The Arrival

     I need to get Austin on the ground. 
    That evening at Marika's I must have seemed "zombie-ish" because I could tell Marika was a bit concerned.  It's amazing what sobbing takes out of you.  I did have the right antidote however; holding Evie.  I woke up at 3:00 a.m., and felt stupid for crying yet again, not being able to breath with my nose stuffed up.   I hadn't synced his flight details with my time, so I got up, and went on the computer.  Found a site for "if it's _ _:_ _ in ______, then it's _ _:_ _ in ______."  Perfect.  So, he had actually already had his almost 2 hour layover at Narita Airport in Tokyo.  En route to Bangkok, he would be landing on time according to Delta.com, at 9:30 a.m., our time.  Almost 5 a.m., I figured I'd try to sleep some more.
     The girls and I were in the kitchen when my cell phone rang about 11 a.m. 
     "Hello....hello?"
     "Hi Mom, what you doing?"
     "Oh, not much, just here with the girls, waiting to hear from you,"  I answered, so relieved he had arrived and sounded so nonchalant.
     "Charlie's apartment is epic!" Austin had taken a taxi from the airport to Charlie Garrett's apartment in Bangkok, to spend one or two nights there before traveling to the academy in Korat, 3 hours away.
     "Is this the phone Charlie had arranged for you?"
     "No, it's just some phone that was sitting here."
     "Hmm, you might want to let him know you used it."
     I was full of questions:  How was the flight?  What was Narita like?  Did you eat there?
     The first flight, the seat sucked, his neck hurt.  Narita is huge, amazing.  Lunch cost $30, but it was good.  "Some weirdo started talking to me, telling me his beats his wife and he's going to divorce her.  I told him I didn't want to hear his crap." 
     Oh, those Japanese men.  Don't get me started (whale-killers).  All-consuming (anything for a stiffy).  Check Anthony Bourdain's rant on this in "Medium Raw".  My last life may have been at Pearl Harbor (won't eat Sushi).
     I digress....again.
     So, it was 1 a.m. in Bangkok, and Austin was getting cleaned up to go out and meet with Charlie and some of his friends.  He made a comment on Facebook that there's really nothing like a Bangkok night club, but I didn't get too many details on that. 
     So, he got there safely, and my crying ended.