"It will be fun, but every birthday has been the best," she said, smiling at Rosa. "Your Mum made sure of that."
"Yeah, course." Imogen shrugged. "But skiing…with my besties?"
"Let's go in, shall we?" Rosa huffed. "I could do with a coffee and a sit down."
Billy nodded. "Onward then. We'll meet the girls and then head straight through. Then we can relax until we board the plane."
Rosa harrumphed as she pulled her case and headed for the entrance. Imogen passed her in seconds, but Billy walked quietly beside her pulling a smaller case.
Rosa glanced at it. “I suppose you have clothes already over there, like Imogen?”
“Just a few winter outfits really. I always pack light—don’t need much.” She shrugged. “Clean underwear and some shirts, a spare pair of jeans…” The small talk tailed off as they came to the foot of the long outdoor travelator that would take them upto the entrance. They both went to step onto it at the same time, banging into one another.
"Go ahead," Rosa said impatiently.
"No, it's fine, sorry…you go," Billy offered with that awkward, sexy grin of hers. There was a queue of people behind them all watching to see what the hold-up was, so Rosa didn't argue and took the initial step on.
She stood with her back to Billy as the travelator moved them up. Impatient people pushed past.
"Been working out?" Billy asked.
Rosa turned and frowned at her. "No. When would I have the time for that?"
She watched as Billy sized her up and down. "You look good is all." There was that smile again.
The compliment threw Rosa, and if it hadn't been for the loud warning about the end of the travelator, she might have tripped.
"Right," Billy said, taking charge. "In through here and then we should see them." She marched on, with Rosa chasing to catch up.
Inside the automatic doors was an expansive space with signs pointing in all directions. Coffee shops and eateries were on one side. Straight ahead, an escalator took people up to the next level. Standing beside it were Imogen’s friends and their families, all smiling and waving at them.
Billy was already greeting them, sounding loud and obnoxious in Rosa's opinion. There was no need to be quite soshouty, shouty, look-at-me,was there? She huffed and followed, plastering a smile to her face as she approached.
"Georgia, Pippa," Rosa said to Robbie's guardians. "Good to see you."
"Hi, Rosa." Pippa Samuels smiled, and her wife, Georgia, did her best to look happy, but was clearly not enjoying the experience.
"Thanks for…" Georgia began, "you know, taking this one with you." She pulled Robbie into a hug, and for once the teenager allowed it. But then she moved away and went to stand with Janka and Imogen, laughing and giggling at something on their phones. "It's…"
Rosa reached out. "No need to explain. We understand completely."
"She's in safe hands," Billy added.
"We've done the whole plane thing as a family, and she's been away with the school. I dunno why this feels—"
"Georgia, it's perfectly understandable. They're growing up and not needing us as much," Rosa encouraged.
"Yes, maybe that's it." Georgia smiled thinly. "Well, I guess we should head off. Leave you to it."
Pippa called out, "Cassie, Max, say bye to the girls. We're going now."
The two youngest in the family ran back from where they'd been playing and barged themselves into Robbie, who bent to hug them.
Rosa turned to Janka—the opposite of Imogen and Robbie. She was blonde, short, and quieter than the other two girls. "Did your parents leave already?"
"Yes, they both had to be at work," Janka said. She'd been in the UK for five years. Almost any trace of her accent was already gone, but vowels still had that slight lilt.
"Okay, well, we're all here. That's what matters," Billy said, while gesturing goodbye as Georgia, Pippa, and the kids waved from the door.
