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The ding of the loudspeaker rang through the airport. “Friedman, an Alec Friedman, please report to terminal seventeen. Your flight has boarded. Five minutes to departure.”
The loudspeaker blared overhead as a man sprinted down the busy hallway, dodging families and airport carts as he went. He winced as a bead of sweat seeped from his brow, plummeting into his eye. He pivoted around a couple who took an abrupt turn near a restaurant entrance. The movement flung his suitcase around, hitting a businesswoman on the back.
“Hey!” the woman yelled, pulling a slim phone from her ear. “Watch it!” She shook her phone at the man as he kept running, hardly turning to mumble an apology to the disheveled patrons he left behind.
I can’t miss this bloody flight! The man stumbled over a package sitting next to a row of seats. “Are you kidding me?!”
“Mr. Friedman,” the loudspeaker broke his irritation and turned it to worry. “Mr. Alec Friedman, last call for the flight to Las Vegas.”
As the woman spoke the last word, the man threw himself at the entrance of his gate.
“I’m here!” Alec yelled, waving his hands back and forth. “I’m here! Wait!” Alec could see the gate attendant roll her eyes in frustration. He cursed her under his breath. As he jogged the rest of the way to the counter, he straightened his composure. “Alec Friedman, reporting for duty!” He plastered on a charming grin as he looked into the attendant’s eyes.
The woman blushed and motioned for him to lower his phone screen to the scanner. A green light illuminated, and the machine beeped. The attendant ushered Alec down the jetway to board the plane.
The passengers cheered and shouted. Their applause displayed a communal appreciation for the latecomer. Alec waved his apologies as the collective mumbles settled.
“About time, man.” The woman in the front row whispered under her breath. Alec noted her shoes already flung off, ready to settle in for the flight. The bald man next to her rolled his eyes, gesturing toward Alec with an air of superiority.
Alec ignored the man. “Hey, Gretch,” he smirked at her, knowing she’d get over his tardiness soon.
The plane was full. Alec sunk into the row behind his colleague, seeing her roll her eyes. He chuckled to himself and watched as she asked the flight attendant for a drink and leaned herself back into her seat. She seemed tired, more than usual anyway. The short flight would be enough time for a quick doze, but Alec doubted he’d be able to sleep with everything on his mind.
Leaning between the seats in front of him, Alec uttered his apology, “Sorry, Gretch. I ran as fast as I could.” He chuckled, hoping to get back onto her good side. The bald man eyed him, his face growing red.
“Right,” Gretchen mumbled back. “And what would I have said to the Director if you missed the flight?” She immersed herself in her phone, reading files of some sort. Alec couldn’t make out the words, but lines of text scrolled up under her thumb as she grazed the document.
“Aww, come on, Gretch,” Alec put on his best flirting tone, his accent coming out thick. “You would never have let them fly off without me, and you know it.” He sat back in his seat, lifting the window shade to look out onto the tarmac. “Plus, it wouldn’t have been your fault if I missed the flight. The Director couldn’t blame you for it.”
Gretchen didn’t acknowledge his words. She smiled at the flight attendant, who handed her a glass and a can of soda. A clear, round rock of ice sat at the bottom of the glass, clinking with every movement. “Thank you,” she said. Alec could see her hand shake slightly as she held the glass on her knee and poured the soda.
The flight attendant moved to Alec’s row, nodding her chin to him. “Nothing for me, thanks,” he said.
Gretchen turned around. “Think again,” she whispered. “You’ll need a drink to settle the shock of what I need to tell you.” She motioned to her phone, still lit up and displaying the stream of words like before.
The balding man next to Gretchen grimaced and eyed Alec. She gave the man a small smile, but Alec could see Gretchen’s irritation. Seeing it could be an issue, Alec engaged. “Do you mind?” Alec asked the stranger.
“Actually, I was going to ask if you two were going to be chatting through the seats all flight long,” the man huffed, confirming Alec’s prediction. There was a beat of heated silence. “I’ll trade places with you.”
Alec’s demeanor shifted.
“Oh,” Gretchen choked on her soda, obviously struck by surprise. Alec knew she wouldn’t want to sit next to him, but he’d rather that than have to lean forward to converse for the entire flight.
“Actually, that’d be terrific, thank you!” Alec waved the man to switch spots with him.
Playing merry-go-round was distracting for the flight attendants, still finishing up their safety procedure.
“Excuse me,” an attendant came up to the trio. “You all need to sit down.” She squeezed past to help a passenger who had lit up their call button. “You must take your seats,” she hissed at them. The tangle of bodies made for a curious sight. A murmur of comments came from around their seats.
“Sorry, sorry,” the stranger smiled at the attendant. “These two just said they’d buy my drinks for the flight if I swapped places with this guy here.” He motioned to Gretchen and Alec.
Alec caught Gretchen’s look of shock and smirked at her. “That’s right,” he turned to the flight attendant. “Get him whatever his little heart desires.”