The reunion evening, the first night of a visit
The first night of a trip between two people who live apart, which has a momentum of its own and does not always want an hour booked into it.
The reunion evening is the first night, the one that follows the second arrival. It is the evening couples most want to make something of and the evening most likely to be mishandled, because it is genuinely different from every other night of a short trip.
What it is like from the inside
The first two hours are strange even between people who are entirely certain of each other. Eight weeks of messages do not translate directly into a room. There is a period of recalibration that nobody plans for and everybody experiences, and it passes on its own.
When to book into it and when not
Book into it when the second flight is down before nine in the evening, with enough space afterwards that nothing feels compressed. Do not book into it when the later landing is late, when either of you has an early start behind you, or when the two of you have not seen each other in months and the evening is already carrying as much as it can hold.
The alternative
The last evening takes a booking just as well and for different reasons, which the departures page sets out. What rarely works is the middle night of a three night trip, which is the flat one, and where an arranged hour reads as an item on a list rather than as part of anything.