Chapter Seventeen
They arrived at the airport fifteen minutes before flight time. Cordelia hugged Angel goodbye and Wesley shook his hand. "I hope things work out well."
"See you two in a week," Cordy said adding, "I hope" to herself.
Angel ran into the airport and arrived at the terminal with only a couple of minutes to spare. In fact the flight attendant was just going to use the intercom to locate Mr. Lockwood.
He found himself seated in the luxury of first class. The Powers were at least generous with some things. He accepted the offer of complimentary headphones and settled back into his seat for the long flight, and put the channel on easy listening. It didn't surprise him too much that this channel played love songs, their love songs. As he sat back Angel took another look at the paper that had arrived earlier. He was amazed at how well things worked in sequence with "The Powers That Be".
Angel declined the meal that was served, but gratefully accepted the coffee. He knew that the many hours that it would take before he was even near Susan would feel like an eternity. He was quite unsure of what he would find. It troubled him greatly that he was being taken back to where his life had begun so long ago.
The flight to Dorval, Quebec took about five hours and the stop over was another three. To kill some time Angel wandered through the stores that lined the waiting area. He found a toy stuffed lamb which he couldn't resist taking to his lamb. He was a little concerned that by the time he arrived in England he would be in great need of nourishment, but was relieved to find at the airport lounge a familiar listing on the menu, a "Devil's Bloody Mary". As he ordered one the waitress gave him a rather uneasy glance but served him without question. It would be another two hours before he could reboard.
A rather pretty young woman sat down at the bar beside him, "So you're on your way to the old country", she said when she saw the boarding pass Angel held, "Going home?"
"In a way, but only for a visit, I'm bringing my wife home."
"Oh, too bad, I always find a man who drink's a Devil's Bloody Mary rather interesting, a little dangerous sometimes but always interesting." She helped pass the time as they chatted, more her than Angel, but it slowed him down to only four more drinks before it was time to board. He excused himself when it was time and she wished him luck looking a little disappointed. "She's a very lucky woman, your wife." Angel gave a slight smile goodbye; he hoped that over the last five months Susy felt lucky to be his wife.
Angel waited for the crowd to go ahead of him when he realized that the walls of the corridor were made entirely of mirrors. Joining into a tour group of twenty some people he hoped that no one would miss his reflection.
Finally he was on the plane and ready for take off once again, able to enjoy the luxury of business class and he hoped a quiet flight. Angel sat in the window seat, at five a.m. it was still very dark out and he watched the lights of Dorval and then Montreal as the 767 ascended over the city and then turned to their destination east. Being mid-March the ground was still covered with snow, and he watched as small lights dotted the bank of the St. Lawrence Seaway. We watched without seeing, for in his mind all he could see was his love.
The man sitting next to him offered greetings then settled back to his Montreal Gazette paper. Angel was relieved to know that this flight he could just sit back and relax. Again he turned to the easy listening channel and their songs. He took his favourite photo from his wallet and placed it in the corner of the small television screen in the back of the seat ahead.
"Going to or from?" the man seated next to him asked. Angel removed the earphones. "Are you going to her or from her?" he asked again, pointing to the photo.
"Oh, to her," Angel said putting the earphones back in place.
"Lucky man" his seat partner said without being heard.
Angel reclined his seat, hoping that he could continue the flight without interruption. The closer he got to his lamb the more worried he felt that maybe everything was not all right.
He reclined the seat as far as it would go and watched the sky as it was starting to lighten in the east. He pulled down the blind and closed his eyes hoping that sleep would make the time pass quickly. The music he was listening to was interrupted by the captain's voice giving the approximate arrival time in London, weather conditions, and flight levels. The sound of a bell signalled the end of the pilot's information but after a moments pause his voice continued again over the intercom. "If you watch the television screen in front of you, you will see how this all began over two hundred and fifty years ago." Angel opened his eyes and realized his old life was being shown on the screen ahead. He glanced around at the other passengers near by, but no one else seemed to be alerted to anything similar. He sat back in his seat and watched as the story of his life, their lives, unfolded on the screen.