The flight to Seattle was longer than he thought; both physically and emotionally. Never in Frasier's life had he had to endure such stress. It was bad enough that the flight to Dallas was delayed by an impromptu thunderstorm but when he arrived at the Dallas- Fort Worth Airport, more commonly known as DFW, he found that it was the size of a small city. The Seattle- Tacoma Airport (or Sea-Tac as it was called) would have easily fit inside it twice.
Still, being in an unfamiliar place gave him time to think. He popped into a few souvenir shops and picked out some gifts for Frederick and on impulse grabbed a Dallas Cowboys baseball hat for his father. For Niles he purchased an outrageously expensive bottle of cheap wine that would have easily sold for much less in the local grocery store.
Niles would surely be appalled by the sight, but Frasier just couldn't arrive empty handed. He could only hope that Niles would appreciate the gesture and perhaps even laugh at the unintentional joke.
After finally finding a book on Sigmund Freud that he was sure that Frederick would love, along with a blue t-shirt emblazoned with the word Dallas, Frasier checked the monitor to ensure that he arrived at his gate on time. He wasn't looking foreword to enduring another long flight to yet another city in which he had never been.
"Flight 267 to Phoenix will be boarding shortly." The announcement blared over head.
"Damn!"
Frasier ran as fast as he could, breathless by the time he reached the gate. And suddenly he wished he'd taken his father's advice and gone out for the track team in high school. Because the clarinet lessons he'd taken for so long were not doing him much good now.
The line was unbelievably long with screaming children and angry adults, all of them clearly in need of some warm Arizona sun. But when he glanced at the monitor behind the desk he cringed. The forecast for Phoenix was worse than Dallas... and even Seattle. The stormy forecast made Seattle seem like heaven in comparison. This was sure to be the longest flight he'd ever endured.
When he boarded the aircraft, he was appalled to see how full it was; people crammed in like sardines. Dear God, for thirteen hundred dollars he could have at least been given First Class seating!
He shouted his disapproval several times but it could barely be heard over the chaotic passengers.
Finally he found his seat, and, feeling like a prisoner, attempted to read his book. However, because of the screaming child who insisted that her doll was left at the airport in Dallas, reading was not meant to be.
So instead he found himself subjected to several hours of pure hell.
Mercifully the skyline of Phoenix came into view and he sighed with relief. They would be landing shortly and then after a few more hours, he'd be on his way to Seattle.
As they arrived at the Phoenix airport, he felt a huge sigh of relief at being off of that dreadful plane and he could only pray that his next flight would be at least somewhat pleasant.
Once in the airport, he smiled, happy to see new surroundings. He didn't have much time to kill, but once more he stopped into the gift shops in the hopes of finding something for Frederick. He found things for his father and for Niles as well; another bottle of wine for his brother, although this one was much more reasonably priced. However, it was still worlds away from what Niles and even Frasier himself would call suitable wine. But as before, he hoped that Niles would appreciate the gesture.
Once more he checked the monitor and hurried to the gate. To his dismay the line for the Seattle flight was just as long but much more subdued. And he was pleasantly surprised to find that the weather in Seattle was even better than Boston or Phoenix. That was definitely a rare occurrence.
But at least the flight was a bit calmer. However it was well after 10pm, so in less than three hours he'd be arriving in the Emerald City.
As he boarded the plane he was elated to find that the seat next to him was empty. Finally he could relax and perhaps get some sleep before the plane landed in Seattle.
The thought was pure heaven.
He leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes, dreaming of happier times.
And before he knew it, he opened his eyes and looked out the window, just as the gorgeous skyline of Seattle came into view.
He was home at last.