Todd exited the plane and stood behind a slow moving line through the wind tunnel. He glanced at his watch and felt his heart rate quicken. He cleared his throat, wiped his brow and checked his watch again. The man behind him said, “ I wonder what the hold up is? Do you have the time?”
Todd barely registered him , “Huh? Oh let me see.” He checked his watch again trying to focus on the hands. “It's 12:35,” he replied.
The line moved forward and soon Todd could see the arrival gate. People stood around with expectant faces waiting for their loved ones to appear. Families hugged and shook hands, lovers squealed and ran into each others arms, mothers sighed with relief as children were welcomed home. It was all a blur to him until he saw her. Then time stopped, the room spun, and the blood rushed to his head. He didn't remember moving forward, didn't remember bumping into the man in front of him with his bag. He only remembered her smile and how her arms felt around his neck.
“Hi sweetie,” she called him, kissing his ear lobe.
He loved the way she made him feel but wished she hadn't just called him sweetie. His wife always called him sweetie. He pushed aside the sudden assault of guilt.
She took his hand and led him away from the crowd.
“Let's get you out of here,” she said. He followed obediently as she pulled him along. “Did you check a bag?” she asked.
"No. Just this one.” He indicated to the duffel he was carrying. “I didn't want it to get lost.”
He recalled a trip he and his wife took a few summers ago to Mexico. It was the first vacation they had alone in 10 years and he had planned the whole thing as a surprise. She was so happy, her eyes glowing the whole plane trip. But when they arrived in Puerto Vallarta they discovered that the airline had lost her luggage. They wasted hours of their precious trip trying to get it back.
He didn't want to waste any time today. He had learned how fleeting time was.
She smiled and bounced up and down a little “Great! Then let's go! I can't wait to take you home!”
He grinned, feeling a little bit like a new toy. He kind of liked it. It was nice to have someone excited to be with him. It had been awhile.
You could really go places with this -- maybe even follow the man Todd ran into with his bag?
ReplyDeleteYou twist me around. Why does he have the guilt at the start? It indicated to me he may have been having an affair. But then towards the end, I got the impression that he had been somplace isolated for a long time, perhaps against his will. Or maybe he feels trapped by this affair, which is an unhealthy relationship..... or not. Thanks for making me wonder.
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