Rose woke the next morning with a splitting headache. Her eyes were still red and sore and her mood was low. She had nowhere to be, so she wallowed in bed most of the morning. 

Until Tilly brought in some breakfast—bagels from the bakery down the road, with her favourite topping, cream cheese and fresh banana smeared all over them. She sat up in bed and sniffed the warm bag.

“Thank you so much, these smell divine,” Rose said.

“I wanted to cheer you up somehow. There's nothing quite like a yummy breakfast after a terrible night.” Tilly smiled at Rose and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

Rose got teary-eyed at the loving gesture. “You’re the best, Tilly. Have I told you lately that I love you to bits?”

“Actually, you did a few days ago, but it’s nice to hear it again.” Tilly watched Rose take a big bite or her bagel. “Remember when your mum made me Vegemite on a bagel once?”

Rose smiled as she chewed. “How could I ever forget? The look on your face after one taste was priceless.”

“She thought it was a great joke giving the posh girl from London, Vegemite. Little did she know, I love a challenge.”

“I still can’t believe you made it into a wager.” Rose laughed between bites.

“Well, if I had to eat that disgusting spread, then I was darn well going to get something out of it.” Tilly laughed too.

“I was so annoyed when mum agreed to give you the week off feeding the calves, if you ate the whole thing.”

“That’s only because you had to do it on your own,” said Tilly. 

“Man, I do not miss calving season. Mum always made me feed them after school, when all I wanted to do was blob.”

“Your mum was so good to me. I actually miss her just as much as you when you’re on the other side of the world.”

Rose looked down at her last bite. “Yeah, so do I,” she mumbled. 

“How about you have a nice hot shower and we’ll go out shopping for the afternoon, maybe have a pleasant lunch somewhere ridiculously expensive,” Tilly suggested. 

“Thanks, that sounds nice.” Rose smiled at Tilly as she left the room.

Rose got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. While standing under the hot water, she couldn’t stop thinking about her mum. She missed her so much. And her dad too, of course. But her mum was her biggest cheerleader and was always a shoulder to cry on.

She wished so much that she could cry in her mum’s arms tight now. Then she had a lightbulb moment. She wanted to go home! Her new job didn’t start for another month, and if she decided not to come back at all, Meg would understand. 

Rose turned off the water and dried herself quickly, with renewed purpose. Once back in her room, she dressed and pulled out her laptop. She searched for flights back to Auckland and found one leaving at 10pm that night—perfect. 

She booked it, deciding on a return flight, as it was cheaper and at this stage, she would probably return. Apart from all her boy problems, she was loving living with Tilly and she was looking forward to the new job. But right at that very moment, she needed her mum, and the peace and quiet of the family farm.

She grabbed her suitcase from under her bed and plonked it on top. She yelled for Tilly to come to her room, then set about packing. When Tilly stopped in the doorway, she stopped and looked up.

“Relax, I’ve booked a flight home for tonight and I’ll be back in time to start the new job.”

“But what about Paris? It’s all arranged.”

“Shit! I’m so sorry I forgot. Can we do a rain check? After all that talk about my mum, I just really want you to see her.”

Tilly nodded and smiled. “You do what you need to do, hun. I’ll persuade Daniel to come to Paris with me,” she said with a cheeky grin.

“Thank you,” said Rose.

“Aren’t you meant to get your cast off in a few days?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry, my local GP can take it off once I’m home.”

“Right, let’s get you packed then,” said Tilly. 

Once Rose was all packed, the driver loaded her bags into the car and they headed for Heathrow. 

“So, are you going to tell Ethan you’re going?” Asked Tilly.

“What for? He made his feelings perfectly clear yesterday. He’s probably rolling around in his bed with Victoria as we speak.”

“It’s six in the evening, so I highly doubt that.” Tilly rolled her eyes. 

“You’re right, they’re probably having dinner, then they’ll bonk each other’s brain out,” said Rose, scrunching up her nose.

“Gross! I don’t need you putting a visual of them in my head, thank you very much.”

Rose just shrugged and looked out the window as they drove over Tower Bridge. It was her favourite London landmark and every time she went over it, she couldn’t help but admire it. 

“If he can’t see how wonderful you are, then he’s a complete moron,” Tilly said as she watched Rose daydream.

“His loss, right?” Rose looked at Tilly and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Tilly grabbed her hand and held it the whole way to the airport. It took a little longer than normal with the amount of cars that were on the road. But once there, Rose let out a sigh of relief. It would take around twenty-four hours to reach New Zealand, but already the excitement of seeing her mum soon was improving her mood. 

Rose checked in her luggage, and then they looked for a place to have dinner. They found a great little Thai place near the end of the terminal and ordered. 

“My god, it smells yummy in here,” Tilly said, taking a big whiff.

“Calm down, people will think you work with the sniffer dogs, searching for drugs,” Rose joked.

“You shush.”

It was nice seeing Tilly happy and healthy looking. She ordered water with her meal and was looking fuller in the face that was complemented by a healthy glow to her skin. Daniel had been amazing, but the actual hero here was Tilly’s psychiatrist. 

She had Tilly finally addressing her issues head on and Tilly was getting serious about her future and what she wants that to look like. Rose was so proud of her. 

As her flight drew near, they made their way to customs.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks then,” said Rose. 

“Hey, I know I kind of twisted your arm to come over here. But if you feel you don’t want to come back, it’s okay. I only want you to be happy, Rose.”

Rose’s eyes watered. She’d considered that option but hadn’t wanted to say anything to Tilly. 

“If you turn into a blubbering mess, then so will I. So you can cut that out right now,” Tilly demanded.

“Yes, mum!” Rose joked as she wiped at the tears.

They laughed and hugged and just as Rose was about to pass the point of no return, she turned and shouted at Tilly, “shit, I forgot to tell Meg!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call her the minute I get home.”

“Thank you, love you,” Rose yelled. 

“Love you too and say hello to your parents for me.”

“Will do.”

They blew each other kisses and then Rose left. It felt weird as she walked to her departure gate to wait. Just yesterday her life had turned into a shit show and now twenty-four hours later she was leaving that all behind to spend some time with the people she loved most in the world, and she was happy. 

She probably wouldn’t see Ethan or George again. And that was okay, because frankly, she didn’t really want to, anyway. It had been a wonderful experience overall—despite the rough moments and she had made life-long friendships. If she came back, she would stare clear of men and enjoy the precious time she would have with Tilly.

Now, she just had to decide if she would come back.