Eight

Following Elvina into the heart of the party, Kaden was looking for someone to talk to, someone who would satisfy his father when something he saw brought him to a sudden stop.

Someone.

He stopped.

He stared.

At first, he thought it was just his imagination playing games, conjuring a face he had been yearning to see for years. But it was impossible. It could not be. As his mind was trying to convince him of its impossibility, his heart kept him standing there in the same spot for a while, eyes searching, feet not moving. Hoping. 

And there it was.

That face.

There she was. 

His heart went crazy in his chest. Boom boom boom. Like a bird throwing itself against the walls of the cage, wanting to be free. It couldn't be her. 

He wanted to ask Elvina if she saw what he was seeing but she was nowhere to be seen, lost in the crowd. Kaden shook his head. Closed his eyes tightly then opened them. She was still there. 

She was here. 

Right in front of him. 

She was real. Right? 

His eyes on her, he strode through the crowd and stood right behind her. She was just looking around at the place, a bright smile on her face and a paperback in her hand. He chuckled. Her priorities were always "my books, my books, and what do you know, my books". That, apparently, has not changed through the years.

"Such a small world, huh?" he said.

The girl turned around and came face to face with him with a frown that was soon replaced by a dazzling smile. "Kaden!" her voice was a bit too loud and full of glee as she wrapped him in her arms just like she used to.

As if she had not disappeared for five years.

As if nothing has changed.

Kaden let his own arms wrap around her middle and drew her deeper into his arms. Arms that felt empty for years. Arms that felt cold and numb. "Matilda Dahl," he whispered in her hair.

"Kaden Owen," she pulled back slightly to look at him. "How is it possible to bump into you right here right now?"

"Beats me," Kaden shrugged. "Fate, maybe?" 

Matilda shook her head. "It has finally happened. The most reasonable guy I knew had changed gears and started believing in this crazy mumbo-jumbo."

"If mumbo-jumbo is the only way I get to see you," Kaden shrugged.

She smiled, hugging him again. "Ah, you gloriumptious human bean, I've missed you so much."

Kaden wanted to ask why, how, what, but instead he settled for a long bone crushing hug as he let go of his hurt. Because who cared why, how, or what when she was right there in his arms and he could feel her, smell her, hear her? The woman he'd loved, the one that got away, was right back in his arms again. Kaden could not be happier. 

"So, how was your world travels, Phileas Fogg?"

The last day of college, the day Kaden had decided to finally confess his love to the girl who had made his young foolish heart go crazy, Matilda very enthusiastically broke the news of her decision to go travel the world. Matilda was the one to make Kaden's heart beat, but she was also the first one to break it. All because she wanted to live, and you could only live when you traveled, obviously. 

She wanted to go. 

Kaden let her go. 

He never got to tell her the truth; she never found out.

They let go of each other, unwillingly yet with bright smiles. Matilda shrugged, "Interesting. Very much so. I mean, unlike the original mister Fogg I traveled by bus or trains. Never a balloon. Not even by plane. And I was all on my own, no funny companions, but it was indeed fantastic."

"What? All on your own? Didn't the great Matilda Dahl meet people on her journey around the world?"

She chuckled. "Yeah. No. See, I met a lot of people and it was nice talking to them but that was it. Haven't you heard? There are thieves out there, and murderers, and let's not forget the rapists. So, nothing intimate or... I don't know, no friendships ever happened."

"Liar liar, pants on fire," Kaden said.

They were now sitting in the bar section, though neither of them ordered any drinks. 

Laughing, Matilda shrugged, "It's not easy being on your own with no one to talk to or share your secrets with, no one to listen to you when you desperately need to talk, but I guess I got used to it all my life living in that orphanage. Actually, now that I think about it, being with you guys those years was the weirdest time of my life. The rest was the normal part." 

That made them both chuckle. "But yeah, I did lie. I found a friend. And she must be somewhere around here." On cue, she looked around, searching the crowd. "You'll meet her."

"This imaginary friend of yours?"

Matilda shoved him in the shoulder playfully. "Shut up, she's not imaginary. Even Sarah is not that perfect."

Capturing the attention of the barkeep, Kaden asked for an Old Fashioned for himself then looked at his companion, "Daiquiri?"

"Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes. "A water for me please."

They waited for their drinks in silence. After a sip of his Old Fashioned, when it arrived, Kaden turned to her, "Now that you're here, does this mean you've seen all the world?"

"Once upon a time you were smart, now you're just outright dumb, man. What happened to you?"

"What?"

"I neither had the money nor the time to go everywhere," Matilda pointed out. "You do remember I had only enough money to get myself to Paris. After that, I had to work there for a while so I could go to my next destination wherever that was. I told everyone that part of the plan."

"Right," Kaden remembered every part of it too well. "But I also remember you came into a small fortune right before you left. So, again, liar, liar."

She smiled, "So you heard. I did use that money... but not for my travels. So." Before Kaden could ask more about the money though, she said, "I've been to many places, though. Brazil, Morocco," she counted on her fingers, "London to Ibiza, straight to L.A., New York, Vagas to Africa."

Kaden frowned, "Why do I get the feeling you're making fun of me by singing me a song? A very overrated and boring song, I should add."

"Because you're way too smart," she grinned.

"Now I'm smart," Kaden chuckled.

"Mostly Europe, most of it in Paris because well, it's Paris. Croatia was magnificent too and Prague, oh my God Prague. Then I stayed in Germany, Dusseldorf with an old net friend which was amazing. And now I'm here."

"Why?"

That question caught her off her guard apparently because she hesitated before giving an answer, pondering whether to tell him or not. Finally, she said, "I missed you guys."

"It sure takes you a long time to miss people."

"I've heard it's bizarre, but that's my normal, so," she shrugged, her eyes on the shelves of drinks displayed on the other side of the counter.

Kaden watched her profile with a smile. He wanted to say something along the lines of 'welcome home' but he refrained. She knew she was welcomed. 

"So, never heard you guys' songs on the radio," Matilda said after a few minutes of silence. "What happened?"

"Oh, right. That," Kaden rubbed the back of his head. He didn't need that reminder in his life. "You mean to tell me you didn't notice the Armani?" he touched his suit gently.

"You're a privileged kid. What else is new?" Matilda teased.

"Touché," Kaden chuckled. After a sip of his Old Fashioned, he said, "Not long after we graduated, and by not long I mean the day after it, our parents informed us that all that playing around was for silly kids who had nothing else to worry about not us. We, their precious kids, were capable responsible adults with no dreams other than adding money to their loads. End of story." He downed his drink in one go. "Scott was the only lucky one among us for a while, until his dad's heart attack, then he too joined the Miserables Club."

It wasn't sadness she heard in his voice, but anger. Resentment with a little bit of bitterness. Which was a first; Matilda could not remember the man ever showing any of those feelings. 

Matilda patted him on the arm, real sadness in her eyes. Sadness for him. For them. "I'm really sorry to hear that. You guys were great."

"Yeah, tell that to our daddies."

"Well, yeah, families can be dumb sometimes."

That made Kaden laugh. That was what she always used to say, 'My family is the best example of how rubbish families can be. Don't lecture me on parents' goodness and let me tear them apart'.

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"I know," she looked him in the eye. "Don't feel like you need to pretend for me. Your daddies are douchebags."

"Can't argue with that." And he drank all his whiskey. "What about you, Matilda? What do you do now?"

"Odd jobs, as per usual," she said. "Waitressing, bar keeping, working in bookshops and libraries. But lately I've been busy with photography and it's been good."

"That's nice," he said cheerfully. "You always wanted that. It's great."

Staring into his eyes, she nodded and sighed, a sad aura surrounding her. "Yeah. I did, didn't I?" 

That made him wonder. What was she talking about? She'd been living her dream as far as he was concerned. So, what was with the face?

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting ya, Kade. Let's get together soon while I'm around."  She hopped off the stool, picked up the water bottle and her book to leave.

It triggered something in Kaden. It looked so much like that last day that she suddenly left the cafe mere minutes after telling them she was leaving. So without thinking it through, he seized her arm. "Where are you going? Will I see you again?"

A pair of sad eyes looked at him. For a second there Kaden could swear he saw something in her eyes but before he could name it she covered it with fake mirth, "I'm not going anywhere, Kade." She held his hand. "You never liked these crowds."

"I still don't."

"Then let's go," she grinned. 

"Go? Where?" Kaden was standing too. 

"Duh," Matilda rolled her eyes. "Out. Away from this swarming clew of worms."

"They're not that bad," Kaden snorted. When she arched an eyebrow, he shook his head. "Okay, maybe a little."

"So, come on. Let's sneak out before anyone sees us," she tugged on his hand. 

He did not resist it. 

He did not resist her.

He should have.

Five years. She had left them five years ago and cut all the strings, never called, never wrote. Nothing. In a blink of an eye, she was gone as if she had never even existed. Now, she was there as if someone had snapped their fingers and voila, Matilda had materialized in their lives again. It was unfair. Selfish. Wrong. He had so many things to say, so many questions to ask. In the end, though, it all came down to her being there, holding his hand and asking him to follow her. 

And he did.

"Where we going?" he asked as they slipped out of the thick of the crowd and got to the doors.

"Have you ever been to Fiji, my dear?"