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The airport was full of people Chris usually barely noticed. Suitcases rolled across the floor, wheels rattled over the occasional uneven patch, and every few minutes an impersonal voice came over the speakers announcing delayed flights, gate changes, and passengers being asked to report to the staff. For most people, it was simply another day of traveling. For Chris, this day was supposed to mean something more, though he had no intention of admitting that to himself.
He stood not far from the exit of the arrivals hall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. For the past few minutes, he had been checking his watch more often than necessary. Not because he was impatient. At least, that was what he told himself. He simply wanted to know whether the plane had actually landed on time.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Chris pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and sighed. No message. Of course.
Claire had never been particularly good at letting him know that everything was fine. In her mind, if she didn’t text, it meant there was nothing to text about. Chris had been trying for years to explain to her that, to an older brother, she didn’t text and everything is fine were two completely different things.
He put his phone away.
The sliding doors opened again. Several people came out of the hall, dragging suitcases behind them. An older man, a couple with a small child, a woman talking on the phone, two students with backpacks. And then he saw her.
Claire was walking a few meters behind them. She was wearing a dark jacket, jeans, and comfortable shoes, with a bag slung over one shoulder. She had a small suitcase in one hand. Her hair was a little longer than Chris remembered, tied back carelessly. She looked around the hall, apparently searching for a familiar face.
For a moment, Chris simply stared at her. It had been a long time. Too long. They had seen each other before, of course. There had been phone calls, messages, brief visits whenever they happened to be in the same city. But seeing someone through a phone screen and standing a few meters away from that person were two completely different things.
Claire looked up. She noticed him. A smile appeared on her face. Not a wide one. Not overly excited. The kind Chris had known since childhood. Barely noticeable, but genuine. She started walking toward him.
Chris took a few steps toward her as well. For a moment, they stood facing each other, as if neither of them knew what they were supposed to say first.
Claire looked him up and down. Chris did exactly the same.
“You lost weight.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“You look old.”
Chris snorted quietly.
“Nice to see you.”
“You too.”
“You didn’t have to start with that.”
“You started it.”
“I just said you lost weight.”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence. Then Claire shook her head, amused.
“You still don’t know how to say I missed you, do you?”
Chris looked at her with the expression of a deeply offended man.
“I didn’t miss you.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it.”
“Of course you do.”
“Claire.”
“Chris.”
And then they both smiled.
There was no big reunion. No throwing themselves into each other’s arms in the middle of the airport. No emotional words spoken in front of random strangers. They simply stood next to each other. As if all those months they’d spent apart didn’t matter.
Chris glanced at her suitcase.
“That all?”
“Yep.”
“How long are you staying?”
Claire shrugged.
“I don’t know yet.”
Chris looked at her more closely.
“So you don’t have a plan.”
“I have a plan.”
“What plan?”
“We’ll see.”
“That’s not a plan.”
“It’s good enough.”
Chris shook his head.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
“Neither have you.”
Claire adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and walked beside him toward the exit. For the first few minutes, they talked about completely unimportant things. The flight. The weather. How the airport looked different than it had the last time. Claire complained about the woman sitting next to her on the plane who had spent three hours watching movies without headphones. Chris told her about the traffic on the way there.
It sounded ordinary. And that was exactly what made it so good. They didn’t have to make up for all that lost time with one grand confession. They weren’t that kind of siblings. Their relationship had always worked a little differently.
Chris didn’t ask Claire if she’d missed him. He knew she had. Claire didn’t ask if Chris had worried about her. She knew he had.
They both simply had their own lives, their own problems, and their own ways of dealing with them. Over the years, they had learned that distance didn’t mean losing their closeness. Sometimes it simply meant having to try a little harder to remain part of each other’s lives.
They walked through the automatic doors and stepped outside. The cold air hit Claire in the face. She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Cold.”
“I told you to bring a warmer jacket.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“You didn’t.”
“I texted you.”
Claire pulled out her phone.
“Where?”
Chris crossed his arms.
“I don’t know. In one of those conversations.”
Claire looked at him in disbelief.
“So you don’t remember.”
“I remember telling you.”
“That’s very convenient.”
Chris took her suitcase before she could protest.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“I can carry it myself.”
“I know.”
“Then give it back.”
“No.”
“Chris.”
“Claire.”
“It’s light.”
“Even better.”
Claire sighed, but let him carry it. For a while, they walked side by side in silence. Chris glanced at his sister out of the corner of his eye. She looked different.
Not in a way that meant she’d become someone completely different. She was still Claire. She still had the same way of looking at things, the same slight tilt of her head when she was amused, and the same habit of fixing her hair when she was thinking about something. But something had changed.
She was older. So was he. It was a strange feeling.
He remembered her as a little girl running after him around the house. He remembered how she had always tried to be taken seriously despite being younger than him. He remembered how angry she’d gotten whenever Chris wouldn’t let her go somewhere with him simply because he thought she was too young.
And now a grown woman was walking beside him, someone who had long since stopped needing his permission for anything. And yet Chris still sometimes had the instinct to make sure she had zipped up her jacket.
“What?” Claire asked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re looking at me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Chris shrugged.
“Just making sure you’re really here.”
Claire fell silent. This time, she didn’t joke about it. She looked ahead.
“I am.”
One word. And yet Chris felt something tighten in his chest. He nodded.
“I know.”
They reached the parking lot. Chris opened the trunk and put her suitcase inside. Claire stood beside him, leaning against the car.
“So,” she said. “What are we doing?”
Chris closed the trunk.
“First, we’re going home.”
“Your place?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have anything to eat?”
“Of course.”
“What?”
Chris hesitated.
“Food.”
Claire looked at him.
“That’s a very specific answer.”
“I didn’t know what time you’d arrive.”
“I sent you my flight time.”
“You did.”
“So?”
“So I bought something.”
“What?”
“Claire.”
“What did you buy?”
“You’ll see.”
“Chris.”
“You’re still ridiculously curious.”
“And you’re still avoiding the question.”
He opened the passenger-side door for her.
“Get in.”
Claire rolled her eyes, but obediently took her seat. Chris walked around the car and got behind the wheel. For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Claire looked out the window. Chris started the engine. The radio began playing softly in the background.
“Good to see you.”
Chris looked at her.
He didn’t answer right away.
“You too.”
Claire smiled slightly.
“That almost sounded like an actual declaration of affection.”
“Don’t push it.”
“I knew it.”