Beautiful Together

by Andrea Wolfe

  But as much as I wanted to be awake for the journey, I fell asleep quickly. One second awake, the next passed out cold.

  I missed the whole trip. The next time I opened my eyes, we were already touching down, the sudden jolt of the wheels against the runway startling me. I stared out the window—the sun was already setting, and I had slept until the evening in London.

  I gazed over at Arielle. "Did you sleep much?" She appeared to have woken at the same time I did.

  "The whole damn flight," she said, rubbing her eyes. "And I was only planning on taking a short nap. You?"

  "Same."

  There was a brief conversational lag as we slowly approached full consciousness.

  "We're here," Arielle said, extending her smile until it reached almost inhuman proportions.

  "We made it!" I said. "We crossed a whole ocean."

  "Damn right we did."

  I let Arielle lead the way. When we got into the airport, we collected our checked bags and went through customs. I was too giddy to be annoyed by the long lines.

  After that was behind us, we sat down and Arielle called her aunt.

  As it turned out, Arielle's aunt's apartment had a free pickup service for guests, and there was already a car on its way. So we had twenty minutes to kill.

  We grabbed paninis in the food court and then sat down in the arrivals section. It wasn't until I unwrapped the sandwich that I realized just how hungry I was. I wolfed the whole thing down in no more than five bites.

  "I don't know much about London," I said, swallowing the remainder of my sandwich.

  "I know some cool neighborhoods," Arielle said. "My aunt's neighborhood is pretty wealthy and upscale, but my cousin Amy lives in a cooler one. It's a huge city."

  Just as promised, a small black luxury car pulled up about twenty minutes later. The driver smiled at us.

  "Ello ladies," he said as he loaded our suitcases into the trunk.

  "Hi," we both said back. His heavy accent, paired with the realization that we were really in London, instantly made me smile.

  We hopped inside and let the driver close the back door. It wasn't a limo, but it was fancy. Getting through customs had taken a while, so it was even darker than when we landed. I couldn't see much as we drove down M4.

  On the ride, Arielle told me more about her Aunt Catherine.

  "So she's your dad's sister then?" I asked.

  "Yeah. She moved here like ten years ago and now she's really high up in this financial company. It was only supposed to be a temporary gig, but she never wanted to leave. And Amy liked it too, even though she basically had to leave all of her friends behind in New Jersey. Plus, her ex-husband is kind of a deadbeat, so she wanted to get away from him. I mean, they both did."

  "That's good," I said.

  About twenty-five minutes later, we pulled up in front of the luxury apartment complex in Mayfair where Catherine lived. It was a gorgeous, tall brick building with wide balconies at every window. We stopped under an awning, grabbed our bags, and headed inside.

  Arielle checked in at the lobby desk and then we sat down on a bench. There were polished marble floors and a fountain running in the center.

  A couple minutes later, the elevator opened and Arielle's face lit up. "Aunt Catherine!" she called as she rose to her feet. I slowly trailed behind.

  "My favorite niece!" Catherine was maybe an inch shorter than Arielle, slender with Auburn hair, her eyes bluish-green behind a pair of considerably hip glasses. I was expecting her to have an accent, but then I realized that she spent most of her life in the United States and felt a little dumb.

  She was wearing a pair of jeans and a red blouse. Arielle had told me how great she looked for someone fast approaching fifty, and I definitely agreed.

  They hugged in the middle of the lobby while I stood on the side.

  "You look so good!" Arielle said.

  "And you look stylish as always, dear. And who's this beautiful girl over here?" She hugged me before I could respond.

  "I'm Naomi," I announced softly.

  "Hi, Naomi," she said, close to my ear. "I'm Catherine. But you can call me Cat."

  I laughed. "Hi, Cat," I said, testing out the name. "It's so nice to meet you."

  We all jumped in the elevator and headed upstairs.

  Catherine's apartment was amazing. Hardwood floors, high ceilings, a fireplace, a kitchen full of stainless steel appliances, a private balcony with an amazing view. We noisily dragged the suitcases along the floor, the sound echoing down the entry hall.

  The living room was filled with interesting furniture, the walls adorned with pieces of contemporary art. There was an uncorked bottle of wine and a half-filled glass sitting on the granite countertop in the kitchen.

  After we settled into our rooms, we had some wine and good conversation. The more Catherine talked, the more I loved her.

  She drank and laughed with us for hours, serving us whatever we wanted. Very much like Curt, unsurprisingly. Our conversation took all kinds of interesting directions, touching on music and movies and art and drinking and everything in between.

  Catherine loved London, loved her job, loved her daughter and her family. She was an incredibly positive person.

  And as it turned out, Amy was in veterinary school at the University of London. I was super excited to ask her questions after her exam on Wednesday. Veterinary school had been my primary choice when I was actually filling out college applications.

  By midnight, Catherine was ready to go to bed, but Arielle and I decided to go out and grab a drink.

  "I know a good place," Arielle said. "Within walking distance."

  "The Red Bar?" Catherine instantly guessed.

  Arielle nodded. "That's exactly it."

  "Good choice," she said. "They always play music I like. I use that Shazam app on my phone to figure out what it is so I can find it later. Amy put it on there for me."

  "You're so cool, Aunt Catherine," Arielle said, smiling.

  Catherine laughed and then headed down the hall. "Well, goodnight!"

  After we straightened up our appearances, Arielle grabbed the extra key off the counter and led us downstairs.

  The Red Bar turned out to be a nice place, and the music was good, just as Catherine had said. It was also very red inside. We both got champagne and chilled out.

  It was the perfect way to end the night.

  ***

  The next few days were spent exploring London, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city—while jet-lagged. We visited the Tate Modern art gallery, rode the London Eye Ferris wheel, went to some rock shows at the Barfly, and ate at some of the best restaurants ever.

  A lot of it was just tourist stuff, but Arielle insisted that I thoroughly experience as much of the city as possible, whether the individual stops were actually cool or not. But I enjoyed every place we visited anyway.

  Most of the time we were drunk, stuffed, or some combination of both.

  There was, however, a bit of a serious cultural shock compared to NYC. Most pubs and restaurants closed really early, at nine or ten on some nights. The tipping culture wasn't the same in London—servers got a proper hourly wage instead of surviving on tips—so that was nice. Beer and wine seemed to be cheaper than NYC, but not cocktails.

  The London Underground didn't run all that late either, and several times we had to reroute our trips into the city due to maintenance on major lines. Oh, and not to mention that taxi drivers sometimes totally refused us after we told them our destination.

  If you were young and wanted to hang out late on the weekends, clubbing was really your only option.

  So after Amy's exam on Wednesday, we finally met up. We took a train to Shoreditch to go out for dinner.

  Amy's apartment was in a good-sized two story brick house, probably four or five bedrooms in all. It was split into two duplexes down the middle, and her place was on the right side. She lived with two roommates, one guy, and one girl.

&nb
sp; Amy met us at the front door in a flowery skirt and a denim jacket, her style uncannily similar to Arielle's. They hugged so aggressively I feared I was witnessing an attack and not a gesture of affection.

  "Oh, God, I'm so glad to see you!" Amy said. She looked just like her mom, that same auburn hair, but younger and without glasses. "I've been so damn wrapped up in these exams. All of my dreams are of surgery on dogs and cats. And diagrams of their respective anatomies."

  "I was worried you were never gonna come out and play," Arielle said.

  "Yeah, you know me too well," she said. "It wouldn't be the first time I locked myself away for weeks."

  "Amy, this is my best friend in the world, Naomi," Arielle added.

  "Hi," I said. "I've heard so many good things about you."

  "Well, if Arielle likes you, then I like you," Amy said warmly, leaning forward and hugging me gentler than she had Arielle.

  "I wanna hear about veterinary school," I said. "I'm... uh, considering it."

  She shot me a wry smile. "You must be as crazy as me then, huh?"

  I laughed. "I guess so."

  We headed out, struggling to keep up with Amy who was clearly on autopilot.

  After a ten minute walk from Amy's, we settled into a tiny Turkish restaurant, a place that only had seating for maybe twenty people total. The owner recognized Amy as we entered, and seated us immediately.

  We shared a couple of platters, gorging on pita and hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and a big salad. And then we enjoyed all sorts of kebobs, the meat and veggies cooked perfectly, everything juicy and flavorful. There was bread on the side too.

  Amy told us about her exams and how things had been going. "I hope my mom hasn't been driving you crazy," she said at one point.

  "You know I love your mom," Arielle said, borderline defensively. "She's great. I always look forward to seeing her."

  Amy scoffed quietly. "Yeah, well, try living with her. That'll change your opinion fast." She shook her head and took another bite of kebob. "But maybe I'm too harsh."

  "It's not a big deal," Arielle said. "But I know what you mean. Not everyone gets along with their parents."

  I swallowed hard after realizing how true that statement was. She had obviously said it as a platitude, but once again, I knew the feeling all too well.

  "I sure could use a beer," I announced in the silence, hoping to get back to fun instead of ugly introspection.

  "I know a nice pub. And then I think we should go out clubbing. At least once."

  "Just once?" Arielle said incredulously. "We went out every night the last time I was here. Are you still recovering or something?"

  "Shut up," she said. "You knew what I meant. And I didn't want to force Naomi if, y'know, she didn't want to."

  "I can keep up just fine," I said.

  "Okay, so more than once," Amy said, grinning.

  After we took care of the check, we headed to a pub a few blocks away, hopping into a booth in the back corner. Arielle got us a round of beers, and we downed them quickly.

  When we were done, we headed out to a place called Cable. The crowd was great and the music was loud. My brain felt like it was vibrating in my skull—in a good way. And it was mostly electro/house music, so the bass was a force to be reckoned with.

  We danced until we basically couldn't dance anymore, until the point in which a shower seemed more appealing than another drink. Finally, a little after two, we headed out into the night and back to our respective homes after taking a bus.

  It was just another night in London.

  26

  The days went by in a pleasant haze after Amy was freed from her school obligations. We ended up scheduling a sober recovery day on Friday since we had been drunk every single night and worried that we were going to get sick and spoil our big plans for Saturday night.

  Amy had tickets for us to go to a warehouse rave, one that promised to be one of the biggest parties of the year. A big name DJ was going to be there spinning all night, and she claimed it was one of the best places in the city.

  So when Saturday night rolled around, we dressed up in our most colorful clothes and headed out to a pub near the warehouse to chug Red Bull cocktails. It was going to be a long, exhausting night—but also a good one.

  "Can it really be better than that other rave?" Arielle asked after finishing her first drink.

  "It is," Amy said confidently. "This is an invite-only thing. I know the promoters. You're gonna be blown away. It's not like anything you've ever seen."

  I was both nervous and excited.

  After several rounds, we were ready to party.

  The venue was a huge open space, with well over a thousand people crowded inside. The bass sounded like bombs in a warzone.

  "It's time to get crazy!" Amy shouted.

  We all screamed and pushed our way into the crowd. The light show was absolutely nuts, and paired with the music, it was out of this world. The pulse of the music kept us moving relentlessly, and the heat of the crowd kept us sweating like we were in a sauna.

  We bought more drinks from the bar, and although we were all pretty drunk, the environment—and the caffeine, of course—kept us moving no matter how lethargic the alcohol should have made us.

  Song after song roared by. It was definitely one of the most exciting nights of my life. The light show consisted of both pulsing colors and moving patterns, the ceiling covered with morphing geometric shapes and rapid flashes.

  Sometimes they turned into the outlines of animals, and we kept pointing up at the ceiling and laughing as the transformations surprised us.

  A little after midnight, a reasonably cute guy joined our group, dancing very close to Arielle. And unsurprisingly, as the night went on, they started moving away from us, the pace so slow that we barely noticed it happening.

  By two, they were completely out of sight.

  "Where'd they go?" Amy shouted suddenly, her eyes scanning for her missing cousin.

  "They've been creeping away for a while now," I said.

  "Well, she'd better come back and tell us what's up," Amy said, a disconcerted look on her face. "I can't wait around all night if she's planning on disappearing."

  "It'll be okay," I reassured her. "I'm sure she'll be back." Sometimes she'd be talking to a cute guy at a bar then she'd just disappear like a puff of smoke.

  And sometimes she came by to tell me that they were leaving, and other times she didn't contact me until the next morning when she was on her way home. And that was Arielle in a nutshell.

  We kept dancing for another half hour, and it was clear that Amy was wearing out. We had been going at it for almost five hours straight.

  When I slowed down for a second, I realized how sore I felt. That much dancing could really be a killer.

  "Do you want to get going?" I shouted to Amy. Her enthusiasm had seriously dropped, and it seemed like she was ready to leave.

  "But what about Arielle?"

  "C'mon," I said, pointing toward the open corner near the bar. We pushed through the crowd until we emerged at the other side.

  The music wasn't so overwhelming in that open space, so we could talk. "Did you text her?"

  "I just did," she said, staring down at her phone.

  We stood in silence, our eyes peeled, looking for Arielle in every corner—but there was nothing. Amy's phone trilled suddenly.

  "Oh, she already left. Wasted all this time looking for her. Fuckin' great," she muttered, frowning.

  "Did... something happen?" I felt bad for Amy. I was used to Arielle's behavior, but it was clear that she wasn't.

  "Are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat. I feel like I haven't eaten in days. We'll talk then."

  "Yeah, that sounds cool," I said.

  We left the warehouse and hailed a cab. Amy gave an address when we hopped in, but I didn't know what it was.

  After driving a short distance, we ended up in front of the Heron Tower, which I only was able to identify by the big si
gn on the front. Amy paid the driver, and then we hopped out.

  "There's a twenty-four hour restaurant on the fortieth floor called Duck and Waffle. Let's go."

  I shrugged and followed along. We took the elevator up and sure enough, there it was.

  We got a table near the window, and I was blown away by the view of the city. I could see for miles. "This is great," I said.

  "Yeah, I love this place," she said.

  We ended up sharing a cinnamon ice cream Belgian waffle and a pastrami and grilled cheese. All of the food was amazing, and after so much dancing, it felt necessary for survival.

  Our conversation never ceased, and I took advantage of the situation and asked her all about veterinary school.

  "If you can get over the fact that not every day is going to be a super cute cuddly animal day and that you're probably going to see a lot of stuff that makes you want to cry, it's a great career. We've saved a lot of kittens and done surgery on puppies and all that. And when an animal that was near death and opened up on a table two days ago is jumping up and licking your face, it makes it all worth it."

  Her perspective was refreshing. I was happy to hear it, and found that it definitely renewed my interest in the field. She gave me her email address in case I wanted to ask her questions in the future.

  Once the conversation slowed and our food was digesting, I went back to the other present situation.

  "So what's up with you and Arielle?" I asked finally.

  She frowned. "Oh, that."

  "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I said. "You just seemed... well, upset."

  "No, no," she muttered. "It's okay. I mean, I'll tell you."

  As it turned out, the last time Arielle was in town, they had been out drinking and dancing just as we were tonight, only the group of people was larger, and it included a guy friend, Jack, that Amy had had a crush on for a long time. She wanted to ask him out, but it hadn't happened yet.

  Well, Arielle went home with a guy that night, and that guy happened to be Jack. Amy was devastated, and when she told everything to Arielle the next day, she of course felt terrible and vowed never to run off with guys and leave Amy alone again.