The Trouble with Flying (21 page)

Aiden: :-)

I stare at that little smiley with a great big dorky grin on my face. And then, because I clearly
am
a dork, I make a comment about the weather.

Sarah: Is it still super cold there?

Aiden: Uh … I’ve been colder.

Sarah: Did you have any panic attacks on the flight home?

Aiden: No more height- or flying-induced panic attacks.

Sarah: Good :-)

Sarah: Um … Can I ask you a question?

Aiden: I’m all ears. Or, in this case, eyes.

Sarah: Who was the girl you and your mom and sister were arguing about when we arrived at uShaka? The call you missed?

It takes so long for him to reply that I think he may have gone offline. But then an essay-long message pops up.

Aiden: That was Kelly. Lately she’s been sending me texts and leaving messages saying she thinks we should give our relationship another chance. I told her I’m not interested, but she obviously doesn’t believe me. The reason Mum and Emily were arguing about it is that Emily never liked Kelly. Em and I used to be really close, but I changed after I met Kelly, and not exactly for the better. Our relationship was kind of like … an emotional bungee jump. We thought we were madly in love, but in the end, we just weren’t healthy for each other. Em saw that, but Mum didn’t because she lives further away and Kelly and I didn’t visit her that often. And we were obviously on our best behaviour when we did. So Mum always thought Kelly was lovely, and she never really understood why we broke up. I guess she thinks that if I have a chance to work things out with Kelly I should. Fortunately, I know better.

Aiden: Wow, I think that’s the longest message I’ve ever written on Facebook! My thumbs thank me for using my computer instead of my phone.

I read through the message as puzzle pieces I’d forgotten about add themselves to my picture of Aiden’s life. I remember him sitting at the Häagen-Dazs table frowning at a message on his phone—which was probably from Kelly. I remember his reaction when Elize talked about Emily’s wedding being the first wedding in their family—because Aiden’s would have been first if he and Kelly hadn’t broken up. I remember him telling me happily ever afters are a myth—because he thought he was getting his happily ever after, but it didn’t happen in the end.

Sarah: I’m sorry. That all sounds quite hectic.

Aiden: Don’t be sorry. I’m certainly not! If we hadn’t broken up, we’d be married by now, and we’d both be living in some kind of nightmare. Not to mention that I must have been smoking something to think I was ready to be married at age 23.

Sarah: Were you?

Aiden: What?

Sarah: Smoking something.

Aiden: Ha ha! No :-)

Sarah: Okay. Good :-)

Aiden: Can I ask you a question now?

Sarah: Of course.

Aiden: Why did you wait so long before contacting me? I’ve been hoping every day to see a message from you. I wanted you to know the truth.

My heart grows wings and flies right out of my chest. He’s been
hoping
to hear from me! He actually
wanted
me to contact him! But instead of typing a hundred smileys followed by a hundred exclamation marks, I manage to keep my cool.

Sarah: Why didn’t you just send a message instead of waiting for me?

Aiden: It didn’t seem like you wanted to know the answer to your question. I thought I’d wait until you did.

Sarah: Well, I picked now because I wanted to tell you something. And I couldn’t just launch into it without first apologising for that phone call. And that meant admitting that I should have let you talk instead of hanging up on you.

Aiden: So the thing you wanted to tell me is …

Sarah: I wrote a book! An entire book. Not just an outline or a few scenes. A. WHOLE. BOOK.

I don’t know why he makes me wait so long for his response, because when it finally comes, it isn’t exactly a long one.

Aiden: WOOOOOOOOOOHOOO!

Sarah: :-)

Aiden: I believe I deserve to be named in the dedication. Or at least the acknowledgements. After all, I was the one who snooped through your desk, read one of your notebooks, and told you how brilliant your stories are.

Sarah: I named a character after you.

Aiden: Seriously?

Sarah: He dies halfway through the book.

Aiden: WHAT? :-(

Sarah: A very heroic death.

Aiden: I guess that’s not so bad then.

Sarah: :-)

Aiden: Except that now I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

Sarah: Oops … Spoiler alert.

Aiden: It’s too late for that.

Sarah: I know ;-)

Aiden: I’m so sorry, I actually have to go now. But this conversation definitely isn’t over.

My soaring heart falls back to earth, and I contemplate typing a whole row of sad faces. That would probably come across as way too needy, though, so I manage to restrain myself.

Aiden: One more question, though.

Sarah: Yeah?

Aiden: What’s your book about? (Judging from the number of notebooks in your bottom drawer, I’m guessing you had about 753 ideas to pick from.)

Sarah: 754 actually.

Aiden: Right, sorry. So … it’s about …

Sarah: You’ll have to read it to find out ;-)

TUESDAY 21 JAN

Aiden: Are you back in Durban now?

Sarah: Yes. Ten days alone in my PMB flat got a little lonely.

Aiden: It was certainly productive, though.

Sarah: That’s an understatement!

Aiden: Your parents must be very impressed.

Sarah: I haven’t told them yet. They thought I was just hanging out with friends for the past week.

Aiden: WHAT?

Aiden: You? ‘Hanging out’? You don’t seem the type ;-)

Sarah: Dumbass. I am completely capable of HANGING OUT with people I feel COMFORTABLE with.

Aiden: You know I’m just joking, right?

Sarah: :P <— this is me sticking my tongue out at you.

Aiden: \~>|<~/ <— this is a bunch of symbols representing me pulling a weird face at you.

Aiden: Seriously, though, you should tell your parents. Writing a book is just as awesome as being an award-winning photographer or a popular artist. (BTW, I looked at both Julia’s and Sophie’s pages on FB and yes, they are both incredibly talented. But I have no doubt that one day your FB fan page will have even more fans than theirs.)

Sarah: :-) <— beaming face

Sarah: Anyway, I WILL tell my parents. I’m just … still thinking about things.

Aiden: Okay.

Sarah: Okay :-)

Aiden: So … I did a little research into this biltong stuff you seem so attached to.

Sarah: Oh yeah?

Aiden: Yes. Did you know it technically means ‘buttock tongue’?

I let out a snort-laugh I’m highly grateful Aiden isn’t around to hear. I lean back in my desk chair and shake my head at the computer screen.

Sarah: It does not.

Aiden: Want to make a bet on that?

Sarah: Uh … no?

I quickly open another window and navigate to my online dictionary of choice. I type in the word ‘biltong’ and wait for the result. Hmm. Well, what do you know. Aiden’s actually right. When I get back to the Facebook page, his next message is already there.

Aiden: You’re looking it up, aren’t you.

Sarah: I just did.

Aiden: So now you know I’m right :D <— this is my ‘I told you so’ face.

Sarah: What a weird meaning for a snack so awesome.

Aiden: As weird as eating it.

Sarah: Maybe, but I’m still gonna eat it!

Aiden: I should probably tell you that I tried some today.

Sarah: What?! Where did you find it? I was craving biltong the whole time I was in England.

Aiden: A South African specialist store.

Sarah: Cool. So what did you think of it?

Aiden: …

Sarah: Well?

Aiden: I was having a salt craving. So … it was pretty good.

Sarah: TOLD YOU SO!!

WEDNESDAY 22 JAN

Aiden: I used to try and talk to God.

Whoa. Okay, that came out of nowhere. Especially from someone who made it pretty clear he doesn’t believe in God. I press the ‘Mute’ button on the TV remote and lie down across the couch. Dad’s in his study doing school stuff, Mom’s on her bed reading through the corrections she received on a paper she recently submitted to a journal—which I’m certain is the most boring type of reading EVER—and Sophie’s in her room, probably drawing something on her computer and enjoying having no homework yet. Bottom line: There’s no one here to ask why I’m now finding my phone more absorbing than I’ve ever found it before.

Sarah: And?

Aiden: He never answered me.

Sarah: Is that why you decided he isn’t real?

Aiden: Yes.

Sarah: Were you waiting for an audible voice?

Aiden: I think I was.

Sarah: Hmm. I think God talks more in other ways. Like signs. Coincidences (which, if they really are from God, aren’t coincidences at all).

Aiden: Why?

Sarah: I don’t know. Maybe to make sure people are really listening. Or, you know, ‘listening.’

Aiden: Do you want to know what I was thinking after you pulled me to the edge of that cliff and made me look out at those mountains?