Page 66 of Common People

‘Yeah, and if I like it, I might go for a second. If not, I’ll go to New Zealand, Fiji, South America. We’ll see. What about you, Max? What’s the plan?’

‘Shall we get drinks first?’

‘Yeah, great idea. What can I get you? Beer?’

‘Actually, I don’t drink. Just water or fruit juice would be great though.’

‘No worried, back in a sec,’ said Abs, and she wandered off to the bar while Max found them two chairs and a small table to sit at. The deck area wasn’t packed but it was fairly busy with people just settling in. It seemed like more of an evening place, and he could imagine it getting really busy as the night unfolded. After a minute, Abs returned with a beer for herself, a bottle of water for him, and a glass of some sort of fruit juice.

‘He said it was their best fruit juice drink. A special blend, apparently.’

‘OK,’ said Max, who took a sip and it was amazing, like nothing he had ever tasted before. The fruit was sweet, delicious, and so much fresher than anything he had ever had before. ‘Wow!’

‘Good?’

‘Amazing.’

‘Cheers,’ said Abs, knocking her bottle of Chang beer against his glass.

‘Cheers,’ Max replied, sinking into his comfortable seat, and enjoying the view, while around him the deck slowly began filling up with people. The whole place had a cool, travelling vibe, full of accents from around the world, lithe, young bodies, tanned, in shorts, bikinis, and flip-flops, chatting, drinking, and enjoying the moment. It was a far cry from the after-work drinkers in London, huddled outside pubs in the cold. Abs told Max about herself, that she was from Oxford, had just graduated from university in Cardiff, and had taken a gap year to travel before the inevitable return to England to get a job and settle down. She had already been in Asia for two months, a month longer than she had planned, but she loved it, and didn’t want to leave. She was excited to get to Australia though, and create a whole life there. She already had a couple of friends living inSydney, and she wanted to see how it went before she decided how long she would be in Australia for. Although if her time in Asia had shown her anything, it was that plans changed quickly when you were travelling. Eventually she was done, and she asked Max about himself.

‘What’s your story?’

‘Well, it’s complicated, I suppose.’

‘Intriguing,’ replied Abs, taking a sip of her beer. ‘Go on. Tell me everything.’

Max explained everything that had happened to him, leaving out some of the more personal details, but talking about his parents, run club, the sandwich shop, and that he had taken a three-month sabbatical from the BBC, and was travelling in Thailand for a month.

‘Wait,’ said Abs when he had finished. ‘You have three months off work, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you have money?’

‘Umm, yeah.’

‘Then why are you just travelling for a month? What will you do when you get back to London?’

‘Umm, well, there’s the sandwich shop. I can help out with that.’

‘But what if you didn’t go back, and instead went somewhere else.’

‘Like?’

‘Where else in the world would you like to visit? There has to be somewhere.’

Max thought for a moment, and the idea of exploring Australia while he was already halfway there, did sound appealing. The thought hadn’t really occurred to him before to just keep travelling. He had more time to travel after Thailand before he had to return to work. His plan had always been justa month in Thailand, but perhaps Abs was right when she said that when you travelled, plans changed all the time and you just had to go with it. The thing was, after this trip, after he had returned to London, he might never get the chance again. The moment for him to travel with freedom, by himself, was then and if he didn’t grab it, he might regret it forever.

‘I like the sound of Australia. Tell me all about it,’ said Max, before he got them more drinks, as the deck around them filled up with people as sunset got closer and closer.

Abs told him that he had to see more of Thailand first. He needed to see a few more of the islands in the south, and then travel north to Chang Mai to do a jungle trek. After that, he could meet her in Sydney, where she planned on spending the first month in Australia, and she would be happy to help him get settled, and maybe make a plan of things to do. They talked and talked, Abs told him stories of her travels so far, and all of the things she wanted to do next. Max listened, enthralled by her openness and desire to live life while she could. She was seizing the moment, and it made Max want to do the same.

As the sun went down, everyone stood up and were taking photos with their phones, and with music playing in the background, it was the perfect moment. Max stood next to Abs, and he made a decision.

‘I think you’re right. I’m going to keep travelling.’

‘Good for you, Max. If you have any questions, just ask.’