:: epilogue ::

Mark and I turned twenty-five in the middle of March. Because it was such a significant birthday, almost as much as eighteen and twenty-one were, our parents had invited just about our entire family, both immediate and extended, along with as many of mine and Mark’s friends as they’d been able to get in contact with. It was a real stroke of luck that both the house and yard were so large, otherwise the party would likely have spilled out into the street.

And yet instead of enjoying my own birthday party as I knew I probably should have been, I’d holed myself up in my old bedroom, and was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling.

This was it. In one week, at a quarter to twelve in the evening on the twenty-first, Isobel and I would be departing Los Angeles on a one-way Qantas flight to Sydney, Australia. We would be arriving in the Land Down Under at five to eight in the morning on the twenty-third. From there, once we had cleared Customs and Immigration, someone from Expatriate would pick us up from the airport and drive us to our new home. Even if I had wanted to, there was no backing out now. Our visas had been approved, plane tickets had been purchased by my new employer and mailed out to us, bank accounts had been closed and their balances transferred over to accounts that had been opened with one of the Australian banks, Ratchet’s travel to Australia had been applied for and approved, enough funds to last us until we could access our new bank accounts had been exchanged, and our bags were packed and ready to go. The experience of a lifetime waited for us – all we had to do was take that first step into the unknown.

I heard the door open, and I looked to my right to see my father stepping into the room. “There you are,” he said, sounding relieved. “Have you been up here this whole time?”

“Pretty much,” I admitted quietly as I sat up. “I just…” I looked over at him. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing here?”

Thankfully, I didn’t need to explain myself this time. “Well, this is the way I see it,” Dad said as he came to sit down beside me. “This is what you’ve wanted for a very long time. So in that respect, I think you’re definitely doing the right thing. Even if it’s only by yourself. I just wish the opportunity of a lifetime had been here at home, rather than halfway around the world.”

“You aren’t the only one,” I admitted. “I…” Swallowing hard, I cast a sidelong glance at Dad. “I’m fucking petrified,” I said. “I keep having nightmares that I’m going to screw things up severely.”

“In what way?”

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that either my curse hadn’t been noticed, or it had been blatantly ignored. “Just…with my new job, with Isobel, with the wedding…” I shook my head. “Don’t mind me. I’m being stupid.”

“In all honesty, Taylor, it’s completely normal. I felt much the same way before I married your mother.”

“Except that you weren’t moving halfway around the world.”

“True. That doesn’t matter, though. What does matter is that it’s normal to have doubts and fears about the unknown. You wouldn’t be human otherwise.” He stood up and took a step toward the door. “Come on, downstairs with you. It’s not every day that you turn twenty-five.”

What greeted me as I descended the staircase could only be described as utter mayhem. My two youngest siblings and my younger cousins were streaking back and forth between the kitchen and the family room, yelling at the very tops of their voices as they ran. The older set, including three of my brothers and one of my sisters, were either crowded around the low, round table in the middle of the family room, squashed onto the couch while two of them played what looked like one of the Guitar Hero games, or in all likelihood out in the yard, where I knew the adults of the family were more than likely to be found.

Well, with the exception of one.

My mother was exactly where I thought she would be – cooking up a storm in the kitchen. “Need any help?” I asked as I came up beside her. She looked away from the pot she was stirring for just long enough to smile at me.

“You should be enjoying your party, Tay,” she said as she refocused on her current task.

“I don’t feel like I can,” I admitted quietly. “I mean, I’m leaving in a week.”

“All the more reason to enjoy yourself. You deserve to have a little fun every now and again.” She turned one of the knobs on the front of the stove. “Well, come on then,” she said, nodding toward the dish rack. Without even needing to be told twice I reached across and grabbed a wooden spoon, and Mom shifted to the left so I could take my place next to her. “Where exactly is it that you and Isobel will be living?”

“It’s called Albion Park – it’s a bit less than sixty-five miles south of Sydney. Fourteen miles south of Wollongong, where I’ll be working. There’s only about eleven thousand people living there.”

“So it’s very small, then?”

“Smaller than what I’m used to at least.” I stirred the contents of the pot right in front of me with my wooden spoon. “And you know what the most hilarious thing about it is?”

“What’s that?”

“The street our house is on is called Taylor Road.”

Mom chuckled at this, and I cracked a smile. Not being the only person who was amused by the name of the street I’d soon be living on made me feel a little better.

“I am going to make you a promise,” my mother said as she turned off all the burners. “No matter what, and no matter how many years pass by, this will always be your home. You and Isobel will always be welcome here.” She stepped back and held me at arm’s length. “I am so, so proud of you,” she said softly. “I know that you’re going to do so well. Isobel as well.”

I nodded, barely able to find the words I wanted to say. “Thank you,” I whispered.

The following Friday evening, my family came to Los Angeles to see Isobel and I off. Isobel’s family hadn’t been able to come, so she’d said her farewells just prior to departing New York. My parents and siblings couldn’t join us at our gate, as only Isobel and I were in possession of airline tickets and passports, but that didn’t seem to bother them.

At least, it didn’t seem to bother my older siblings.

“I don’t want you to go,” Zoë whispered as I hugged her tightly. She drew back and fixed me with a blue-eyed stare. “Can’t you stay here?”

“I wish I could, Zo,” I said quietly. “But my job’s overseas now. And you know, it isn’t forever. You’re coming over to see me and Issie in December, remember?”

She nodded. “When you get married,” she said.

“That’s right. You get another sister too.”

“I know.” She put her head back down on my shoulder. “And I can come and visit you anytime I like?”

Before I answered, I looked up at my parents, who both nodded. “Of course you can,” I assured my sister. “In fact, I expect to see you at least once a year. I won’t get to see you grow up otherwise.”

“We should get going, Tay,” I heard Isobel say from somewhere above my head. “They’ll be calling our flight in a couple of hours, and we still need to get through security.”

“Yeah, I know.” Zoë detached herself as I went to straighten up. “We’ll call when we get to Sydney,” I promised as Mom and then Dad hugged me one last time. “Just so you know we got there safely. I’m sure there’ll be a payphone in Arrivals somewhere.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Mom told me. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I will,” I promised.

At the top of the escalator that had taken us up to the Departures level, I turned back to look down at my family for the last time. I knew I’d be seeing them all again in December, but that didn’t make the upcoming separation any easier. Knowing that there was soon to be over seven and a half thousand miles of ocean between us made it all that more difficult.

“It’ll be okay,” Isobel said softly as I looked down at my family. “You’re not doing this on your own, remember?” I felt her snake an arm around my shoulders. “We’re in this together.”

I nodded, knowing that she was right. So long as we were together, I could handle anything that life threw at us. We were each other’s strength, and together we could do anything.

With that in mind, I waved down at my family one last time and turned away, and took Isobel’s hand in mine. The unknown lay before us, and all we had to do was take that first step.

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky
As someone told me lately
Ev’ryone deserves the chance to fly

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