In August, Philip told me he would come to New Zealand in November which meant I needed to earn enough money for the travel in three-month time. As a motel receptionist and bakery assistant, the pay rates were not too bad if we took the bakery leftover into account. Muffins, chocolate custard buns, apricot/apple Danish were my breakfast. Thai Curry Chicken pie, Satay Chicken pie, Steak pie...were my lunch. Ham, cucumber, tomato, prawns toaster was my afternoon tea. Raspberry bun, Lolly cake, Custard Square were my dessert. I still made my dinner if I wanted to. At the same time, I drove to work everyday to practise my skills, especially parallel parking. It took time to get ready.
On the 22nd of November, after having the blessings from my old colleagues and friends, I HAD to drive slowly from Hanmer Springs to Christchurch airport. It was not difficult until I reach the city which had numerous traffic lights and busy roundabouts. Aggressive drivers beeped noisily behind me and my car would stall in return. By the time I reached the airport, I needed to run to the arrival terminal to pick up Philip who had never told me his exact arrival time and the airline he flew with.
When I eventually figured it out, his fourth flight was delayed for four hours. He started from Dublin(Ireland), London Healthrow(UK), Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia), Auckland(New Zealand) and lastly Christchurch(New Zealand). I could imagine he must be exhausted. After having a good time with my Malaysian friends nearby, I was back to the airport with their fresh asparagus. Plane was delayed AGAIN for another two hours. The airport authority should have waived us the expensive parking fee. I just wanted to wait and read.
At eight o'clock, six hours later, I saw the skinny one with a big smile waving his hands at me. "You lose weight." was my first greetings. We were all delighted to see each other after one and a half year. When I was hurried to move his lugguages to avoid paying the parking bill, he ran back from the gents and said, "I won't let you wait anymore.".
We talked endlessly on the way to the Marine, which is located at Sunmer. No more time difference on Skype. No more expense on the overseas phone bill. We were here to enjoy our holiday!
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