The flight landed rather smoothly at Cardiff airport, in all honesty I thought that was all the travelling done, it's a tiny country so a 16 hour flight with no overnight layover, well, I knew it was too good to be true! But sure enough, as soon as we depart in the airport, dad's looking at car rentals, I turn to mom, before even asking she lowers her voice "it's another 4 hours drive from here honey, not long now". Great. We won't reach base until 3am I thought resentfully.
Dad leads us through the airport to the car parked outside, a navy blue Volkswagen Polo. To be fair, it didn't look like a bad car, I was just used to our pickup and it looked tiny compared to it.
There was no way it could fit all of our luggage in the trunk, so I sat in the back, squashed to one side while the suitcases and bags pilled next to me. "Comfy back there kiddo?" Dad smirks from the front seat.
"Just peachy" I reply sarcastically. I hated this car, it was low, compact and the worst of all, it was a stick shift so it was a bumpy ride for the first hour while dad got used to it.
2 hours into the journey and I feel sick, nothing but winding roads and pitch blackness through the windows. The only glimpse I did get was when we drove through little villages every now and again. I rested my head against the travel pillow and tried to sleep the nausea away.
Mom woke my up as we were coming over the main bridge onto Anglesey "Here we are honey, our new home" mom announces excitedly.
I look at her blankly, was she expecting applause? Sensing my hostility she adds "the royals are known to visit here you know, they love it and so will you" as though that settled everything.
Since finding out about the move, she's googled everything there is to know about Anglesey and more, even given Welsh a go on Duolingo. In all honesty I had no idea this place existed prior to the move and was very shocked to learn that they have their own language.
We drive onto base and go through the security checks before being lead to our new house. Due to dads promotion from lieutenant general to brigadier general, our house is one of the nicest ones on base, a 4 bedroom detached house, formal looking, red brick, pitched roof, everything symmetrical. The front lawn in pristine condition, grass trimmed, flowerbeds kept tidy and clean, a large driveway and a garage.
We walk through the front door and my jaw hits the floor, there's a formal feel to the entryway, all hardwood polished floors with a place to keep coats and shoes before entering properly into the house, we walk through to the living room and the first thing that catches the eye is a large stone fireplace in the center of the room, living in Florida we never needed a fireplace, but I've always read about how cozy they are and dreamt of snuggling up with a good book in front of one.
Moving through to the kitchen it's very modern, equipped with the latest high quality appliances, everything matching. Despite the ample space, there's a cozy, homely feel about the place, all warm tones painted on the walls, not the stark white I was used to back home.
There are two more rooms downstairs, the utility room; equipped with the washer and dryer with ample 'uniform storage' areas labelled, as well as a large office, again another large room, oak desk in front of the window, bookshelves across the walls and a large cabinet in the corner, suitable storage for sensitive documents I presume. The walls are covered in maps, aviation decor and a large free standing globe in the corner of the room.
As we head upstairs, the warm colour pallet continues throughout the house, the banister is made from glass, very sleek looking with an oak handrail matching the oak coloured stairs.
There are 4 bedrooms, all en-suite and all include large walk in closets, mom & dads room include a large walk in shower as well as a free standing foot bathtub in the middle of the room. I walk through to what will be my room, it also includes a freestanding bath, a walk in shower, however it's half the size of the masters, but that doesn't matter, i actually love it! "We'll head downstairs to get a few things settled, unpack what you can for now and get ready for bed, I've left your suitcases in the hallway for you" dad smirks as he's halfway down the stairs.
Bed? But we just got here I think to myself, I look at my phone and its precisely 03:30am, that's 22:30pm in Florida, I suppose it is time for bed. I go downstairs to Mom and dad, both are standing in the kitchen with the rest of the luggage "so, how is it, do you like it?" Dad asks and I could see the anxiety on his face, my mom's face mirroring his, "Yeah, I love it" I smiled, it's not a complete lie, I do like the house and my room, I just wish I had more time to process the move and leave Florida with better memories, rather than the shit-fest I left behind.
I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste mom had got out for me and head upstairs with a brief "goodnight, love yous" to both my parents.
I could feel their eyes staring at me as I head from the kitchen back upstairs, dragging my suitcase through I opened it on the floor, grabbed my pyjamas and phone charger and went to plug it in. Shit. The sockets are different here.
I head to the landing, toothbrush still in my mouth and mumbled down "mom, my charger won't plug into the wall" I wasn't too sure what I expected her to do, but usually she has all the answers to my problems.
Sure enough, she comes up the stairs with adapters for the sockets "sorry honey, I forgot to give them earlier, here I have a few more for you just in case"
"Thanks mom" I turn to give her a hug, she squeezes me back tightly and mutters into my ear "it'll be okay here Em, you'll see" "thanks mom" is all I could muster back.
She leaves me to my new empty room, I finish brushing my teeth, change into my pyjamas and get into bed, it was the comfiest bed I've ever been in, super soft bedding, the mattress not too firm, not too soft. It was perfect.