I was at the airport waiting for my flight to board. A voice raspy with lack of sleep sounded through the terminal. One week ago today, my mother, Renee, and boyfriend, Phil, had been pronounced man and wife in front of all their friends and me. Phil wasn't good enough for my free spirited mom, though. He was always dragging her around to his baseball games without a second thought. I'd tried to talk my mom out of saying "I do," one last time, while I was placing the veil over her perfectly styled hair at the wedding.
Slowly, because she was so excited that she had forgotten her non-existent ability to retain alcohol and had some champagne, I explained. Spelling out in simple words, that Phil would only hurt her in the end. That I could see in his eyes that he cared more about beer and baseball then he did about my mother. But despite my efforts she had chosen to go through with the marriage.
Now I'm listening intently to the loud speakers as I wait for my plain to be called. I was alone and liked it that way. Renee and Phil had to stop at the metal detectors, not that they minded. Phil had a game this afternoon and was very pushy trying to hurry us along. But I liked seeing Renee happy and even if it only lasted a few years, it would be worth it to hear the smile in her voice and the glow in hers eyes. Two of the few things I remember from when I was little and Renee was still with Charlie.
Charlie's my dad and the man I'm going to be staying with for now on. I decided during the reception after the wedding that I wasn't going to stick around with Renee and Phil. I would only get in the way of their fresh, lovey-dovey relationship. I'd been to Charlie's a few times before during the summers, so I would be okay with him. Although I was still worried about Renee being hurt, I knew me leaving would be for the best. Maybe some alone time would strengthen their relationship. Yeah. Right.
"Flight 7 now boarding," sounded over the loud speaker. "Flight 7 now boarding."
Reaching down I picked up my carry-on consisting of my CD player with a Linkin Park CD, my favorite book Wuthering Heights, and my new black cell phone Renee had insisted on getting me as a departure gift. I got in line to board behind an obese man in his mid-thirties with graying hair and a wobble in his walk. Behind me was a family with a mom, dad, and little girl. The girl looked to be about two years old and was bouncing up and down as her mom explained rules about being on a plain. Chuckling softly to myself I stepped forward and handed over my ticket before walking down the ramp that led to the plain.
After finding my seat next to a window I hunkered down for a long trip and put on my headphones so I could listen to music. Unfortunately a perky looking blonde with an overbite and blinding pink mini dress sat next to me and immediately started jabbering in hopes of beginning a conversation. I wasn't going to bite, I liked the quiet.
"Oh my God, like, why are you wearing so much black? Don't you, like, think that black is, like, depressing? Oh my God. Oh my God! We're, like, moving!" Shocker, I thought sarcastically. "Aren't you, like, scared? I've never been on a plain before. Have you? I think that…" she continued to talk but I blocked it out by turning up my music and staring out the window. If I thought it was going to be a long trip before, I was way off.