AllFreeNovel
Share Us
MATTIE
The soundof my flight being called had my heart racing and panic was setting in. I was still on the other side of the airport being held up by a security officer wanting to conduct every single chemical test on me. I’d been randomly selected but I was always selected so I was starting to doubt how random it really was.
“Can we hurry this up? That was my flight being called.”
The burly woman turned around as if I were putting her out. “That is why it is recommended you arrive an hour before your flight.”
“Yes, thank you,” I replied, sarcastically. “This isn’t making things go quicker.”
The machine beeped to signal the end of the test and shock horror, I had nothing on me. She quickly gave me back my bag and I ran for the gate.
“This is the last call for Matilda Walker. Matilda Walker, please make your way to Gate 43.” Hearing my husband’s last name as they called my name had me cringing. I really should get around to changing my name back to Penn but I didn’t really want anything to do with my family either so it always seemed like a stupid idea.
I was running through the airport, my little carry on bag flying behind me as I rushed for Gate 43. Everyone was now moving out of my way which was good but I was still so far away. My feet were flying as I continued to run and slide through the airport.
Finally, I reached Gate 43 and the flight attendant looked over at what I could only imagine was a frazzled raccoon since I’d had no time to fix my makeup this morning and frantically had rushed to apply it in the cab.
“Ah,” she said with a smile. “Welcome Ms Walker.”
“Thank you,” I said, with what I hoped would be a sweet smile. She scanned my ticket and ushered me through the doors and down the tunnel leading to the plane. As I was shown my seat, a round of applause erupted sarcastically throughout my section.
“Pipe down.”
A few giggles sounded from around me as I stowed my carry on above me and grabbed my book before I settled into my seat and tried to breathe through my panting. The flight attendants started their safety routine as I thought about all the good things coming my way. A weekend just to destress, not think about money and have a good time.
Veruca knew I was terrible at networking but I would try for her. Maybe, just maybe, I could find someone interested in my business enough to help me through the rough patch I seemed to be having.
The plane began to taxi around the airstrip and I felt the thrum of the engines roar to life as we got ready to take off. I hated this part. I hated the takeoff, and yet I was fine with being up thousands of feet in the air and the landing. My brain was weird, and I was well aware of that.
I looked over at the magazine my seat partner was looking at and noticed the picture of my ex-husband on the center page. I cringed.
He looked different now, with a dad bod as they called them, but also a weird goatee thing on his face. In the picture, I saw a shot of his new fiancee and her baby bump on display in the tiniest two piece outfit I’d ever seen a heavily pregnant woman wear. I mean, all kudos due to her, but the cut of the dress did not look good with a large protruding belly in the middle.
I turned my head and looked down at my book, a copy of the brochure for the Boss Babes Unite conference I was attending used as a bookmark. It honestly looked like a dream from this photo. 100 women displaying their stuff in a networking frenzy filled with guest speakers, workshops and lots of cocktails.
What more could I have asked for?
I put the brochure in the back of my book and proceeded to get lost in the words before me. It wasn’t a long flight, but I was anxious as all hell.
??
I wheeled my carry-on through the airport toward the baggage carousel. Everyone was in such a hurry to get to their next connection or to their rental car. I knew there would be a bus to take me to the boat that would then take me to the island. I was already tired from my late wake up, to my near death experience in the cab, to the run through the airport in Sydney to now being through the rockiest turbulence I’d ever experienced. I was ready for bed.
My bag finally made its way through the carousel, next to luxury hard luggage bags. I felt every bit as an imposter to be here amongst so many with money as I ever did. I lugged my bag off the carousel and turned around to see a man holding my name up on a white piece of board.
“Hi,” I said to him. He looked down at me from his height of 7 feet and he smiled.
“Mrs Walker?”
“It’s Mattie, please.”
“This way, Mattie.”
The bus was already full of four others but they were obviously all friends and stuck together like glue. They offered me genuine smiles as I hobbled past them and sat in the back. Judging by their travel outfits, they came from money.
The 7 foot man jumped in the front. “That’s all of us, let’s go!”
The girls in front giggled and squealed as he tore off through the streets and toward the marina. I watched as the scenery passed me by, my nerves almost ready to fry. I hated doing things alone, and wished like anything to have Veruca here to support me.
