London via Melbourne

Her phone jumped to life. 8 pm. Bang on time, as always.

"Hey, babe," she smiled, watching the sleepy man rubbing his eyes. Jake never missed their daily chats, even if it meant waking up at 7 am.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he yawned. Five years, and he was still determined to become a morning person, no matter how much his body resisted.

“Jake, it’s only forty-eight hours until I wake up in your arms! My pillow’s got nothing on those muscles. It barely even smells like you anymore! I. NEED. YOU.” She noticed his eyes light up at the thought of her nestling her head under his armpit. She’d tried to convince herself she was used to the empty bed, but her hands still searched for him every morning before her eyes fully opened.

“I can’t wait,” he whispered, her excitement washing over him. “You got your tickets downloaded? Passport packed?”

”Yep, I’m ready to go!”

”Awesome. Oh, Liss, I should probably tell you…”

The Skype app shrieked from his laptop on the table behind him. “Ugh, the boss is always calling me obnoxiously early. Gotta go.” He went to hang up when he suddenly thought, “Oh, wait, honey! Don’t forget to pack the Percy Pigs! Love you. Bye!”

He hung up abruptly, leaving her with that all too familiar whiplash. Their conversations were often short, sweet, and chaotic. But he never missed one, and that’s what mattered.

As Liss hurried through the arrivals gate, she noticed a giant banner in the crowd:

Welcome to Melbourne, Squeak!

A small smile interrupted her knee-jerk eyeroll. It wasn’t her fault she got all high-pitched and fast-talking when something excited her. It was an annoying nickname, but she also secretly loved it.

Spotting his tanned face peeking out under the sign, she ran to him, dropped her suitcase, and jumped into his arms. He barely had time to drop the banner and catch her before she planted a huge kiss on his lips.

“Well, hello to you, too,” he breathed, the words muffled against her hair as he recovered from the intensity of their reunion.

“I can’t believe it takes twenty-six hours to get here! Couldn’t you have picked somewhere closer to home, like Paris? I got through two whole seasons of Game of Thrones on the plane!”

He held her closer, grip tightening, taking in that sweet, vanilla perfume he’d always loved.

“Where are you parked?” she asked abruptly, needing to be alone with him as soon as possible. She wasn’t wasting their reunion time at the airport. In unspoken agreement, he slipped his fingers through hers, grabbed her suitcase, and silently guided her to his car, relishing the feel of her soft hand in his once more.

Opening the front door, she’d expected to be greeted by a sea of unpacked boxes. His old apartment featured a plain brown moving box full of books moonlighting as a coffee table, even though he'd lived there for two years!

Stepping through the doorway, she was shocked to find an immaculate living room with shelves filled with trinkets and family photos. Everything had a home.

“Wow,” was all she could muster.

He caught her raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I thought I’d change things up a bit. Put things away, you know?”

“Sure,” she nodded, taking in the apartment. His parents smiled back at her from the bookshelf across the room. The apartment was nice. Warm. Homey. But it wasn’t very Jake.

Jake’s whirlwind tour of Melbourne had left Liss exhausted. The cobbled lanes were charming, and they’d spent hours running through the waves at Brighton beach. But the Yarra Valley wine tour yesterday held a special place in her heart. There was something about walking together, his arm draped over her shoulders, through miles of grapevines at sunset, that made the pain of the past six months melt away. He’d made sure to buy a bottle of her favourite wine from the tour to remind her of the day. He inscribed it, “To my Squeak, my heart’s finest wine.”

Heading home from today’s surprise couples’ surfing class, Liss wanted to repay his thoughtfulness with a little surprise of her own.

“You must be missing home so much, baby. I’m making you a roast dinner tonight. Trimmings and all. We’ll need to pop into the supermarket on the way back to yours. Sound good?”

Jake‘s mouth started salivating. If there was one thing he missed as much as Liss, it was a good roast dinner.

By the time they got home, he practically ran the groceries into the apartment, willing her to get started immediately. His stomach could only wait so long.

“Make yourself at home. My kitchen is your kitchen.”

Jake jumped in the shower as Liss got to work cooking. Some things never change.

Cooking should have been easy. Roast dinners were her specialty. But this kitchen didn’t seem keen on her presence. She reached for the drawer next to the sink to get a peeler, only to find it filled with paper plates and sandwich bags. The cupboard next to the oven, where the roasting tray should be, was filled with cans of beans, fish, and soup. Back home, there was rhyme and reason in his kitchen layout. She should know, she’d helped him organise it. But this kitchen was confused. It certainly wasn’t her kitchen, she thought.

After an hour wasted searching for cooking utensils that were decidedly not where she’d have put them, the roast was finally finished, and Liss had lost her appetite. She’d been excited to bring back their old Sunday routine, but this kitchen had highlighted a truth she’d spent the past three days trying to ignore.

It was silly, she admitted, but between the weirdly organised kitchen and the lack of moving boxes, she felt like the distance between them wasn’t just geographical anymore.

“Everything good?” Jake asked as he took a bite of his double-roasted potato, sensing a strange heaviness from his partner.

“Mmhmm. Your kitchen is, umm… interesting?” She struggled to find the right words.

“Do you like it?” He shoved a mouthful of peas into his mouth. “Some of my office buddies came over a few weeks ago and helped me organise it properly.”

“That was nice of them,” she muttered, still unable to shake the unease this fact created in her, “I guess that explains the lack of moving boxes.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I have to admit, I was surprised to see a real coffee table when I walked into your place on Sunday.”

“Ha! You hated my box aesthetic, didn’t you?” He paused. “I dunno, I thought I should probably grow up a bit and do things right this time, you know?”

“This time? Hmm. Well, it only took you two and a half years. Congratulations.”

A look of guilt flashed across Jake’s eyes.

They ate the rest of the meal, the symphony of forks and knives softly hitting plates, cut only by the odd polite joke and request to pass the salt.

After clearing the table and loading the dishwasher, Jake walked gingerly toward Liss, who was now perched on the sofa, transfixed on her phone.

“Did I do something wrong, babe?” he asked, fearing he’d ruined their week together without even realising it.

She felt bad. He hadn’t done anything wrong. She was just overreacting. Right? It was probably normal in long-distance relationships to feel weird when things change. He didn’t deserve the cold shoulder. And she didn’t want this trip to be soured because he was living his own life. Without her.

“Sorry. I just got a little in my head. You’re good.”

“Good?” Relieved, he crawled over to her, a glint in his eyes. “Just good? Let me show you how good I can be!”

A quick, playful lunge sent them both into motion. He swept her into his arms, snagging the chilled Yarra Valley wine on the way to the bedroom.

“Jake!” she moaned, unable to contain her giggles, before they collapsed on the bed together, entangled in a moment they wished would last forever.

A flurry of kisses woke Liss up from the best night she’d had since he left.

“Before you go, you have to meet my friends,” Jake started. Not quite the pillow talk she’d been expecting. “I’ve made plans for us to have brunch at Daisy Brew with Dave, Zara, and Ryan. You’ll love them, I promise.”

“Sounds good, babe.” She planted a soft kiss on his lips.

He hadn’t mentioned meeting other people, but she was excited to meet his friends. Even if she couldn’t have him at home every day, she didn’t want him to be lonely while he was here. Two years was a long time to be friendless.

As they walked up to the outdoor seating, a green-dungareed woman swept her up in a bear hug.

“You must be Liss! Hi, I’m Zara. Jakey won’t stop talking about you, will ya mate?”

The name Jakey hit her like a hand to the face. This man had spent five years warning people not to call him that, but two seconds in Australia and suddenly, he’s Jakey?

The two gentlemen sat at the table stood up, and with slightly less enthusiasm than Zara, but with the same Aussie warmth, introduced themselves.

“Don’t mind Zara. She’s forward with everyone. Dave. Nice to meet ya.”

Ryan nodded politely from behind him. Clearly, he was the quiet one in the group.

Jake took his place next to Ryan, grabbing a chair from the next table for Liss. From the end of the table, she found herself amid a torrent of inside jokes that she couldn’t follow. Jake tried to explain, but every word hit her ear like a foreign language.

Every so often, Dave and Zara would redirect to ask her about her life back home. They were genuinely interested in her book cover design job for an independent publisher in London and wanted to know every detail. Of course, they also wanted the lowdown on how the two of them had met, fallen in love, and what living halfway across the world from each other felt like. Torture, she wanted to tell them, but she kept that to herself.

The waiter interrupted this friendly interrogation to get their brunch order.

“Oh, you have to try the avocado toast here, Liss. It’s the best. Jakey loves it.” Dave shoved Jake’s shoulder playfully as if they’d spent many mornings catching up over avocado toast.

“Can’t wait, it’s my favourite,” she smiled at the group. Turning to Jake, she quietly noted, “Five years and I couldn’t convince you to try it. Six months here and you’re suddenly a fan. Must be some great avocados here, huh?”

Jake swallowed loudly. They both knew toast wasn’t a big deal. But the fact that he’d only been willing to try her favourite breakfast when he was on the other side of the world from her stung.

As she sat there trying her hardest not to take this revelation personally, she observed the three new people around her. She was truly grateful that Jake had found people who made him feel at home here. They were lovely. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there were no chairs left at “Jakey’s” table.

She pushed away the thought, chalking it up to the impending return to London, away from him, and tried to enjoy the rest of the brunch.

At the very least, she could agree that this was the best avocado toast she’d ever had. She just wished it wasn’t spiced with a pinch of bitterness as Jake ate his next to her.

The walk home had been a quiet affair, neither sure what to say to the other. The silence followed them through the front door and onto the sofa.

“Melissa, I need to tell you something.” Jake’s heart was racing against Liss’s ear as it rested on his chest.

“I know.”

She sat up to meet his gaze. She breathed deeply, readying herself. “They’ve offered you the managing director role for the Melbourne branch, haven’t they?”

Jake stared at her in shock. “How did you…”

“It’s pretty obvious,” Liss interrupted. “You said you had something to tell me last week. You’re always cutting our chats short to take early morning meetings. And I mean, look at you. Look at how settled you are here. You have a whole life here, Jake. New friends, new home, you even have a local coffee shop! You have a life here, Jake.”

“I don’t, though. Not without you here.”

“Jake…”

“No, listen. I wanted to show you how good your life… our life could be here. All the places we could visit. Our local coffee shop. Our apartment. Our friends. Just picture it.” He held her closer, willing her into his vision. “You could leave your job in London and freelance remotely from here. It would be amazing.”

Through tear-filled eyes, Liss allowed Jake to pull her into this fantasy land.

“We’d turn the guest bedroom into your office. Our parents can come over for Christmas. Maybe separate hotels, though, given what happened last time.”

She let out a little giggle between sniffles. “Yeah, and we’d put a tree up in the corner over there.” She pointed to the darkest corner of the room. “Wait, do they even do Christmas trees in Australia?”

“Of course, Squeak. And little Danny and Sarah would be running around in front of the TV, playing with all their new toys, putting on shows for the grandparents.”

“Natalia.”

“Huh?”

“I already told you, we’re not naming her Sarah. That was my old boss’s name. We’re naming our daughter Natalia.”

“Fine,” he pretended to sigh, knowing he would do anything to please her. “Danny and Natalia would have the best time. We’d take them to the beach every day. They’d run back home from the school down the road, and we’d eat dinner together before taking evening strolls along the waterfront.”

Liss couldn’t find any more words. She just wanted to live in this reality. It sounded amazing.

“We could be so happy here, baby.”

She nuzzled her head further into his chest, his arms enveloping her, as she allowed the dreams of a future she’d never expected to lull her to sleep.

The early morning sun glanced through the crack in the curtains, waking Liss from her peaceful sleep. She felt Jake snoring gently in the crook of her neck, as he did every night.

As the light shone brighter, illuminating the room, memories of their conversation last night came flooding back. She saw the dark corner from last night, now too bright to house a Christmas tree. She thought of her mum and her siblings visiting Australia for holidays, worrying about the hassle it would cause them, trying to stop her young nephews from causing trouble on the plane. She looked around the apartment. Every inch of it had his fingerprints on it. But was there space for hers too?

Stirring beside her, the handsome man she fell in love with five years ago planted a sweet kiss on her cheek.

“Hey, baby,” he whispered in her ear, “I may have set your passport on fire last night,” he joked. “Guess you’re staying here.” He kissed her neck, holding her in his fantasies a moment longer.

Looking around the room one last time before her feet touched the floor and reality sucked her back in, she nodded, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and rolled off the sofa to prepare for her flight back home.

The ride to the airport went by too quickly. They filled the time reminiscing about their life back home. Their first date. First kiss. The time he’d managed to ruin spag bol so badly that neither of them could stomach it anymore. Before they knew it, they had checked her luggage and were at the security gates, ready for her to board the flight back to London.

The Australian heat suddenly dissipated, leaving behind a cool chill that made their hair stand on end.

He grabbed her into a desperate embrace as they said goodbye. His arms were tense and rigid, like he didn’t want to let her go. This was the man she’d known for five years, but this hug felt new. Distant.

“It’s going to be ok,” she whispered in his ear, breaking the silent bubble they’d existed in for the past two minutes.

After a few deep breaths, he reluctantly loosened his grip around her waist, letting her slip back. Fighting back tears, he met her gaze.

“I love you,” he whispered softly, sadness tinging his words.

“I love you too, Jacob.”

And with that, she walked towards her gate, ready to return to her real life. She desperately wanted to turn around for one last glance, but she couldn’t trust herself to get on the plane if she did.

The London rain knocked on her window, a stark contrast to the sun she soaked in two weeks ago. Her summer glow had faded fast in the winter dreariness she’d returned to.

Sitting on the sofa, buried under a blanket mountain, Liss absent-mindedly checked her phone. 8:02 pm. It had been weeks since it flashed to life at night, greeting her with the familiar chaotic giggle sessions she’d become accustomed to. It didn’t stop her from checking like clockwork every evening, though. Her body hadn’t caught up with the reality rattling around inside her mind. Gently, she placed her phone face down on the coffee table, her stomach filling with that weird, sad lightness yet again.

With her cushion as her only companion, she turned on the TV. The light reflected on a glass bottle on her bookshelf. “Yarra Valley Wines.” She turned her head, burrowed further under her blankets, and let the world disappear around her.