I’m Here

The planning has been going on for weeks. Pretty much right after Michael and I saw each other in France. I reached out to Molly and a plan formed.

Last time we were together, I gave him a present. A bag with envelopes. One for each week, more or less. He gets to open one every week and I hope it makes me not being with him for those days easier. Past weekend didn’t have an envelope.

It is Michael’s birthday this week. I wanted the envelope for the weekend before his birthday to have something special inside. But I couldn’t decide and in the end, that envelope was missing.

As I said, after I got back home, Molly and I started chatting. Instead of sending something for his birthday, I wanted to try and come visit him. But I also wanted it to be a surprise.

It turns out, Molly and I are a pretty good team. All was planned, I booked my ticket and waited for new Covid rules and Brexit rules to be announced. In the meantime, I had to convinced Michael that there was no way I’d be able to see him in autumn. He was sad and I felt bad for making him feel that way. But I knew, he’ll forgive me, once he sees me.

The weeks went by and as closer the departure came the more excitement I felt. The last days were going by so slowly. It felt like Thursday would never come. But it did.

Molly and I could probably go on and on for days talking about time leading up to me finally arriving. All the things we almost said to him. The thoughts I wanted to tweet and then stopped myself in the last minute. Oh, and the paranoia. At times we were convinced he knows.

The look in his eyes when he finally saw me. I will never forget. The surprise, the joy, the tears. It was perfect. Unforgettable. The best birthday present ever.