Page 27 of The Summer Request
That was fine. It would be good to have alone time. Healthy, even.
Val walked into the restaurant and took a seat at the bar. There was only one other patron at this time of day, so she struck up a conversation with him. He was traveling for business, which she hadn’t expected since he was so sloppily dressed. What was it with people wearing sweatpants everywhere they went? Were jeansthatuncomfortable?
He was interesting enough, though, at least for brunch. His company arranged study abroad trips for students, and he was more than happy to tell her about all his travels.
He droned on and her mind drifted. Maybe Michelle wouldn’t be so uptight about flying if she had studied abroad in college. Or maybe she’d be less uptight in general if she’d finished college, or ever tried leaving the island!
These thoughts whirled and simmered through two drinks with Mr. Travel Guy, which was extended by a forty-five-minute flight delay.
Val arrived at the gate before the plane did. Michelle said hello, and Val said hello back. She thought perhaps Michelle had had some time to cool down, but as they boarded, it became obvious Michelle’s mood had only worsened. Lisa was frantically upbeat, trying to balance the mood.
Once in their seats, Val ordered champagne for them all. Michelle declined hers and instead focused on getting all of her flying supplies ready: her neck pillow, chapstick, hand sanitizer, water bottle, and blanket.
Oh well, her loss. “This is to celebrate our successful first steps into investigating Lou.”
Michelle shot her a disgusted look. “How can you drink this early?”
The smile on Lisa’s face dipped along with her champagne glass.
Val narrowed her eyes.
She should have recognized that her friend was simply nervous about the flight, and that Michelle wasn’t perfect. Val should’ve seen Michelle’s comments and controlling impulses for what they were: a product of her overwhelming flight-related anxiety.
But Val wasn’t perfect, either, so instead of being understanding, she went with, “Maybe if you had a few drinks, you wouldn’t be so annoying to fly with.”
Michelle stopped struggling with her seat belt. “I never even wanted to fly in the first place!”
“Yeah, no kidding. Why go anywhere or experience anything when you can live your entire life on a tiny island?”
Lisa unbuckled herself and stood up. “How about we switch seats? I know you like the window, Val.”
“Sure,” she replied. “If that’s what you want.”
The rest of the flight proceeded without incident. Val felt bad about what she’d said almost immediately, but she couldn’t stop herself for some reason. They were behaving like teenagers again. It was silly.
Michelle wasn’t to blame, not really. The root of the matter was that Reggie used to nag Val in a similar way, telling her she was being irresponsible, or making them late, or he’d twist everything into being her fault, even when he spilled his own coffee on himself. It drove her nuts, and it made her feel like she was always in the wrong.
She’d lived under his negativity for too long, but that was no excuse. It was just an explanation for how she’d acted.
When they finally got off the plane at LAX, Val offered her a sheepish apology. “I’m sorry about what I said.”
“It’s okay.” Michelle let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I terrorized you. I’ll be normal now. At least until we fly back to the East Coast.”
Val felt the need to explain. “Reggie used to always get mad at me when we traveled for shows. He made everything a big deal and…I don’t know. I think I’m overly sensitive.”
“No, I’m overly sensitive,” Michelle said. “Because a small part of me is convinced we won’t survive every plane ride, so I try to control every factor I can.”
Lisa laughed. “Oh, you two. Two sensitive old women.”
“Hey!” Val barked. “Who are you calling old?”
“Yeah!” Michelle added. “You better not mean us.”
Lisa put her hands up in an apparent surrender. “Of course not! I was talking about two old women over there, not you two.”
Michelle nodded. “Right.”
It felt so much better once the air was cleared. Traveling was always more stressful than Val remembered. Memories of complications and stress softened with time, but pictures from trips never faded. It was those lovely, enchanting pictures of past travels that lured her to try again.
