Charley
On the day of our flight back to the U.S., we had to leave very early in the morning. Harry and I had said our goodbyes the night before, promising to connect with each other next week at home. Mom must have had a similar farewell session with Tom, because I didn’t see her at all until we were groping with our luggage in the pre-dawn darkness. We were trying to get ourselves to the airport in time to catch our plane.
Once there, everything happened fast. The aircraft was waiting for us on the tarmac and we boarded and settled into our seats. Coach class this time.
Without explaining herself, Mom got up and went forward. I assumed she was going to the bathroom, so I was surprised when returned to our row and pulled her stuff from the overhead bin.
“Whatcha doing, Mom?”
She looked a little flushed, which was really unusual for my mother. “You don’t mind if I change seats, do you? It’s just that Tom has decided to fly up to Boston on business and he has a seat for me in first class.”
I gaped at her, but I quickly controlled it. I’d been paying so much attention to my own summer romance that I hadn’t realized that hers with Tom had reached the “we can’t be separated, so come to Boston with me” stage.
“I don’t mind at all,” I assured her. “You’ll enjoy it—first class on this airline is great.”
She beamed and gave me a quick kiss, then she was off up to the aisle to the front of the plane.
Wow. Go, Mom! I wondered if she and Tom would be doing the mile-high thing. My brain shied away from the idea. She was my mom.
I settled back in my seat, thinking this wasn’t so bad. I now had two empty seats beside me. Plenty of room to spread out. I tucked my Kindle into the seat pocket in front of me. I’d downloaded a new Charlotte Charles romance that I intended to read on the plane. If it was really as erotic as Harry claimed, maybe it would ease my fear of flying.
Plus I’d have something to tease him about next time I saw him.
For the take-off, though, I pulled out my blindfold. I was just settling it over my eyes when I heard steps in the aisle and a voice at my side saying,
“Whew, that was close. Taxi driver got a flat and I almost missed my flight.”
I ripped off my blindfold. Harry was standing there grinning, hot and gorgeous as ever.
“I thought your flight was tomorrow!”
“It was. I changed it. I decided I didn’t want to stay on the island one more night without my girl.”
He sat down beside me and reached for my hand. “You’re not gonna need that blindfold, babe. Flight’s half empty. We got a whole empty row opposite us and no one behind us. I can think of better ways to spend this flight than worrying about crashing, can’t you?”
I could and we did.
The End