Page 166 of Camp Bliss
The gate agent calls for Group 7, and I shuffle to the back of the line.
“Look, I’m sorry I can’t help you, Zach. You flying back now?”
“Taking the flight to Charlotte. Then we’ll see.”
He huffs. “Good luck with that.”
“I should be able to make it on standby,” I say, willing it to be true.
“I meant with the weather.”
I freeze and the person in line behind me literally bumps into me. “Sorry—” I move forward. “What weather?”
The gate agent reaches for my crumpled boarding pass, and I hand it over.
“There’s a cold front moving through tonight. Thunderstorms and high winds. Hope it doesn’t get in your way.”
Dammit.
“Yeah, me too.” A soon as my ticket is scanned I head onto the jetway. “Look, Evan. I’m boarding. Gotta call Greta before I take off.”
“Gotcha. Safe travels, man.”
I hang up without another word because now I’ve just got one thing on my mind. Keeping Josh away from Greta.
I tap her number and nearly swear when it goes to voicemail. She’s probably driving or trying to finish her supply run.
“Hey babe, call me back if you get this in the next couple minutes. I’m boarding for CLT, but I gotta say—” I shake my head. “Can we just put the scumbag in a motel for the night? Evan said the weather’s gonna suck tonight, and I know you. You won’t make that asshole sleep in a tent if the weather’s shit.”
The smiling flight attendant at the plane’s entrance gives me a startled look as I step inside. I mouth a quicksorryand move at a snail’s pace through first class.
“Anyway, please call me back. I’d feel a whole lot better if I knew he were out of your hair until I made it back.”
I hang up, and my restlessness only grows as I creep further into the belly of the plane. Once I find my seat and stow my carry-on, I check my phone again. No texts. No calls.
I open up my weather app and see that, sure enough, Evan was on the money. A band slices down the middle of the country, promising snow tomorrow for the mid-Atlantic and rough weather tonight all through the plains and the deep south.
Fuck my life.
I set my location to our zip code, and wince as I see that things will start going south around eight o’clock tonight. Right about when my next flight should take off. If I even make that flight.
“Ladies and gentleman, the cabin door is now closed. Please power down all laptops for takeoff. Small, handheld electronics may continue to be used in airplane mode.”
As soon as the flight attendant makes this announcement, Greta calls me back.
I swipe the screen and bring the phone to my ear. The older woman beside me glares.I’m never this person,I want to tell her.I usually hate this person.
“Hey, we’re taking off. Did you get my message?”
“Yes, but I don’t think—”
A male flight attendant has spotted me and is making his way over.
“Greta. I’m sorry, but if he can’t stay in the tent, send him to a motel. I’ll pay for it.”
“Zach, you don’t get it—”
“Sir, you’ll need to put your phone on airplane mode before we can taxi,” the attendant says with a glare.
