Three weeks with my brother - Nicholas Sparks [22]
“I know,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll be ignoring the credit card bills for months.”
“More like years,” she said. “Or even decades.”
We kissed one last time. During my flight, all I could do was think about her, and how lucky I was to have married her. Visions of the trip never entered my mind at all.
A couple of hours later, I arrived in Fort Lauderdale under sunny skies, retrieved my luggage, and waited for my brother in the baggage section of the airport. I called Cat to tell her I made it, then took a seat on one of the benches, waiting for him.
A half hour later, Micah wasn’t hard to spot walking through the airport. Tall and blond, he had a tendency to stand out in a crowd. As soon as he spotted me from across the baggage terminal, he thrust his arms above his head. I knew what was coming and cringed.
“NICKY, MY BROTHER! I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AND THE FESTIVITIES CAN BEGIN!”
His voice boomed in the terminal. Strangers gawked and turned to me in shock. I felt their eyes focusing on me.
“Obviously my brother doesn’t get out much,” I murmured.
A few moments later, amid a crowd that had suddenly given us plenty of room, we were hugging.
“You seem to be feeling pretty good, Micah.”
“Had a couple of cocktails on the plane,” he said easily. “Getting in the proper mood.”
As soon as we separated, his eyes seemed to light up even more.
“Can you believe we’re really going?” he asked. “In two days, our adventure begins.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “You getting excited yet?”
“Of course.”
“No you’re not. This”—he said, motioning to himself—“is what excited looks like. You don’t look excited.”
“I’m excited on the inside.”
He rolled his eyes. “How was your flight?”
“Good. And yours?”
“It was great. Sat next to a couple of neat people. I told them all about the trip. They couldn’t believe it. Have you called Cat to tell her you made it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we just talked a few minutes ago. Do you want to call Christine?”
“I will in a little while. I need to unwind first. Stretch my legs for a while. Gotta stay in shape, you know. I’m gonna do quite a bit of hiking over the next few weeks.”
“You are?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” His voice began to rise as he went on. “I’m going AROUND THE WORLD WITH MY BROTHER!”
The crowd parted even more, some of them looking frightened now.
“Hey, you hungry?” he suddenly asked.
“A little.”
“Well, I’m starved. You want to get something to eat after we drop our luggage off at the hotel?”
“You got it.”
The luggage carousel finally lurched to life, and I was busy scanning the assorted suitcases for his luggage when suddenly he pointed.
“There it is. The red one.”
It was undoubtedly the largest suitcase I’d ever seen, absolutely massive. At least twice the size of mine, it was straining at the seams and bulging in the middle. Micah needed both hands and a couple of grunts to retrieve it. When he set it upright, so that it could be wheeled, it seemed to spread even wider.
“Okay, I’m ready,” he said, satisfied. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure you brought enough?”
“Got everything I need.”
I stared at the suitcase. “It looks like you packed a small farm animal in there.”
“One thing I’ve learned is that you can never bring too much stuff when you’re traveling.”
“I always thought the opposite was true.”
He winked. “No, that’s just a myth put out by the airlines. Don’t believe it. And when you run out of things on the trip, don’t worry—I’ll be happy to share.”
We found a restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale where we ate outside and watched people wander in and out of bars up and down the street.
We bantered back and forth until finally Micah paused. Leaning back in his chair, he squinted at me.
“You’re still not into this, are you? What we’re doing, I mean?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Did you ever think you might be depressed?”
“I’m not depressed. Just busy.”
“It runs in our family, you know. Some of our relatives are depressed.”
“I’m not depressed.”
“They have medication now. It might do you some good.”
“I don’t need medication.”
“Denial is an ugly thing,