And just like that our time in England came to an end. Our suitcases full to bursting, sitting on them so they would zip correctly, we lugged them out of our bedrooms and piled them by the front door. Brett lay on the couch in his coat and sunnies, hands behind his head. I could see Maude biting her lip as she checked him out. "All ready then?" he asked. His voice was much better after a long rest.

"I guess so," Maude answered looking around the room one last time. We did our best to keep it nice and clean. Doing the laundry, sweeping the floors. My family has a running curse of someone forgetting something in the hotel room so I was being followed by a back burner worry. Maude and I tried not to hurry with our packing in case we left something fallen on the floor or wrapped up in bed sheets. 

As it was cooler outside I made sure to wear Angus' jumper so I wouldn't forget it. I would hate to leave it behind, and it would give me so much comfort on the journey back home. Brett stood from the couch and stretched. "Shall I order us a limo?" he asked.

Maude and I looked at each other in excitement. "Yes please!"

**********

"Where's your mama gone? Far far awaaaaayyyyy!"

Brett sighed next to us in the backseat but I could see that smile. Maude and I danced to the radio, both of us high on Dramamine. While Maude was a great singer, neither of us tried our best and we sounded pissed. Brett tried to ignore us but even he couldn't resist the magical seventies Velveeta and tapped his foot. Our limo driver probably thought we were nuts. Brett had offered to drive it himself but Maude wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. They'd be separated again. 

"Woke up this morning and my mama was gone, ooh wee, chirpy chirpy cheep cheep!"

The limo made a left turn and we tumbled in our seats. Giggling like lunatics we sat upright and dusted ourselves off. Maude continued singing the song while I looked out the window. Beautiful London, beautiful England. I'd have to come back some day. Maybe Scotland next time. Angus said he'd take me one day. I sighed.

I hate uncertainty. 

The limo pulled up at our airport. All three of us got out and pulled out our many rotund suitcases from the boot. I hated to break a sweat in Ang's jumper. Maude had buried her face in Brett's chest, trembling. I pretended to be busy with my shoelace while they said goodbye.

We had stopped by the record store to say goodbye to Loretta. She said she'd tell Claire and Alice we were leaving. Maybe we'd see them again, who knew? Maybe we'd all go to the beach again and watch Claire surf. Maybe she'd take first place and we'd all go swimming. Loretta would get her lovely tan and Maude and I would collect more shells. Our boys would be up on that stage playing their own songs, thank you very much, and do a much better job. Angus would have a new puppy of his own and he'd play with it in the sand and the water. I'd have my stinky senior dog, lying in the shade while he took his tenth nap of the day. Angus and the puppy would return from their game of fetch and lie next to us, all of us one big happy family....

"Lose something down there, Hannah?" 

I stood up quickly, dizzy from the rush. My shoelaces were tied three times now. Maude was staring at me, her eyes red. "I'm fine," I said. Wiping her eyes on her hand Maude stepped away letting Brett get back into the limo. 

"I'll see you both soon," he said giving us a sad smile. "Ring me anytime, my love."

Maude nodded and sniffed. "I will." I wrapped an arm around her and we stepped away from the limo. Slowly it took off down the road and out of sight. "I love that man," Maude said. 

As if my heart wasn't already in pieces. We collected our things and headed inside the airport. Less crowded today than our arrival, our flights being a little earlier. Security was quick, despite Maude and I having a million things to go through and customs to pass. Maude eyed the security nervously, her arms wrapped protectively around her bag. "What's in that one?"

"My fox scarf," she responded, clutching her bag tighter. "Customs is sorely mistaken if they think they're getting their paws on it. They'll have to kill me first." She had a wild look in her eye. 

Customs allowed her to keep it and the rest of our treasures. We had some time to kill and headed for the food court for a late breakfast of eggs and hash browns. Neither of us were all that hungry and we picked at our food. 

This was goodbye for us too.

"So...this is it, then," I said. Maude sighed and nodded. 

My Maudie. 

My best friend. 

"You'll still write?"

"Of course, I will," I said. "I still have drawings to send of you and the cast of Monty Python." Maude blushed. 

"Thanks. And I still have my handmade crafts to send to you." I smiled. I loved her handmade presents. 

Maude's gate was called. We paid for our food and hurried over, our luggage trailing haphazardly behind us. Skidding to a stop we gave each other a long look. "I guess.....this is goodbye," I said. Maude's eyes watered and so did mine. 

"I had a lot of fun," Maude said, her voice cracking. "We don't see each other nearly as often as we should."

"No. We don't." Her gate was called a second time and I grabbed her for a hug. She smelled like her favourite perfume and mint toothpaste. She decided against hoop earrings and wore studs instead. Her hair was brushed and decked in some gummy bear clips. When we pulled away she flashed me that New Zealand sunshine again. 

"I'll miss you, Hanny."

"I'll miss you too, Maudie."

"You'll see him again," she said squeezing my hand. "I promise."

"And you'll see me again. I promise that."

For the last time her gate was called. She picked up her things and made her way to the stream of people getting on the plane. With one last tearful wave, she disappeared from my sight. Wiping my eyes, I turned to find my own gate.

**********

Paying the cabbie the last few notes I had, I watched it drive down the street into the night, shivering. I had been travelling almost a day's worth of time and my legs were jelly. Dramamine was my saviour as I wobbled my way to the front door. I wasn't sure what time it was let alone what day. As I opened the door I didn't expect to see Mum sitting on the living room floor. "Oh, you're back!" she said over her shoulder. "How was the trip?"

"Good," I think I said. I don't really remember, and I was probably mumbling rather than speaking. A strong meow came from behind our couch. 

"Dad's asleep," Mum said. I heard the meow again. "That's Ivy."

A Siamese kitten with folded ears and blue eyes jumped wildly from behind our couch. Her pupils were huge and her tail swished back and forth. "Magnolia is somewhere around here."

Right on cue a black tuxedo kitten with green eyes came creeping from where Ivy had sprung out of. Her fur stuck out like she had been electrocuted and her meow was more like a squeak. I knelt down to pet them but my legs gave out and I fell. Ivy jumped back and Magnolia went flying behind the couch again.

"They'll get used to you," Mum said. "They're used to me."

As cute as our new kittens were I wanted nothing more than to go straight to bed. I wished Mum a good night and headed for my bedroom, dragging my things behind me. Bracing myself, I opened the door. 

My room was still a pigsty. And I made it even worse by throwing my suitcases to the floor and collapsing into bed, curling up in my blankets and Angus McKinnon's jumper. 

I was out like a light.