Brighter than Sunshine

It was the first call I'd made on my phone since leaving the country nine days earlier...as soon as my fellow passengers were out of customs and walking blearily over the cold white marble of baggage reclaim.

"Welcome to the Orange answerphone. You have - three - new messages. To listen to your me- First new message, recieved, today; at..."

Recieved today. Today had been stretched.

"Hi darling, I'm on the New Jersey turnpike, and you're probably somewhere over Greenland..."

As I hung up after the message all of a sudden there was a lump in my throat. How had I left? How had I left her? When I had been over Greenland I had been lying on my side across three uncomfortable airline seats reading a newly recieved gift: Kavalier and Clay, and listening to a mix CD from Pix.

I never understood before
I never knew what love was for...

I picked up my bag from the midst of green-taped suitcases and walked slowly down the ramp from the terminal, heading for the tube station. My phone rang. She was five hours behind and three thousand miles away, but her voice lifted me.

I'm yours and suddenly you're mine
Suddenly you're mine...

We hung up and I walked into the bowels of the airport, and standing, hollow, as people streamed by me and the conveyor slowly rolled me onwards back to the life I had left, the life before her, the life before love, it hit me that nothing was ever going to be the same - not now. Not when she was in the world, when our love was in the world. Not a love like this.

Love will remain a mystery
But give me your hand and you will see
Your heart is keeping time with me...

Let me tell you this: five hours and three thousand miles is nothing; nothing.

What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine...

I was walking along on the conveyor, and I was singing.