Christmas Layover

By Lodylodylody

*************

As far as airport bars went, it wasn't a bad place. It just wasn't where Marion Moseby had hoped to spend the night.

But that was where he would be spending it. He and many other unhappy people who had been forced to stand by helplessly as a winter storm had grounded almost all flights up and down the East Coast. Moseby found himself wishing he left the ship a day earlier when most of the other staff had departed for their holiday break. But no…he'd decided to wait one more day to finish some paperwork, and his admirable work habits had stranded him in Washington, D.C.

It wasn't like he'd had any special plans for Christmas. He'd just hoped to spend it back in Boston. Instead, his Christmas Eve would almost surely take place in this bar amongst strangers. There were no hotel vacancies to be found.

Trying not to sink any deeper into depression, Moseby nursed his club soda and surveyed his surroundings. Normally, airports were an ideal location to engage in the sport of people watching, but under these circumstances everyone appeared remarkably similar. And why shouldn't they? None of them wanted to be there.

Nonetheless, one person in Moseby's field of vision did stand out, if only for the outright hostility she was showing to her cell phone.

"Damn defective technology," she said as she slammed the phone down on the bar. She huffed once before trying to compose herself. Adjusting her glasses and pushing some of her straight brown hair behind her ear, she looked around somewhat self-consciously to see if anyone had noticed her outburst.

"Problem with your phone?" Moseby asked when her gaze fell upon him.

"Yes, obviously," she answered. "Its batteries are dead, even though I had it fully charged this afternoon. I swear these things are designed to break down."

"Forcing us to buy new ones every few months," Moseby put in. "Yes, I know what you mean." He pulled out his own phone and presented it to her. "Do you need to call someone?"

"No, but thank you for offering. I was just trying to check my email. I had hoped that might have relieved my boredom."

Moseby nodded. "Where were you headed?"

"New York," she answered. "You?"

"Boston," he replied. Putting his phone away he stuck out his hand. "Marion Moseby."

"Samantha Samuels." She shook his hand firmly. "Good to meet you…Marion"

"Yes, yes," he said with a slight laugh. "That name got me teased quite a bit growing up."

"Well, it shouldn't have," Samantha responded. "It's a fine name. But children can be cruel." She paused. "I was called all sorts of names growing up. Beanpole. Olive Oyl." She sighed. "Lousy kids."

"Yes, children can be so immature. Well, I guess that goes without saying."

Samantha let out a slight laugh of her own.

*************

Conversation with a stranger was less boring than sitting in silence, so Moseby and Miss Samuels continued to talk. They found they had more in common than their disdain for mischievous children. Both were devoted to their careers. Both took pride in presenting themselves to the world as polished professionals. And both had often found themselves in bizarre situations because of teenagers.

"Crawling through the ventilation system?" Samantha said in astonishment. "Really?"

"Oh, they did it all the time," he said with a sigh.

"And then they end up on the same ship as you," she went on. "You poor man."

"Well, I suppose I should be grateful. For all the pain Zack and Cody have caused me over the years, they've never tried to give away one of the fifty states."

Samantha laughed again. Somehow the story of how Cory Baxter had almost returned ownership of Alaska to Russia was actually amusing under these conditions. Of course that may have had something to do with the fact that somewhere along the line she and Mr. Moseby had both switched from club soda to slightly stronger beverages.

"Still, I must admit being somewhat envious," Moseby continued. "I love my job. But to work in the White House…assisting the leader of the free world. It must have been fascinating."

"It…was." Samantha frowned. "I'm afraid I haven't found my new job anywhere near as satisfying. Public relations for a publishing house may pay the bills, but it just doesn't…I don't know. I mean it's not like I expected to stay in the White House forever. Administrations change."

"Yes," Moseby commented. "If only they always changed for the better."

Samantha raised an eyebrow. "You're not a fan of our current President?"

Hearing the surprise in her tone, Moseby felt a twinge of annoyance. "I most certainly am NOT."

"Geez, sorry."

Feeling embarrassed, Moseby's tone turned sheepish. "No, no…I should apologize." He let out a nervous laugh as he looked at his glass. "I should have stuck with the club soda." Turning his gaze back towards Samantha, he continued. "Don't get me wrong. I'm very pleased that there's no longer any color barrier for the highest office in the land. But I would have much preferred that the first African-American president be a man who stood for policies that I actually supported. More than that, I can't stand this attitude so many people have that I should've voted for him just because we have similar skin tones. Do you know I've had people…WHITE people…tell me to my face that I'm not really black? Honestly! The ignorance and short sightedness…"

Realizing that his voice had steadily risen in volume, Moseby felt embarrassed again and looked back at his glass. "I suppose it's not very appropriate to talk politics at Christmas. I'm just a bit sensitive when it comes to this topic."

Samantha shook her head. "It's alright. Besides, I'm not exactly a fan of our President either." She paused. "The jerk cost me my job after all."

They both laughed.

*************

Conversation continued but not on political topics. Instead the focus turned to holiday plans. Ruined holiday plans.

"I guess I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces back at the hotel," Marion explained. "After working there for so many years, the staff felt very much like a family. I was actually looking forward to being there on the day after Christmas more than anything, to see the people as they came back to work."

"That sounds nice," Samantha said wistfully. "I wasn't going to New York to see anyone special. The trip was really just a gift to myself. I thought I'd just shop, go to Times Square…find some distraction."

"Distraction?"

"Distract myself from the fact that I'm spending the holidays alone."

Moseby looked over and noticed the sadness in her eyes. "Nobody should be alone at Christmas." He glanced towards his watch. "And what do you know? We aren't."

She looked at him questioningly.

"It's past midnight," he explained. "Merry Christmas."

Merry Christmas to you too." She surprised herself by smiling when she said so.

A short while later, an announcement was made that a handful of flights were finally cleared to takeoff, Mr. Moseby's flight to Boston among them.

"I guess this is goodbye," Samantha said. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you as well." He paused for a moment. "You know with these long delays, I'm sure many passengers gave up and left the airport. There are probably a few seats available on my plane."

Samantha stared at him a moment, wanting to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding his words.

"Boston can be just as much a distraction as New York," he continued. "And I have friends at a certain hotel. Could probably arrange for a nice discount on your room. Perhaps even a complimentary stay."

She replied hesitantly. "I wouldn't want to impose on your generosity.

"Pish posh," he replied. "Consider it...consider it a Christmas present."

"Well," she finally said. "It couldn't hurt to check if your flight is full or not."

And so she did go with Moseby to his gate. As it turned out, there were seats available.

And both of them enjoyed Christmas that year.

New Year's Eve too.

*************

The End.

author's note: The other night Elianna22 and I were chatting and she pointed out that if I keep pairing Miss Tutweiller with Connie, that leaves nobody for Moseby. That's when I realized that Samantha (from Cory in the House) is the PERFECT match for him. Please review.