A Burger for One
For years, my husband and I had travelled almost everywhere together. On this particular trip, however, a mistake in our flight bookings meant that our European journey ended with us heading to different terminals at Heathrow.
His flight was leaving from Terminal 2. Mine was from Terminal 5.
We got out of the car separately, which felt surprisingly strange. After so many years of arriving at airports as a pair, suddenly there I was with my own suitcase, heading in one direction while he disappeared in another.
Terminal 5 had several lounges, countless shops and more restaurants than anyone waiting for a flight could reasonably need. I decided not to go straight to the lounge. I had heard so much about Gordon Ramsay’s burgers that this seemed like a good opportunity to try one.
Surely it would be better than lounge food.
I walked into the restaurant alone.
The hostess looked at me.
“A table for one?”
I smiled and nodded.
There was something in her expression that made me feel, just for a second, as though dining alone might be a minor offence in England.
I had barely sat down when I noticed a missed call from my husband.
His terminal was apparently a different world. He still had an hour before he could check in. There were no proper restaurants where he was waiting, only refrigerated snacks, and even the seats were full.
I expressed my deepest sympathy.
Then I told him I would let him know whether the burger was good.
Marriage has its cruel moments.
The menu offered plenty of choice, but ordering alone has one obvious disadvantage: you can only eat so much. There is no second person at the table to help justify three starters, two mains and something ordered purely out of curiosity.
I settled for an airport set menu.
The chicken wings arrived first. The sauce was fine; the wings were dry.
I tried a mocktail. It tasted to me like a drink invented to keep children amused while the adults had something more interesting.
By then I was looking down at Caviar House & Prunier on the level below and wondering why I had not gone there instead.
Then another problem occurred to me.
I needed the restroom.
And there was no one to watch my luggage.
This, I decided, was one of the less romantic aspects of solo dining.
Eventually the burger arrived. It looked promising.
I took a bite.
It was a burger.
Not a bad burger. Not a life-changing burger. Just a burger.
At that point my priorities became very clear: finish eating, retrieve suitcase, find restroom.
So much for the great Gordon Ramsay airport burger experience.
Heathrow has appeared repeatedly in my life. My first backpacking trip to Europe passed through here. Over the years, I have watched luggage pile up during strikes, once stared helplessly through an airplane window as my suitcase sat outside in the rain, and even arrived in Sweden with nothing because my belongings had decided to remain elsewhere.
Airports collect these memories.
They are places where journeys begin and end, where plans go wrong, where people separate for a few hours or much longer, and where a very ordinary lunch can somehow become part of the record.
That afternoon, my husband and I were travelling separately. He had his refrigerated snacks. I had my rather unremarkable burger.
We would meet again soon enough.
Until then, a table for one was perfectly fine.
再見歐洲・一人也要好好吃漢堡
網站修訂版
除非有特殊情況，多年來出門，我和肥豬幾乎都是結隊而行。
這一次卻因為訂機票時出了一點偏差，歐洲旅程走到最後，兩個人在 Heathrow 機場半途分道揚鑣。
我的航班在五號客運大樓，他的在二號，兩邊相隔二十分鐘車程。
車子先停在五號客運大樓。
我一個人拖著行李下車，看著肥豬跟車繼續往前走，忽然覺得有點怪怪的。
一起旅行那麼多年，到了機場通常也是兩個人一起拖著行李找櫃檯、找候機室。這次突然變成一個人，還真有點不習慣。
不過五號客運大樓相當熱鬧，好幾個商務艙候機室，餐廳和商店多得很。
我沒有馬上去候機室。
一直聽說 Gordon Ramsay 的漢堡包不錯，既然就在機場，當然要試一下。反正候機室的快餐，怎麼想也不會比漢堡吸引。
一個人走進餐廳。
接待員看了我一眼：
「A table for one︖」
我笑著點頭。
不知道是不是我的錯覺，她那個眼神，好像一個人來餐廳吃飯是甚麼奇怪的事情。
才剛坐下，就看到肥豬的未接來電。
打回去，他在二號客運大樓那邊投訴：還有一個小時才可以辦理登機手續，附近沒有像樣的餐廳，只有冷凍櫃裡的小吃，連座位都坐滿了。
我深表同情。
然後很體貼地告訴他：
等我吃完漢堡包，再告訴你好不好吃。
夫妻有時候就是這樣。
餐牌琳瑯滿目，不過一個人吃飯有一個實際問題——選擇忽然少了很多。
平常兩個人，可以這個想試一點，那個也叫一份，再加一樣純粹因為好奇。現在只有一個胃，只好老老實實點了一個機場套餐。
先來的是烤雞翅。
醬汁還可以，雞翅太乾。
再試了一杯 Mocktail。
喝了一又，覺得很像大人喝酒時，拿來哄小孩的飲料。
這時候漢堡包還沒來，我已經開始看著樓下的 Caviar House & Prunier，心裡有點後悔：
剛才為甚麼不去吃海鮮︖
然後，又發現另一個更加實際的問題。
我想去洗手間。
可是沒有人幫我看行李。
原來一個人吃飯的不方便，跟寂寞沒有甚麼關係。
漢堡包終於來了。
看起來不錯。
我咬了一又。
嗯。
就是一個漢堡包。
不難吃，也沒有好吃到需要專程坐飛機來 Heathrow。
到這個時候，事情忽然變得很簡單：趕快吃完，拖著行李，去洗手間。
至於肥豬那邊，就繼續吃他的冷凍小吃吧。
Heathrow 在我的旅行記憶裡出現過很多次。
第一次去歐洲背包旅行經過這裡︔也曾經遇上罷工，看過堆積如山的行李︔有一次坐在飛機裡，眼巴巴看著自己的行李留在外面淋雨，最後兩手空空去了瑞典。
一個機場，久了也會收藏很多故事。
有人從這裡出發，有人回家︔有人趕飛機，有人等行李︔有時兩個人一起來，有時又剛巧要往不同方向走。
這一次，我和肥豬只是分開幾個小時。他有他的冷凍小吃。我有我的 Gordon Ramsay 漢堡包。結果也沒有誰特別令人羨慕。
再見歐洲，各自精彩！