Kill some time together!

You all end up back in the green plastic seating, half-sprawled across the rows. Daisy suggested pulling out coats and scarves to make things a bit more comfortable, so the arrivals hall now resembles nothing so much as a hobo convention in miniature.

It does make the seats more comfy, though. You watch Daisy as she looks over at the little kid – who’s already fallen fast asleep on a rolled-up sweatshirt.

‘Poor thing,’ she says softly. ‘Stuck in an airport on Christmas Eve. It’s not right.’

For a moment, you look around, wondering who she’s talking to – but the young couple have retreated back to the power outlets, and there’s no one else around. ‘Yeah,’ you say quietly. ‘Should be waiting up for Santa, not a crappy delayed flight. I hope she brought the presents with her.’

‘She will have done.’ You look round, surprised. Daisy’s still gazing at the boy and his mom.

‘How’d you know?’

‘I just do.’ A strange expression appears on Daisy’s face, not quite happy and not quite sad. ‘She looks like a good mom. She’s watching over him.’

You sit in silence for a few moments more, staring up at the giant glowing arrival boards. Right now all the flights are still saying DELAYED; an automated message scrolls underneath, robotically apologizing for the inconvenience. It’s somehow more irritating than the airline not giving a fuck in the first place.

‘So what’s your story?’ You almost jump – Daisy’s leaning over the back of her seat, kicking her boots together. ‘Hey, looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while. We might as well get to know each other.’

‘Um…’ You feel your mouth working for a moment. ‘Tell you the truth, there’s… well, not that much to tell. I’m flying back to New York, but not for anything special. I mean, there’s family, I guess, but no party. Nothing too exciting.’

‘No girlfriend or anything?’ Daisy tilts her head to one side – and then screws her eyes shut suddenly. ‘Sorry. Sorry. That was so rude of me, Jesus! I just assumed, you know…’

You find yourself laughing just to put her at ease. ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m single by choice.’ You consider for a moment. ‘Well… her choice. But still.’

Daisy blinks, obviously not sure whether she should laugh or not. You let her squirm for a second before relenting. ‘I am kidding. I mean, partly. It was actually her who broke up with me.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Daisy mumbles. You smile, deciding you like Daisy Ridley.

‘Ancient history, c’mon. So… what about your boyfriend? The one who had an ongoing feud with Mother Nature?’

This time it’s Daisy’s turn to look startled. ‘Oh, right! Yeah… I guess I made it sound like we were still together.’ She scrubs a hand awkwardly through her hair. ‘That’s, ah, also ancient history now. I guess it was a bad year for romance.’

‘Oh, hey, that sucks,’ you say, meaning it. ‘What was it, if you don’t mind me asking? Work, or distance, or, I dunno, emotional fuckwittage…’

Daisy smiles distantly. ‘All of the above? Although… the emotional fuckwittage was probably mine, not his. I did try and make it work, but… well, you know how it is. When you’re on opposite sides of the world, it’s just – hard.’

‘Preach,’ you say, smiling. Daisy raises a small fist, and you bump it gently.

‘Hey, there’s always a silver lining. At least I don’t have to spend Christmas with his family this year.’ You must look surprised, because Daisy adds quickly, ‘sorry, I know, that probably sounds mean. But so were they, so, you know…’