Emma's Italian Reunion

The passport had been in the drawer for years. She thought she’d lost it, but there it was. The last time she’d looked at it, he had been in his twenties, a scruffy boy with shaggy hair, wondering about the world.

The picture was all wrong now. He’d cut his hair and shaved off a scruffy beard. And, yes, he was all grown up, a man with sharp, handsome features and an air of confidence that came from having lived abroad for so long.

He would be here in just another hour or two. That’s why she waited here at the airport, trying to look cool and sophisticated like all the other Italian women around her. They wore their hair in neat buns or braids; they carried stylish handbags, wore bright lipstick and stylish shoes. Oh how different they were from her!

She wore baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, even though she knew they weren’t quite right for this place. Her hair was long and curly and unkempt. She didn’t even have a handbag to carry – she had left her suitcase at the hotel in Florence and brought just her wallet with her.

She sighed heavily again as she felt the nervousness building up inside her. This was really it – the day she’d wanted for so long had finally arrived! She’d only just missed him when he’d visited last year but this time he said he wouldn’t miss her birthday dinner if he could help it! So here she was at the airport waiting for him to arrive on his flight from London!

Emma had planned everything out perfectly – she knew every detail of his itinerary because she had looked it up on his blog. He would land at Milan Malpensa Airport then take a train to Bergamo where he would stay overnight with friends before driving down to Florence tomorrow morning to meet her! So that meant that although they couldn’t see each other today they would be able to spend some quality time together tomorrow!

She felt a fluttering inside her stomach as she looked around the terminal hall where people were milling about waiting to pick up their bags or meet someone arriving by plane. Then suddenly Emma saw him – there he was, standing alone with his back toward her! His hair definitely looked shorter than in the photo but it was still longer than most men wore theirs these days so it took her a few seconds to recognize him.

He must have heard or sensed her staring at him because suddenly he turned around and looked straight up at her! A smile broke out on his face as soon as he recognized her! Emma jumped up from where she sat and started running towards him through the crowd of people who walked between them! As soon as they were face-to-face they hugged tightly, not knowing what else to say after all these years apart!