“Michelle, what the hell?” I hissed at her.
"You can be pissed at me, I don't give a shit. I did you a favor. I love every single moment about being on this tour, even the parts that suck. Being a performer is where my heart is. Your heart is somewhere else, and that's where you need to be. Make room for someone who wants this. And you're probably not going to believe this, but I'm actually gonna miss you and that noisy-ass machine you sleep with."
My last showwas my best. I knew it was probably the last time I'd be performing for a long time, so I poured my entire heart into it.
I'd packed my suitcase and left it backstage. I did my last stage door appearance, and I didn't have to pretend to be happy, I was giddy. I was going home.
I gotto the airport with just enough time to check in and make it to my flight. I booked the last one for the day.
"I'm sorry. We had to cancel your flight. The next available flight is on the twenty-eighth at eleven a.m. Should I re-book for you?"
“The flight is canceled?” My heart thudded in my chest.
"No, we had to cancel your ticket. The flight was overbooked, so we selected a passenger to re-accommodate based on when they purchased their ticket and when they checked in for their flight."
“So, I was bumped?”
"We don't like to use that term, but we're happy to re-accommodate you and offer you some airline vouchers."
“I need to get home tonight.”
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible."
“What about tomorrow morning?”
"All the flights are booked tomorrow. It's a busy travel day."
I could feel my eyes welling with tears.
“Please, there has to be a way for me to get home tonight.”
"I would suggest renting a car, but I know all of the car rentals are sold out." Even if they weren't sold out, I haven't driven a car in over a year, and I was exhausted.
"If you had five thousand dollars lying around, you could charter a private jet to New York City, but other than that, there's no way, sweetie." She said the word sweetie with a derisive laugh.
A private jet. Why the hell didn't I think of that? Of course, I have five thousand dollars lying around. I had ten million dollars lying around that I haven't touched. My father made sure I had that money from the divorce settlement to take care of myself for the rest of my life. At the time, I thought it was because he was worried that I wouldn't find anyone to love me for who I was. But now I knew that wasn't true. I had a man who loved me because of my flaws and not in spite of them. And I was going to use this money to get back to him.
"What's the Wi-Fi?" I asked, and she told me. "Do I book the private jet here, or is there a different window?"
She did a double take and quickly recovered, narrowing her eyes. "You're going tochartera private jet. I've told you it's expensive."
"Yes, and I heard you." I would have loved to savor her expression, but I was too busy digging my tablet out of my tote bag. "So, where do I go?"
She gave me a bewildered look and pointed to a door. "There's an office. They should be able to help you there."
"Great."
I sat on a nearby bench, logged in to my bank account, and transferred enough money to book the plane before rolling my suitcase into the office.
Thirty minutes later, I strolled past the ticket counter, holding a flute of sparkling water escorted by a representative from the charter company and an assistant who insisted on carrying my luggage. I waved to the ticket agent as we passed.
There wereno planes immediately available. I explained how urgent my situation was. I was given the option to wait in the VIP lounge until my plane was ready to board, or there were any cancellations.
I must have fallen asleep because I was awakened at five a.m. to tell me that my plane would be taking off in an hour and I could board in thirty minutes. If everything went according to schedule, I could make it in time for the hearing.
Two and a half hours later,the taxi pulled up to my brownstone and I was so relieved I wanted to kiss the ground. I ran up the stairs and typed in the code.
It didn’t work.
