Chapter 25: The Airport

The Airport


You know all those romantic novels where people wait to see their loved ones after they’ve been gone a long time? All of the newscasts where army and war veterans are greeted enthusiastically by hundred of friends and relatives at the airport? Let me tell you: It may look joyful and perfectly planned on television, but any time that you go to pick up someone at an airport, you face quite a few things. Today, for example, it decided to pour – hard – just as we exited our vehicle and made our way to the terminal. Christy of course, played in it. Mom brought an umbrella which only served her. And Angela and I got soaked.

We got there at exactly 4:45, and Tom’s flight was due in at exactly five o’clock. At five thirty, his flight was still not landed because of the intense weather situation. For some reason, the New York skies had decided to do the forty days and forty nights thing for the past hour. No lightning or thunder. Just heavy, heavy rain.

“Dude, look at this!” Christy exclaimed from the lobby’s corner. One good thing about the airport – it tended to promote the area you were in. “Did you know that the airport offers shuttles to the zoo?”

“Nope.” I yelled over to her. We were the only ones that were soaking wet, and there was almost no one waiting for the flight that Tom was on. It was from New York City, so most of the people were (I’m guessing, here) business people who had their own transportation.

“Did you know that Eastman School of Music is actually a part of the University of Rochester?” She called back. Someone nearby glanced over at her with interest, and I moved closer so she wouldn’t have to yell.

“Dude, don’t draw on Tom’s sign!” I heard one of the other girls yell. “The rainbow is there for a reason!”

“Well it was a retarded rainbow, and I fixed it!” Steve retorted and I shook my head. I glanced over Christy’s shoulder at the pamphlet she was reading.

“You don’t come here much, do you?” I asked, and watched with amusement as she jumped. She hadn’t realized I was standing behind her.

“Nope, we don’t fly once a year like you do. Last time I was on an airplane is when I was eight.” Christy said, staring at the Finger Lakes Wine Festival pamphlets with interest. “I never realized there’s so much to do around here.”

“There isn’t. Most of its over rated. You know that, you’ve lived here all your life.” I said to her, laughing. “You want to go watch the flights come in? It looks like the rain’s lightening up. His flight might already be down.”

“Sure.” Christy’s eyes brightened. We made our way back to the group of people.

“Who wants to go watch the planes, maybe get something to eat?” I asked them. They were busy playing a game of cards. Steve looked up.

“I’d love to. There’s nothing else to do.”

“Any other takers?”

“We’ll move the game upstairs.” Kaley offered from behind a fan of cards.

“I’m going to stay down here, I think.” Angela said to me as everyone was getting up. “That way it’ll be more of a surprise, if you know what I mean.”

“Your choice. You sure you don’t want to just hide behind all of us?”

“Pretty sure.” Angela said. She looked a little nervous. “Hey, will one of you come down here and warn me when he’s about to come to baggage claim?”

“I’ll stay down with you.” Jessica offered. Jess was more interested in her cell phone’s bowling game than walking up the stairs to watch the flights. Her dad was a pilot.

“Cool. Thanks.” Angela said. She looked at me, waiting for an answer to her question.

“I’m sure Christy will come bounding down the steps like a little bunny rabbit chirping the news to all that will hear.” I offered. Angela laughed.

Conversation finished, I made my way up the stairs to see the planes come in. It felt almost wrong to have all of these people waiting to meet Tom and more excited about it than I was. I was the one that was going to have to keep him at my house for two weeks. Well, and some of them as well. Just, me first. What if he turned out to be a real jerk? What if he tried to hit on me? I realized I was shaking out of nervousness as I finished my ascent. I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Roger’s number.

Four rings later, the speaker voice came on informing me that I had reached his number but he was not available. I could not leave a message because the message box was full. Shit. I hung up dejectedly and looked out the huge glass wall that lined the airport’s side. The sun was almost shining, and the rain had dribbled off to a steady, light downpour instead of the heavy showers only minutes earlier. I made my way over to my friends.

“His flight in?” I asked Kaley. She glanced up at the board.

“I’m pretty sure it is. Double check, but we just saw a Jet Blue plane land, and isn’t that what he’s coming in on?”

“Yeah.” I walked the few feet over to the arrivals and departures boards and looked. Sure enough, in front of his flight number was the little blinking red statement, “Arrived!”

Kaley looked up as I walked back to her with a little more vigor in my steps.

“His flight is here, everyone.” I announced. “He made it through customs in New York City, so he should be able to get right off the plane and come out those doors.” I pointed to a huge set of double doors that had “Do Not Enter” printed along the door frame and in the center of each door. The doors were a clear glass that gave you a fleeting glimpse into the hectic world of travel.

I walked over to the doors and watched with interest. As an amateur writer and musician, I loved to people watch. Before that day, I had never realized that it could be so amusing. We were in an international airport, which meant that basically, the airport served a wide range of people. There were daily flights to warm, cold, and just plain weird places.

Tom had said when I had spoken to him last that he would be wearing a bright red hoodie. He also had a long mass of curly blonde hair that gave him a small sort of afro. We had seen pictures of him – he wouldn’t be a complete surprise. He would also have a backpack as his carry on, and white jeans. He had chosen all of that so we wouldn’t miss him. He couldn’t miss us – by the time I had gotten interested in watching, my friends had cleaned up after themselves and herded around the door behind me.

“Is that him?” Kaley joked, pointing to an old, bald man walking with a cane.

“We’re in trouble if it is.” Megan said from somewhere behind me. “I was under the impression that he was eighteen, not eighty three.”

“Me too.” I said, my eyes searching the crowd that was emerging from Concourse A. There were a few families with children, but most of it was single, white males. What was so interesting about watching them – they all seemed oblivious to their surroundings.

“That him?” I asked, pointing out a boy with blonde hair. I saw Kaley shake her head out of the corner of my eye.

“Red hoodie, white pants, remember? That kid’s too old. He has to be twenty something.”

“Tom is close enough to twenty.” One of the girls offered from behind me.

“He’s only a year older than us. Maybe a little more than that.” I said. “He probably acts just like us.”

“Except…English?” Kaley offered up. I wasn’t sure what weird English tastes he would bring along with him. He said he liked normal stuff, like cheeseburgers and hot dogs and pizza. My family didn’t get too much more creative than that – steak, pork. We almost always had either meat or pasta at the dinner table. What else was there?

“Oh!” Kaley said excitedly. “Is that him?” She pointed through the glass to a scrawny…male with a red hoodie and white jeans.

“I’m thinking, yes. Christy, go warn Angela, okay?” I asked her, playing the mother. I edged my way out of the excited crowd swarming around the double doors. I would have to spend two weeks with him, I could wait a few minutes more to meet him. Let them slobber all over him first.

He looked just like he had looked in the pictures. No surprises. Short – maybe my height, a little shorter, scrawny, wiry frame. No glasses, slight acne. A small smile spreading across his face as he realized that he had a welcome-to-America party. One of them managed to hold the sign up, and Tom headed towards our part of the airport. The mob backed up enough to let him through the doors.

“Welcome to America!” A few of them chorused, as if rehearsing for a movie welcoming aliens to the planet. I smiled, suppressing my urge to laugh. This young man was what my older, hotter, smarter boyfriend was jealous of? He didn’t fulfill any of my three criteria, as far as I knew: Taller, Stronger, and Smarter.

They swarmed him like a pack of killer bees, and then waited in a short, awkward silence for him to say something.

“Umm…Hi?” His clear, crisp voice emerged from his throat. He sounded tired, but happy. Well, that was good. “You’re…Kaley. Christy, Steve…” I realized Christy had bounded down the stairs to tell Angela and raced back up in record time. She hadn’t even been breathing hard. “Laura, Jackie, Megan…Mel…and Storm.” He acknowledged me, standing a few feet behind the others. I smiled as warmly as I could. I had pretty much stuck my neck out for the boy.

They all turned to me, expecting me to respond. I shrugged, and picked out the first thing in my head, cliché, but useful to know.

“How was the flight?”

“Long. I was sitting next to some old man that snored the entire way. And I can’t exactly sleep.” To be honest, English accents are amazing, but only for the novelty effect. In reality, they were hard to understand at first, and by the time you understood them, the novelty of it all was gone and you were just having a normal conversation.

“We should all head down to baggage claim.” I said over my friends’ renewed conversations. Meeting an online friend was weird because the only difference…they were there. It wasn’t my first time meeting one of them.

“Probably.” He said in his funny English accent. We all headed down the stairs, the group first, me and Tom last.

“You tired?” I asked him as we descended the stairs. He didn’t look tired, but he didn’t really look awake, either. Dazed was the appropriate expression.

“Not really. Just sort of out of it. I hop off of a nice, quiet airplane, and then there’s all these girls fawning over me.” He said, quickly. It took about ten seconds for what he said to register, and then I nodded.

“They all wanted to greet you as you got off the plane. None of them wanted to be called and invited over after…”

We took a right, following the crowd, and he didn’t even notice Angela and Jess, standing in the shadows. I turned back and motioned for them to follow. There wasn’t exactly an easy way to surprise someone in an airport.

Angela came up behind us as we reached the little conveyor belt that gave all of the baggage out. I glanced at her, standing behind Tom, who was completely oblivious to her presence. So much for true love (on his part), right?

“Tom…” I said slowly. The belt hadn’t started yet, and I had a feeling we had a few more minutes to wait. The workers that removed baggage from the planes didn’t get paid too much, and it was nasty outside.

“Yeah?”

“Turn around. You still have two people to meet. Plus my mom.” I said, unsure of how else to phrase the fact that I had allowed his ex girlfriend who he still liked a lot, to accompany me to the airport.

“Jess…Mrs. McAllister…and. Oh. Hello Angela!” He said, awkwardly. Angela smiled shyly, and gave me the weirdest unreadable look when he enveloped her in a hug. That’s life.