Page 1 of Her Surprise Vacation Date

CHAPTER 1

Hope

“It takesreal planning to organize this kind of chaos.” ~Mel Odom

I, Hope O’Connor, plan my life down to the Ts. As in timely, tidy, and thorough. Not to mention, tenacious. Because it takes a lot of careful planning to stick to an itinerary. Or so I imagine. As someone who’s also thrifty, I’ve only taken a handful of trips in my three decades of living. But today’s flight to So Cal is going to be the start of an adventure. A week-long vacation full of fun sightseeing, delicious food, and window shopping.

Assuming I can get my luggage on board the plane first.

“Miss, your bag is definitely over the weight limit. That’s going to be a $100 charge to have it checked in.” The slightly balding attendant at the counter looks over the frame of his blue glasses, giving me a mostly perturbed frown. His cheeks are rosy, and his thick beard could give Santa a run for his money, but I’m pretty sure he’s full of something other thanChristmas cheer. “We accept all major credit cards, so if you’ll make the payment, we can get on our merry way.”

The name tag clipped to his red polo shirt readsFrank, which is quite apropos given his directness. I’m just as ready to live out the meaning ofmyname, and hope beyond hope that we can come to a compromise. Because I’m so not willing to spend my hard-earned money before my vacation even starts.

I stretch to my full height of five-foot-four and lean my elbows onto the counter. With my most endearing smile, like the one I gave my fifth graders a week ago when we parted ways before summer began, I reply, “Mr. Frank—can I call you Mr. Frank?” When he grunts in agreement, I continue, “I hear what you’re saying, but I really don’t have any money to spare. I’m a schoolteacher, and this is the first vacation I’ve taken since I started working. My best friend and I planned this trip ages ago to celebrate her 30th birthday. And the only reason my luggage is ateeny tinybit over the weight limit is because I packed her gift in it. I can’t not bring her gift, right?”

Not missing a beat, Frank clears his throat and leanshiselbows onto the counter. His bushy eyebrows draw together as he looks me up and down. “You say you’re a teacher, and you just used a double negative?”

My shoulders droop a little beneath my thick hoodie. Yes, it’s triple digits in Arizona right now, but this air-conditioned airport feels as cold as a walk-in freezer. And the incredulous stare Mr. Frank gives me only adds to the chill in the air. “Yes, I did, but did you know double negatives are only considered a no-no in the standard English language? There are plenty of other languages, like Spanish, where it’s perfectly fine to use a double negative. In fact, it would be grammatically incorrect to not use one.”

“And what language are you speaking now?”

“English,” I manage with a sheepish smile.

“Exactly.”

“Fine, you’re right.” I notice the corners of his mouth twitching as if he’s holding back his reaction. His show of restraint makes me back down just a little. “Happy now?”

“As a matter of fact, I am.” His lips part in a genuine smile for the first time in our negotiation—I mean conversation. “I am pleasantly pleased as punch. That’s a simile, not a metaphor, in case you didn’t know.”

It takes all my willpower to keep my eyes from rolling. I am well aware of the difference, but I bite my tongue and nod.

It’s just my luck that I’m stuck with a grammar nerd for a ticketing agent. Not that I believe in luck. I have faith in God and in His providence and power. How could I not? It takes a lot more than luck to keep the galaxy in motion, not to mention my life from spiraling out of control. I should know. This incident is only one reminder that things rarely go the way I plan, but it always turns out for the best.

Most of the time.

Right now, I just want to get on Mr. Frank’s good side and figure out how to turn this situation around. If only this were like math, and I could turn two negatives into a positive.

That’s it!

I bounce on my toes, making my ponytail swing from side to side. Excitement builds up in me to have figured out a solution. “Okay, Mr. Frank, how much over is my bag? Are we talking a pound or two? I’ll take out whatever I need to and put it in my backpack. I’ll even carry it in my pockets. It’s just simple subtraction, right?”

“Right.” There’s a glint in his brown eyes as he goes on to say, “It’s nine.”

“Nine?” Air fills my lungs again. “You mean nine ounces, right? So, about half a pound? That’s no problem?—”

“No, pounds.”

“P-pounds?”

“Yes, nine pounds. As in 144 ounces.”

Goodness, Frank’s a math whiz, too? “Nine pounds. I see.”

I blink twice as I let his answer register inside my brain. Nine pounds! How in the world am I going to lug around nine pounds worth of stuff in my backpack and pockets? The former is already filled to the brim with snacks and books—and I am not parting with either of those precious babies. I glance down at my outfit and my heart sinks. Of all the things I could have worn today, I had to choose leggings. Beautiful royal purple leggings that my bestie, Amelia, gave me that have the wordsJust One More Chapterprinted in swirly font along the side of one pant leg andBookmarks are for Quittersprinted down the other. As much as I love these leggings, though, I’d love them a lot more if they had pockets. The only one I have to work with is the kangaroo pocket on my hoodie.

I release a long, heavy breath and roll up my sleeves. If there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ll do whatever I have to do to see Amelia. She’s the friend I’ve known the longest and the closest thing to a sibling since I’m an only child. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me—apart from flying. Because of her aerophobia, she drove twelve hours from the Bay Area to visit me five years ago for my twenty-fifth birthday. I only have to fly an hour and a half to meet her halfway at our vacation spot. So, if I have to show up looking like the Michelin Man, so be it.

“Hey, lady,” a male voice bellows, “are you paying or what? You’re gonna make the rest of us miss our flight!”

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