his mind was bursting with ideas that he desperately needed to get down.

Jeff worked his magic, and, just days later, Harry and his team were on their way to the iconic Geejam studios in Port Antonio, on Jamaica's remote north coast.

They're due to stay on their writing and recording retreat for up to two months; until late September, when Harry needs to head back to London in time for Ben's wedding.

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Eloise only has a week and a half before she needs to be back in London herself for meetings, but it still feels like an indulgent break after such a frantic couple of months. She'll take every second she can get with Harry, but is also looking forward to some proper downtime snoozing in the sun whilst he's busy in the studio.