Read Online Love Is a State of Mind: Nobody's Life is Perfect by Sarah Catherine Knights - Free Book Online

their due, raised the money for more than half the fare and Laura said they’d have no trouble finding temporary work out there – one of John’s cousins owned a string of cafés around Sydney and would be able to sort them out as waiters there.  The thought of Adam waiting made me laugh; at home, he left everything on the table, never dreamed of taking it over to the sink or putting it in the dishwasher.  He didn’t know what a drying up cloth was for, and hoovers were just noisy things used by parents.  It was probably my fault for not making him do domestic things … this gap year would certainly make him grow up.
    The day they left, Laura and I had arranged to meet at Heathrow.  Their flight was at 3.30 pm – we met in departures at 11.30 am, so we had plenty of time to have coffee all together, before the boys went through.
    I had tried to get David and Adam together before he left, but Adam refused outright saying he ‘no way wanted to be anywhere near that wanker’ and when I rang David’s phone, suggesting he came over unannounced to say goodbye, he just said, ‘I think it’s best if I leave him to it.  Tell him I’m pleased he’s going and to have a brilliant time.  Give him my love.’
    What can you do?  You can’t force people to be sensible.  Didn’t David realise he wouldn’t see his son for a whole year?  Didn’t he care?  I told Adam what his father said and I was sure I saw a hint of sadness pass over his eyes, at the realisation that his father wasn't interested enough to come and say goodbye, but he just said, “What does he care?  He’s got another family now.”
    So, it fell to me to take him to the airport.  I’m sure in the past, we would have gone together and made a day of it, but it was just me and him and although Adam was beyond excited to be going, I could sense his nervousness.  It was a big deal – this was the first time he’d been properly away from home and he was flying to the other side of the world.
    I caught sight of Laura – she was waiting where we’d arranged, by the check-in desk.  She waved madly through the crowds and I could see Jake with a huge rucksack on his back, beside her.  They were so alike those two – they both had distinctive light auburn hair, green eyes and were now about the same height.  Laura was dressed in her usual, slightly hippy, way: long floral skirt with a lacy white shirt over the top; dangly earrings and beaded bracelets.  Jake, in his faded jeans, with his ear studs and lip ring, his hair long and sun streaked, his face brown – looked every inch the surf dude, down to his flip flops (or ‘thongs’ as he must now call them in Oz).
    We all hugged – I love the way kids nowadays are so much better at this than we used to be.  All Adam’s friends hug each other – boys, girls – it doesn’t matter who.  The boys threw their arms round each other, with a lot of back slapping and Hey Dude and compared the size of their backpacks.  Adam had had quite a lot of difficulty even getting his on his back – we were hoping it wasn’t going to be too heavy for the flight.
    “So … the big day’s arrived,” smiled Laura.  “How are you feeling, Adam?”
    “Yea … awesome,” he said, sliding the rucksack off his shoulders.  “Man … that’s heavy.”  It fell in a heap on the floor, next to Jake’s.   Both of them were dressed identically and looked so young.  They were mere boys … surely they were far too young to be setting out on their own?  My stomach lurched at the thought that soon they’d walk away and I wouldn’t see Adam for a year.  Tears sprung to my eyes and I had to look away and surreptitiously wipe them away.  Maybe it was a mother’s intuition – Laura put her arm round me and whispered in my ear, “It’s hard, isn’t it?”  The boys were thankfully laughing at something on Jake’s phone.  She linked arms with me and said, “Come on, let’s go and get rid of their bags