“Of course, I’m sure he’ll get over the initial shock. I mean,really, who actually wants to travel alone?”
“Right, well, I just hope he doesn’t freak when he finds outI’m on the same plane, let alone sitting right next to him.” Gwenhad made Stacy reserve the seat next to Crispin for the flight. Shehad even paid the extra charge to guarantee they would sittogether. That’s when she would have to come clean and explainherself. As afraid of his reaction as she was, the fear of flyingon her own was greater. Sitting next to him would be the only wayshe could get through the flight.
“And then some...” Stacy mumbled to herself. “Oh, I’m surehe’ll be thrilled. If anything, he’ll be flattered. Sometimes truelove just needs a little push in the right direction. Besides, aseccentric as the guy seems, my gut tells me he’s exactly what youneed. There’s just something about him. I can’t nail itdown.”
“Really, you think so?
“Oh, yeah, trust me. I’ve set up my three sisters, and a cousinand they’re all happily married. If only I could do the same formyself.”
“Oh, come on, that’s crazy. But, wow, wouldn’t that beawesome?”
“It’s the truth, I am a matchmaker to be sure. Hey, maybe Ishould change careers. Better yet I’ll do both. Consider this afreebie, since you’re a special case.”
“Special case?”
“Well, only because technically you met him on your own. I onlyjust enabled the love to bloom.”
“Love? Um, I mean I do fancy him, and, well, he is theembodiment of all my fantasies, but that’s not what this is reallyabout. I honestly just want to go to England and if knowing I’ll bewith him helps me get over my anxiety about travelling, then that’sall I can really hope for.”
“Whatever gets you through, Gwen. Now, I must say, as excitedas I am, I’m also nervous for you, sweetheart. This is a huge stepout of your comfort zone.”
“Trust me, I’m nervous too. I just hope I don’t lose it beforeeven make it on the plane!”
“Gwen, we’ve been over this a hundred times. That’s the easypart. You’ll be fine. Just remember what we talked about. Simplyfollow the instructions I’ve written down. Basically, the secret tostress-free travelling is to give yourself plenty of time. We’vearrived early enough to ensure that. So first, get through thecheck-in process. Then all you have to do is relax until it’s timeto board the plane.”
Board the plane? Would she even getthat far? “You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. That’s what you have to keep in mind. I’ve takencare of everything. All you have to do is get your suitcase and getout of this car. One foot in front of the other from thereon.”
“Yes... you’re right,” Gwen said as she robotically got out ofStacy’s car and retrieved her luggage from the trunk. Rolling it upthe sidewalk, she stopped in at the passenger side window and wavedat her friend. Stacy gave her a brave smile then pointed her in theright direction. Before Gwen could change her mind, she drove offto find Terminal Three.
Chapter 4
One foot infront of the other. Gwen repeated the mantra in her head as shewalked, dragging her suitcase behind her. It was all she could doto keep from panicking. She knew what she had to do. First, sheneeded to find the correct airline counter. In order for her to dothis, she needed to focus on one task at a time. If she let herselfthink about all of it at once, she might lose her mind.
The one thingthat kept her from worrying too much, was her trust in her friend.Stacy would not have led her astray. Sure enough, Gwen found thecorrect airline counter and took a deep breath. With quite a bit ofpeople already ahead of her, she had time to check her documents.Even though she knew exactly where they were, in her purse, shejust had to verify their location yet again. It’s what she did. Sheblamed it on her obsessive compulsive personality.
While shewaited, she tried to ignore the hustle and bustle around her. Butshe was also vigilant of her immediate surroundings. She took inthe faces of those in front of her and those behind her. Thesewould be the people she would share her flight with. As of yet, shesaw no sign of Crispin. She was both glad and worried. She was gladbecause she didn’t want him to see her until they were on theplane. But she was worried that perhaps he might not actually showup. That would be horrible. She would be forced to go it alone.Both scenarios were terrifying.
With time onher hands, she started to wonder. When the inevitable confrontationdid happen, she didn’t have a clue as to how to explain herself.She hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on it, to be honest. If shehad, she might never have gotten this far. What if he reactedbadly? What if he wanted nothing to do with her? She would bedoomed. She had no backup plan! How did this happen? She plannedeverything. It’s how she coped, yet here she was, with no suchplan!
What she shoulddo is turn around and go home. That would be the smart thing to do.But before she could make up her mind, she found herself at thefront of the line. With one foot in front of the other, she forcedherself to focus on the task at hand. One task at a time, one stepat a time. It was the only way she would get through this. Shewould deal with Crispin when the time came.
***
Crispin arrivedat the airport with minutes to spare. His unexpected run-in withBecky had cost him precious time. Still, he couldn’t have walkedaway before she’d been sufficiently reassured of his return. Thesilly little dormouse was a right mess,
