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RJ
THE BOARD FLASHEDDelayed. I’d hoped it would read something different than it had ten minutes earlier, but no luck. I returned my eyes to the text chain with my friends.
RJ:Flight delayed again. I won’t be there until after midnight.
Britta:Doesn’t the airline know who you are?
RJ:Apparently the fuselage doesn’t care.
Britta:Do better, fuselage. We miss you.
Kat:Do you want to FaceTime with us so you don’t feel left out?
RJ:Do I want to FaceTime you guys from the airport while you get drunk at a club?
I did, except I had a mountain of work to catch up on, and I knew once I set foot in Chicago, I wouldn’t get anything accomplished.
RJ:I should work, but text me later. I don’t want to hear about your amazing sex life, though. You get real sharey when you drink.
Britta:I make no promises. I have a great sex life.
Kat:I’ll make sure she’s all shared out by the time we call.
Kat:Not that I want to know about Wes’s... stuff.
Britta:Wes has excellent stuff. It’s the stuff of legends.
I laughed to myself, earning side-eye from the older woman perched next to me reading a paperback.
Del:I wish you guys would take me off this group chat. I have my own stuff.
Kat:Sorry, Del.
Britta:I’m not. You know you love us.
RJ:I’ll talk to you guys later, but have fun!
I set my phone aside and glanced around the seating area for an open outlet. I’d checked in, breezed through security, and settled at my gate hours ago. Between a late plane, a late crew, and the mechanical difficulties, I was wondering if driving might have been faster. A casualty of the wait was my laptop sitting at twelve percent battery life.
To my left, six kids sat in a tight circle, each with a device held to their faces and the cords running into the three closest outlets.Across the way, two large men had spread out so thoroughly as to take up five spaces between them, and their gear was blocking two more, but I didn’t have the fight in me to get between them.
With a sigh, I closed my laptop and tucked it in my bag, standing at the same time as my phone buzzed. I smiled, sure it was Del complaining more about how we treated him like one of the girls. I started walking, passing a coffee kiosk and a candy shop. Gate after gate was full, and my stomach rumbled as I neared the food court.
After ordering some fast food, I stepped to the side to wait, the tempting smell of fries in the air, and pulled my phone from my pocket.
Lear:Weddings are more fun with you here.
A smile tugged at my lips, and I glanced around as if someone in the space would, first, be paying attention to me and, second, care that I was grinning at a text from a man I claimed to not like.
RJ:Why?
The person behind the counter called my number, and I tucked my phone away to claim my paper bag filled with French fries and a cheeseburger that would be the highlight of the next several hours. Balancing the food with my luggage, I wheeled out of the area and saw an open outlet at a nearby gate. I pounced into action, speed walking to the spot before anyone could take it. Unfortunately, a man took the seat before I could reach it, but I persevered, and in my slacks and the silk camisole I’d worn with my long-abandoned blazer, I plopped down onto the floor sitting crisscross applesauce and plugged in my laptop.
My phone buzzed again and I unlocked it, grabbing a few fries from the bag.
Lear:This minister isn’t as good a kisser as you.
I smiled, pausing with my fries halfway to my face.
