Page 67 of Common People

‘Oh, don’t worry, I will. Maybe we can spend the next couple of days planning together, if that’s all right.’

‘Of course, no worries. Happy to help.’

‘In return, I’ll pay for all your food and beer while we’re in Koh Phangan. How does that sound?’

She looked at him and smiled. ‘I’m not doing it for freebies.’

‘I know, but honestly, it’s so cheap here, it will still be less than a good night out in London.’

She laughed. ‘Fair enough.’

After the sun had gone down, they set off on their scooters back to the hostel by the beach, to plan the next two months of Max’s life. When Max had been on the beach earlier, listening to Anthony going on about the full-moon party, he hadn’t expected his life to change so quickly. It was something that Max had come to realise over the past few months. People could change you like a lightbulb switch being flicked, illuminating everything in the room when before it had been dark. Robbie had changed his life, Hope, and Bethan. They had all made imprints on him, forever altering the course of his life. He had only known Abs for a few hours, but within that time, she had convinced him to keep travelling, and maybe that would alter his life in ways he couldn’t even imagine. One moment, one decision, and everything after was different.

Max didn’t know what the outcome would be, and how travelling would change his life, but he knew it would. It was the thing he was coming to terms with after the death of his parents. Life was unpredictable, it could change in a heartbeat, sometimes it was forced upon you and at other times, you forced yourself upon it, but it was all life. It kept going, no matter what, and so you had to just do your best to keep up, be a good person, make the right choices, and hope that all of that made you happy.

As he rode his scooter back towards the coast, through the diminishing light, the sights and smells of Koh Phangan like a powerful drug entering his system, he thought what a wild ride it had been since he had joined Common People. He definitely wouldn’t have been there at that moment without them, riding a scooter through the jungles of Thailand. Life was unpredictable, but Max felt alive in a way that he hadn’t in a very long time, and he didn’t want it to stop.

Landing

As the plane circled over London, Max looked out of the window at the sight of England below. It felt like such a long time since he had left, and it had been two and a half months, but it seemed like so much longer. When he was living in London, months could pass without much happening, without him noticing a change, but the last two and a half had been life altering. He had done so much, pushed himself outside of his comfort zone, and he had changed as a person in ways he couldn’t have imagined when he nervously boarded the plane to Bangkok. It was a grey, soggy day in the capital, and they had already announced that the temperature was five degrees with rain expected. When he had left Sydney, it was twenty-seven degrees and sunny. Weather and time zones had changed dramatically over the course of his twenty-four-hour journey back from Australia. He was finally home again. Back to the start.

The wheels touched down with a bump, and after taxing to a stop at their gate, the bright ping sounded, and everyone got ready to depart the plane. Max stood up, stretching his back, and noticing how tanned his hands were. After travelling in warm climates, his whole body was such a different colour. He felt so much more relaxed too, like somehow the sunshine had altered his brain along with his skin.

After Koh Phangan, Max had said goodbye to Abs, and then after visiting a few different islands in the south, he headed north to Chang Mai. He joined up with a four-day jungle trek, and got to spend time with elephants, and swim under incredible waterfalls. After that he headed back to Bangkok, andthen he flew to Sydney. He met up with Abs again, and some of her friends, and after a week in glorious Sydney, he spent five weeks travelling up the East Coast of Australia. He made friends for life, experienced incredible things like K’gari Island, sailing the Whitsunday Islands, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, and skydiving in Cairns. He lived each day like it was his last, experiencing life, people, and doing things he could only dream about in London. Unfortunately, he had missed seeing Hope while she was there, their schedules not quite lining up. After his East Coast trip, he spent the last few days in Sydney, enjoying the delights of Bondi Beach, before he finally flew home via Singapore. It had been an incredible experience, but he was finally home again, and couldn’t wait to see everyone.

He had texted with Robbie when he would be back, but Robbie was busy at the shop when he arrived. He would need to get the train back into London, and he would see Robbie back at the flat. After collecting his backpack from the baggage carousel, heaving it up onto his back for one of the last times, he made his way towards arrivals, realising just how different he looked and felt. Despite carrying the backpack, he felt so much lighter. His hair was longer, uncut during his trip, he had a few weeks’ worth of stubble on his face, and he hadn't washed since Sydney twenty-four hours earlier. He was also wearing a pair of old jeans that were in need of a wash, and a T-shirt he’d picked up in Thailand for less than a cup of coffee in London. Walking out of arrivals, he realised he would need something far warmer the minute he left the airport. He was dressed for the warmth of Australia, not the cold, drizzle of mossy England.

Max walked through arrivals, knowing he needed to head towards the trains, when he suddenly heard his name being called.

‘Max! Max! Over here! Max!’ said a voice, and when he turned, he saw her, and his heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn’t believe it.

‘Bethan? What are you doing here?’ he said incredulously, walking across towards her. He took his backpack off, placed it down on the ground, and they stood in front of each other. After a moment, they hugged, and just feeling her body pushed against his, he felt like he really was home. Max hadn’t spoken with Bethan since the night at the pub before he left. They had texted a little, but he had no idea she would be waiting for him at the airport.

After they pulled away from each other, emotion flooding through him, Bethan looked at him and smiled. ‘I’m here because I spent all the time you were away thinking about you, Max. About us. From the moment we met, we had something special. We both felt it, and we almost got together, but then we didn’t. I wasn’t sure I was ready, you needed time to work on yourself, but now you’re back, and it’s almost Christmas, and at Christmas we tell the truth.’

‘Love Actually?’

‘Love Actually,’ she replied with a smile. ‘Like I said, it’s almost Christmas, and the truth is Max, I was afraid before because I knew just how much I liked you. I couldn’t stand the thought of putting my heart out there again, of risking everything for love, but not having you here has made me realise just how much I need you in my life. So, if you’ll have me, I’d love to spend Christmas together. I want to be with you, Max. I think that actually, I probably love you too.’

Max could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She wanted to be with him, and probably loved him too. It was everything he wanted, had wanted from the moment they met at Common People, doing the cold plunge together, and sharing their grief outside the pub opposite The BritishMuseum. Bethan was everything he wanted, and still wanted after his travels.

‘Can I say something?’ said Max and she nodded. He held her hands in his. ‘Travelling was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, trekked through jungles, snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but every day I thought about you. My life has been amazing, I have experienced so much, but I did it all on my own. The thing I thought about while I was doing all those unbelievable experiences, was that I wish I was doing them with you. So, when I think about you, Bethan, I actually know that I love you, and spending Christmas together would make me the happiest man in the world.’

When Max stopped speaking, he saw tears in Bethan’s eyes, and then they both leaned in, their lips coming together, and they kissed. Right there in Heathrow Airport, just before Christmas, and it felt like his life was exactly where he wanted it to be.

‘Wait,’ said Max when they stopped, still holding each other, both glowing with love. ‘Did Robbie know about this? He was being so weird about not picking me up at the airport because he was busy at work.’

Bethan smiled. ‘He knew. I went to the shop, and we had a long chat about it.’

‘Cheeky bugger, and what did he say?’

‘He said, he thinks we’ll make the best couple ever. After him and Eve, of course.’

Max laughed. ‘Of course. How was the shop?’

‘Busy. Anita has created the best chicken tikka sandwich ever. I think it’s gone sort of viral.’

‘Wow, blimey. I’ve been keeping abreast of things a little online, but I’ve been so busy.’