“Nat, how long do we have to sit here?” Autumn whined as they were sitting in an airport in the Icelandic capital. Nathalie looked up at the clock on the wall.
“Twenty more minutes,” She answered. “They start boarding in ten, and I'd rather sit out here than in the plane...”
“God, this is taking foreeeeveeeeer...” Autumn sighed and picked up an abandoned magazine from the seat next to her.
“Maybe we shouldn't tell her how far it is from Gävle to Skellefteå,” Nicky laughed and looked over at the girls. “I mean, it's only about two hours from Stockholm to Gävle, but when we're heading to your home, Nats, it's going to take a while.”
Nathalie shook her head, as if to make him stop talking.
“What? How far is it to your place, Nat?” Nathalie sighed.
“About eight hours...” Autumn blinked.
“Are you kidding me? Eight hours in a car? For real?”
“Yeah, it's pretty far...”
“I'd say...” Autumn groaned. “When are we going there, again?”
“Uh, in two weeks... That's what we said, right?”
“Yep, I think so!” Nicky smiled. “You guys will love her parents, they're so funny!”
“Not really, you're just saying that,” Nathalie rolled her eyes. “They try, but their jokes aren't exactly funny.”
“I'm sure they're wonderful,” Autumn said. “Probably better than mine...” She added under her breath.
“What was that?” Jacob asked, putting down the newspaper he had been reading.
“Nothing, never mind.” Autumn started going through the pages of the magazine, but she couldn't find anything of interest.
Nathalie looked over at her, “Let's do something to pass the time. I'll teach you something to say in Swedish!”
“... what?”
“Yeah, something you can say to Jacob's parents. It'll be something easy! Like... “Hi, I'm Autumn, nice to meet you!””
“... what?”
“Yeah, something you can say to Jacob's parents. It'll be something easy! Like... “Hi, I'm Autumn, nice to meet you!””
“Jacob's tried teaching me things to say... I'm not good at it.”
“Let me give it a shot!”
“All right...” Autumn sighed. “How do you say it?”
“Hej, jag heter Autumn, trevligt att träffa er!”
“... pardon?”
Nathalie laughed and repeated the sentence, causing Autumn to frown and look at her as if she was crazy, “I cannot say that!”
“Oh come ON, try!”
“Sure... Hey, jag... something... Autumn... and then I can't remember what you said...”
“That's good!” Nathalie smiled. “Okay, so you forgot “heter” and “trevligt att träffa er.”
“Nat, I can't do thiiiiis...” Autumn whined. “Your language is weird!”
“Deal with it!” Nathalie grinned. “Come on, “heter.””
“... heater?”
“... heater?”
“Noo, not heater, heter.”
“Heter...?”
“Yes!”
“Hej, jag... heat-heter... Autumn, trevligt... att träffa er?”
“Wow, you caught on quick!” Nathalie smiled, “Well done!”
Autumn blushed, “Thanks... Er, Nat?”
“Yeah?”
“I have to go to the bathroom... Would you mind coming with me?”
“Of course not!” Nathalie stood up immediately. “Let's go!”
After going through another magazine and going to the bathroom twice more, dragging Nathalie along with her, Autumn was relieved to see that it was time to board the plane. The four of them gathered all their things and took off toward the gate.
“You have everything, right?” Nicky asked, walking a little faster to keep up with Nathalie.
“Yeah, here's your passport and your boarding pass,” She handed them to Nicky and turned around to give Jacob and Autumn theirs as well. “I'm sitting next to Nicky this time...” She said, looking down at her ticket. “And the two of you are next to each other. Is that cool?”
Autumn nodded, “It'll be fine.”
They stood in line for five minutes before reaching the counter. One by one, they handed the lady their documents and were allowed to walk toward the plane.
“I hate traveling...” Autumn muttered as she walked through the plane. She slumped into her chair and Jacob put their things in the space above their heads.
“Now, now...” Jacob sat down and patted her hand. “It's almost over. You'll fall asleep and we'll be in Stockholm in no time!”
Autumn sighed, “Yeah, right...”
“Hey...” Jacob put his arm around her. “Choose a movie, plug in the headphones, sit back and relax...”
“Yeah, maybe you're right...” Autumn looked over at Nathalie and Nicky. Nathalie was staring straight into the chair in front of her, not looking at Nicky at all. Autumn frowned, what was going on?
The plane took off a couple of minutes after it was supposed to, and Nicky was so tired he fell asleep five minutes after they left the ground. Autumn had closed her eyes, pretending to sleep and she waited until Jacob was sound asleep on her left side before leaning over to talk to Nathalie.
“Hey...” She whispered. “Is everything okay with you two?”
Nathalie tilted her head slightly, “What do you mean?”
“Well for instance, you haven't looked at him once since we got on the plane and it's been kind of... I don't know, stiff between you two.”
“Oh, you noticed, did you...?” Nathalie looked over at Nicky to see if he was still sleeping.
“Well, yeah... What's up?”
Nathalie sighed, “It's the baby thing... But don't worry, it'll be fine.”
“Oh...” Autumn looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. “I'm sorry, it's all my fault.”
“No, no, no!” Nathalie exclaimed. “Honey, he's been wanting one since before he met you, it's got nothing to do with you!”
“But I've triggered it, haven't I?”
“Autumn don't think like that, it's not your fault at all.”
“If you say so...”
“Look, I'm sure of it. Don't think about it, it'll be fine.” Nathalie leaned back in her chair and started scrolling through movies on the screen in front of her. “Now try getting some sleep, like Jacob said.”
Autumn rolled her eyes, “Yeah... He's out like a light, and I'll probably be awake until the last twenty minutes or something...”
“Well, I'm going to watch this movie, just sit back and close your eyes.” Nathalie smiled and plugged in her headphones.
They landed softly at Stockholm Arlanda at five pm, Swedish time. The bump when the wheels hit the ground woke Autumn and she sat up with a jerk, “I don't wanna go to school...” She mumbled and looked straight at Jacob, who started laughing.
“Autumn,” He said, shaking his head. “You're 21, you don't go to school.”
She blinked and looked around, “Right... Where are we?”
“Stockholm...” Nathalie yawned and stretched out her arms. “Welcome to Sweden.” She grinned and unbuckled her belt when the pilot switched the light off.
“And we'll be getting off first!” Nicky smiled and started collecting his things. “Let's go!” He said when the cabin crew had opened the doors and people were starting to get out.
“Arlanda, I've missed you...” Nathalie sighed as she stepped out into the busy airport. She inhaled the Swedish air and looked over her shoulder as the others were exiting the runway.
“Why so rushed, Nat?” Nicky said, putting his arm around her waist. She smiled a little.
“I just wanted to get out here, that's all.”
“So are we renting a car, or what?” Jacob asked, leading Autumn over to a bench, where she could sit down.
“Oh, yeah, right after we've gotten our luggage. Should we go get them?” Nicky looked at Autumn. “You look exhausted.”
“I... Yeah, I think I want to sit down for a while.” Autumn said. “You and Jacob can go and I'll sit here with Nat.”
“Sure...” Nathalie sat down next to her. “Go go, the bags should be getting on the belt any minute now.” She turned to face Autumn when the guys had walked away. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm just... so exhausted.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, don't worry Nat.”
“I just want to make sure you're okay, I know flying can be tough when you're pregnant.”
“Maybe... And I've been thinking about you and Nicky... Maybe you two should stay away from me for a while?”
“What, are you kidding me?”
“No, listen... Go to your place, stay there for a while and come down a couple of weeks before we leave. I don't want to trigger Nicky's “baby mind” any more than I already have.”
“You're being ridiculous. It's fine, we'll be okay.”
Autumn sighed, “If you're sure...”
“I am... It will be fine.”
“Okay, but just in case-”
“Heey, let's get going!” Jacob pushed the cart with the bags on toward Nathalie and Autumn. “I'm going hooome, I'm going hooome.” He danced ridiculously on the spot and Autumn rolled her eyes.
“Can you believe I'm having a child with that?” She shook her head as she got helped off the bench by him.
“That was fast,” Nathalie stood up and they walked out of the airport. “Did you guys bribe the staff to get our bags out first or something?”
“Oh yeah, we're all about bribes!” Jacob grinned as they walked through the sliding doors.
“Wow, it's warm here...” Autumn looked genuinely shocked.
“Yes,” Nathalie frowned. “It's summer.”
“Oh, well... I don't know, I just thought it'd be colder.”
“Sure...” Nathalie laughed slightly. “Do you have the number for the rentals?”
“Yes!” Nicky took out his phone and made a quick phone call. “We'll have a car in less than ten minutes.”
“I'll drive the first bit, Jake you'll take over when I'm tired, right?” Nicky said, going around the car to the driver's seat.
“Oh yeah,” Jacob nodded and got in the backseat with Autumn, while Nathalie climbed into the passenger's seat. “I'll get some sleep back here, just wake me up when you're feeling sleepy.”
Nathalie yawned and fastened her seat belt, “Please let it go by quickly...” She said before closing her eyes and leaning against the door. She was fast asleep ten minutes into their drive, and she slept all the way to Gävle.
