AN: Pre-trip excitement! Another short one, but I promise the chapters get more fleshed out soon!
Chapter 2: One Hell of a View
xXx
As the days until his flight counted down, Eric had anxiously gathered together all of his supplies for the big trip. Passport? Check. Toiletries? Check. Enough clothes to last a full week? Check. Star Wars swim trunks? Bitchin'!
After checking through the grey suitcase one more time, he set it at the foot of his bed and breathed a sigh of relief. It's just for a week, Forman, he told himself. You survived a year on another continent, so this should be a walk in the park!
Realizing there was no point in stressing himself out about it now, Eric decided to go ahead and go to bed early. After all, tomorrow is the big day!
xXxXx
Jackie was walking into the airport, ticket in hand, when she realized that there was hardly anybody there. For a saturday morning at the beginning of the summer, she had expected it to be crawling with angry parents and crying babies.
Maybe this means security won't be a hassle, she prayed to herself as she made her way to the security gate.
It may have just been out of boredom, but the rotund guard on duty decided that Jackie's five bags needed to be checked.
"Ma'am, I'm going to need you step over to this table so I can check your bags," the pudgy man said, eyeing how her sundress hugged her waist perfectly.
Jackie looked around, silently fuming. "That won't be a problem." Asshole.
The heavy-set security guard took his time going through each bag, and Jackie was patting herself on the back for deciding to get to the airport early. When the man made it to the bag that contained her underwear, he moved like a turtle as he carefully examined each garment.
"Well goodness gracious. How do you squeeze into these tiny things?" he asked, holding up Jackie's favorite pair of black lace panties.
"I manage, somehow." Pig! It took every ounce of her strength not to knee this pervert in the groin, but instead she just smiled and kept her composure. In Jackie's line of work, this kind of harassment wasn't uncommon, and she would be damned if she let this meaty-fingered jackass keep her from getting on that plane.
Once he stuffed her belongings back in their respective bags, Jackie wasted no time putting distance between herself and him. With that unpleasantness out of the way, she just needed to find her gate.
xXxXx
Eric was roused from a dreamless sleep by the blaring screech of his alarm clock. 9:30 am. With his flight leaving in just an hour and a half, Eric got cleaned up and bounded downstairs with his suitcase in hand.
Red and Kitty looked up at him from their usual spots in the living room. Eric's mother jumped up and ran to give him a goodbye hug.
"Eric, honey, you be sure to take lots of pictures! You never know what memories you'll have to look back on later." Kitty kissed his cheek, while Red simply raised a beer to him.
"Remember, son. A big fish, and some good beer." Red turned back to the television, not giving his son so much as a wave.
"I'll be sure to do that, Mom. And uh… yeah, Dad, I couldn't agree more… I guess I'll see you guys in a week!"
Eric threw his bag in the back of the powder blue Bronco. He was feeling unexpectedly nervous about leaving the country again. After what he came back to last time, Eric just couldn't get rid of the feeling that his world would be shaken up all over again by the time he got back.
After rolling down the windows and backing out of his parents' driveway, Eric turned on the radio. 'Hotel California' by the Eagles came on and he let his mind wander as the song played.
Eric made it to the airport with half an hour to get to his flight. After picking up his ticket at the front desk and getting through security without any trouble at all, he checked a conveniently posted map of the airport and then made his way to the gate.
xXxXx
As he boarded the plane, Eric spotted several of his coworkers all seated together. Jim Kirkland, his middle-aged boss, was sitting with his wife Katherine. Across the aisle from them were Eileen and Marsha, the two bubbly secretaries. In front of the young women, Mitch Sheffield and his fiancée Hillary were holding hands and chatting to the themselves. Eric and Mitch had become pretty good friends during their daily conversations around the water cooler, and Eric was happy to see his wavy-haired coworker. Mitch waved to Eric and gave a charming smile.
In front of Jim and Katherine, and in the seat next to Eric's, was Megan Kelly. Hot damn! Thank god for this seating arrangement! Eric tried to keep his cool as he made his way closer to the group.
Megan was a fairly recent hire as well, and Eric took a liking to her almost immediately. She was tall and slender, with perfectly tanned skin and gorgeous shoulder-length brunette hair. Eric had spent many days listening to her talk on the phone in the cubicle next to his, and he thought that she had the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard.
Eric was beaming as he took his seat. So what if I've never actually expressed any kind of interest in Megan? This has to be a sign that this trip is going to be awesome!
xXxXx
Jackie was reclined with a sleep mask shielding her eyes from the light coming through the small window when a voice came over the intercom and announced that they would be arriving at the Nassau International Airport in just a few minutes.
As she slid the satin mask from her face, she looked through the window to her left and saw turquoise water that seemed to go on forever. Now that is one hell of a view!
Within half an hour, she was off the plane and making her way through the customs line. As she worked her way through an exhaustive maze of velvet ropes, Jackie ran through a mental checklist of what all she was going to do for the rest of the day.
"Alright, Ms. Burkhart. Everything seems to be in order. Welcome to the Bahamas." The man behind the counter gave the petite woman a toothy smile and then signaled for the next party in line.
"Thank you so much!" Jackie shook the customs officer's hand and grabbed the worn handle of her luggage cart. The small wheels of the cart squeaked under the weight of her bags as Jackie made her way to the pick-up area just outside of the main doors.
AN: When I wrote this all those years ago, I had just finished watching "Cocoon" (1985). So at least in my mind, Mitch definitely resembles a mid-80's Steve Guttenberg.