CHAPTER NINETEEN
Arriving in New York City was something else. If I hadn't been such a mess due to my separation from Billy, I would have been able to enjoy it more. But as it was, there was so much for me to see I hardly could take it all in.
And the people! There were people everywhere! And they were all so diverse!
After living on a ranch that had only white male workers (excluding Mama and I), this was pretty insane. New York is the heart beat of the world, where all these different cultures collide and bubble and here I was amongst it.
It turns out the address Billy had given me was a house in Brooklyn. When I gave it to the cab driver at the airport, he had rubbed his hands with glee, because it was such a great trip for him. I worried about money the whole way there, then when he dropped me off, I opened the envelope Billy had given me and found more than a months salary inside.
I was standing there beside the cab with my bags and the driver was looking down at me before he said impatiently, "You gonna pay me lady?"
I nodded, then handed him a crisp bill which he tried to give me change for.
My newfound riches spoke as I told him, "Keep the change." And he gave me a little smile.
I walked up to the door of the brownstone feeling a little silly. I was sure I was being dropped off at a hotel, and was pretty surprised not only because suddenly I had money but also because I wasn't anywhere near where I thought I would be.
Where was I exactly?
When I rang the bell I scanned my mind, where was he sending me? Then I scanned the place. Surely this was an expensive property? It looked nice, and besides, we were in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Whoever lived here was obviously pretty well-off.
After a short wait, a short middle aged woman with wide features and a friendly face answered the door.
"Yes?" She asked in a way that seemed familiar even as it was spoken by a stranger.
"I'm um, sorry to bother you." I began, feeling a little silly, "But I was given this address by someone very dear to me who said I could stay here. His name is Billy?" The last part was said almost like a question, almost like I wasn't sure who Billy was. I knew it was my uncertainty of this situation combined with my natural accent (Australians always sound like every sentence is a question I had been told multiple times by Billy), but it still felt weird coming out of my mouth.
The woman looked taken aback too, then after what felt like a long pause she invited me inside.
I walked into the home and was escorted to a lounge room and told to sit down before the woman ran from the room shouting for a man, "William!" She cried.
That name – William – piqued my interest. It meant something. It occurred to me then who she was, and where I was.
I wanted to laugh out loud at my behaviour at the airport then, of course Billy had sent me here! Of course he would send me here! Of course we would be seeing one another again! My heart, which had felt heavy inside my chest was light now. I wasn't home, but I didn't feel far from it when I realised these were my loving boyfriends family.
When the woman re-appeared, she was standing beside a man who looked just like my Billy.
I shook my boyfriend's fathers hand and smiled to his mother. The smile was real and sincere. I was happy to be here, to be meeting these people.
And my heart was flooding with love, too.
Billy had found a way to look after me even from afar.
His mother looked a little surprised too as she asked me, "Are you the girl we have heard so much about? The Australian?"
I laughed then, "Yes, I am the girl you have heard so much about, and you are the family I have heard so much about!" My voice was higher than I meant it to be.
They both shared a look filled with meaning before Billy's father told me, "It's lucky you're here now. We were going to go away in just a few days'. Will you be staying long?"
"I am not sure." I told them, "Billy just put me on a plane and sent me here, I'm not sure what is going to happen."
"So he's not coming?" His mother asked, her face confused.
"I don't know." I told her honestly, "I didn't even know I was coming until just before I got on the plane."
Both his parents were giving me odd looks then before his mother said to his father, "William, will you show her to the spare room and make sure she is comfortable? I'll call Billy and see when he will be here."
William and I followed her instructions and chatted as we walked to the guest room. William seemed interested in me, and already knew quite a lot. I wondered how often they talked if they knew so much about me. If they didn't talk often, it seemed a little funny that they knew so much about a girl Billy had been dating, but then if they did it was quite sweet that my name was coming up so often.
We sat together in the lounge room and among the normal conversation about my flight and the weather, William asked me a few things about myself, things that were so random they had to be questions he had asked Billy but had never gotten a response to.
How long was I here? Would I be staying? What was my industry like here? Would I be able to get a job? He had so many questions for me that he sprinkled into the conversation that I had to smile as I answered them.
Obviously William wanted to know about his son's future prospects with me but didn't want to be too blunt asking those questions.
After a few minutes, we were joined by Billy's mother who told us both how Billy told her I would be here a few days and if he could get away from work (he was sure he could) he would join me too.
I was still confused about everything after the whirlwind of this morning that ended in my being bought here, so mostly I just gaped as I heard the news.
"Oh, and he said he will call back later." She said, "When he has a moment, Poor thing works so hard!"
I agreed with her, there wasn't anything else I could do. Besides, what she said was very true. Billy did work very hard and likely didn't have much time to chat on the phone after what had happened this morning.
It was late afternoon now though and Billy's parents had somewhere they had to be (something I learned was the way of life here in New York, people were always going places).
Billy's parents told me I could have free reign in their house to eat whatever I wanted from the fridge, to watch whatever I wanted on the television, to do just whatever I liked.
I nodded and thanked them. Mostly I just wanted some time alone and when they left I went up to the guest room where I would be staying, I lay down on the lush bed. Letting out a huge sigh, I felt my heavy body sinking into the mattress.
What had happened today? I thought to myself as I let my thoughts wander over all of today's events, now I finally had a moment alone to think everything through.