Page 8 of Hostile for the Holidays

She’s defiant at best, a liar at worst.

I ease her to sitting, so I can stand from my seat and reach the overhead compartment.

“What are you doing?” she grumbles. “I was comfortable.”

“I’m grabbing your suitcase to find you another shirt.”

We’d disposed of Stella’s sweater. She cried and claimed it was her favorite as I double-bagged it in hazard material bags and stored it under the window seat.

“I don’t have another shirt in my carry-on. It’s only presents and my bridesmaid dress. And I can’t wear that. Sadie will kill me if I get it dirty.”

Instead of reaching for Stella’s carry-on bag, I pull out mine.

“Here.” I hand her a sweater. “Since I know you’re such a fan.”

She stares at it, part awe, part disgust. It’s identical to the one I’m wearing, red with a snowflake on it, but in a smaller size.

“It’s Juniper’s, so I’ll need it back.”

She nods, then pulls it over her head, before we resume our position. Stella’s head resting peacefully on my lap while she sleeps for the remainder of the flight.

THREE

STELLA

Jasper cleaned up my vomit.

That knowledge makes me both want to laugh and cry.

If I wasn’t so self-conscious about my current condition, I would give myself props for this unintentional revenge plot, because if Jasper thought he got the best of me by being my seat mate, then I showed him.

I could have sworn I heard the flight attendant fawning over how he was such a good boyfriend. Pfft. She knows not what she speaks of. And I would never.As if.

Things happened on that flight that I’m not proud of, and throwing up isn’t even one of them.

I snuggled my head in Jasper’s lap. Then, I vaguely remember touching his nose and I might have called him handsome. It’s all part of the delirium I experienced once the worst of the food poisoning had passed, when dehydration and exhaustion had taken over.

As I make my way off the airplane, wearing Juniper’s sweater, I throw the hazardous waste bag containing my beautiful cashmere cardigan into a nearby trash can and say a prayer for it. Even if it could be cleaned, the memories of what happened are too haunting to move forward in our relationship.

By the end of the flight, my stomach started feeling better, and as my fatigue and dizziness lessened, I felt the need to put distance between me and Jasper. He’s seen me at my worst now, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he uses it against me in some way. Needing to pull myself together so I can cling to what shred of dignity I have left, I take advantage of the fact that Jasper is helping an elderly couple get their suitcases down from the overhead bins, and rush off the plane without saying goodbye.

It’s fine. I’ll dry clean Juniper’s sweater, then set it on his family’s porch and we’ll never speak of this again.

All I want to do now is get my suitcase from baggage claim and run into the comforting arms of my family.

Nothing as extravagant as the montage of airport arrivals at the end ofLove, Actually, but my parents and Sadie gathered behind a simple ‘welcome home’ banner would suffice. It has been months since I saw them.

When I come up the escalators to the main terminal, there’s a crowd of people waiting but no one there for me.

No biggie.

On my way to baggage claim, I pull out my phone to check my messages, to see where I should meet them, but there aren’t any.

That’s odd.

I’m scrolling through my recent contacts, a moment away from calling my dad, but then I make eye contact with a guy across the baggage claim carousel.

No. No. No.This can’t be happening.

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