Leslie's Trip II

From last time: 

“So how long are you in London?” Owen asks quickly, sensing that I don’t want to talk about my sister. I give him a look that hopeful tells him I’m grateful.

                “A week. Then I’m off to Dublin for a few days.” I tell him.

               

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                “That is quite the trip you have planned out, Ms. Parker. How long are you abroad?” Owen asked.

                “Six weeks total, but I’m moving from place to place. Like I said, I’m starting in London then moving to Dublin, then on from there.”

                “Well good, then you’ll get the full experience of Europe,” Adam tells me. Have I said that I like this kid yet? Mary pipes in. I fight the urge to roll my eyes at her. Mary always wanted to travel. She firmly believed that travel made us richer as human beings, that it would make us better people. Ever since her junior year in college when she went on a study abroad trip to Madrid, she ‘caught the travel bug’, as Adam put it. She had plans to travel all over, far more than she got to. This trip would have been her third trip overseas. Her boyfriend, Spencer, knew how important travel was to her so he surprised her with a trip to Rome for their 2^nd anniversary. I’m so glad he told me early though so we could save for it together. Spencer never would have been able to save up for the whole trip by himself on the minimal salary he made at the bookstore. I take that back, he would have been able to, just not comfortably. I retorted to Mary in my head, regardless, you guys still made it and I didn’t hear about anything but Rome for a few months after. Why do you think I made it a part of our trip? So you could see the beauty and history I was talking about!

Ignoring her last comment, I decided to learn a little more about these two kind guys. “So what aobut you guys? I asked. Just as I asked, our boarding group was called and we were expected to stand in a never-ending line.

                “Eh. We’re starting in London and going from there. We don’t really have a plan, just going where the wind takes us. Just like I like it.” Adam says, turning to his brother and raising his hand, expecting him to high five him. Owen simply rolls his eyes and reluctantly gives his little brother a high five.

                “We do have to make our way to Berlin on the 12^th because I have a job interview.” Owen reminds Adam, who’s smile falls a little at the fact that there has to be any plan at all.

                “Oh, what do you do?” I ask him, Adam steps forward with the line but comes to a stop just in front of Owen and I.

                “I’m a travel writer. I’ve been fortunate enough to write all over the U.S. about my travels. Apparently a bug magazine in Germany wanted to meet with me and see about making a travel guide to Germany.”

                “Oh wow! That’s so cool!” I grab his arm in excitement. Sparks fly. My mouth feels open and I can’t stop staring at where our skin is touching. It feels like a good, warm, electricity is passing between us. I wonder if he feels it to. Oh he did little sister, look at his face. I listen to Mary and look to Owen, he is staring at my hand and he looks shocked. How long has my hand been on his arm and I haven’t said anything? Oh my god, this is embarrassing. I yank my hand away. Owens eyes jump up to mine and I see excitement in them.

                “Thank you, I hope to do my best to win them over.” He says almost bashfully. The line continues to move forward. My residing anxiety about flying; about going on this trip sans Mary, has lessened to a manageable level-thanks to Owen and Adam.

                “What seat are you in Leslie?” Adam looks at me while messing with his cell phone and headphones, trying to get them to connect.

                “Um, I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure I’m towards the back of the plane though.”

                “What does your boarding pass say?” Adam asks.

                “It’s in my backpack. I’ll get it later.”

Adam and Owen exchange a look and Adam turns back to his technology.

                “You should probably get you boarding pass and ID out. They’ll ask for it soon.” Owen explains to me in a way that would come across condescending to anyone but him.

                “Really?”

                “Yes, they check at every point that you are who you say you are.”

Well that’s great, I think, I already got through security so why would I need it again?

                “Great,” I mumble and pull my backpack off my shoulders. Once I have it open, stuff starts falling out. I stick my arm in to try and feel around where the pass is, but no luck.

                “Here, hand me the blanket.” Owen tells me, clearly seeing my struggle and wanting to make sure that we can stay in the line. I pull the blanket out and hand it to him. Under the blanket I have my guidebooks, a very full back of toiletries, my notebook, pens and a few reading books. At the bottom of my bag, of course, I find my passport and boarding pass. I really should have carried my purse. You have your travel purse packed, trust me-this was easier. You just need to keep it organized, little sister. Thanks for that Mary.            

                “Found it!” I hold them both up in triumph. Stuffing everything back into the pack proves to be very frustrating, but I get it done and with, I might add, some grace. No swearing in front of a hot guy for this girl. I stand and smile at Owen who has a look of amusement on his face.

                “Well you certainly came prepared didn’t you? You know, on these long flights they give you a pillow and blanket.” He teases me.

                “I know, I just wanted my own.” I pull my blanket from his hands. I look down at the worn design of the pink polka dots an run my hand over the comfortable fabric. It’s actually Mary’s blanket that she carried through her travels. She swore up and down that it was a great travel tip and she would continue to do it for years. I guess I wanted to see for myself how nice it actually is.

                “I’m just saying, as a seasoned traveler, it would save you some space.” Owen smirks. I start to refold the blanket.

                “I realize that.” The line is close enough that I can now see the flight attendants scanning boarding passes.

                “Finally, we’re close. What seat are you in?” Adam turns back to me. I look down at my ticket to confirm.

                “28 E,” I tell him with a sigh, “Right in the middle.”

                “Oh man, that’s rough.” Adam looks at me sympathetically.

                “Where are you guys?”

                “30 E and F.” Adam tells me the seat numbers from memory, not needing to look at the ticket in his hand. It’s obvious these guys have traveled numerous times, Mary says to me. Yeah I know, and it’s making me feel very incompetent.

                “Well then, I guess you’ll be seeing a lot of me on this terrifying flight.” I attempt to make a joke, but Owen’s expression lets me know that he has seen the true fear in my statement. Adam chuckles.

                “It looks like that won’t be such a bad thing for one of us.” Adam then punches his older brother in the arm and turns around to give his ticket to the attendant before Owen or I can say anything. Owen’s face is bright red as he tries to collect himself.

                “Next.” The attendant calls and I look to Owen, motioning for him to go first. Adam is waiting for him through the door. Owen nods and hands his ticket to the attendant. I hear a beep and the attendant say, “Thank you have a nice flight. Next.” I can feel my anxiety rise. Why am I doing this? It’ll be amazing Les, You just need to board the plane. Mary calms me down and I take a deep breath. “Ma’am.” I take a step forward and hand him my ticket and passport. He flicks the book open to the correct page and looks at me. That look feels like it takes hours. Will they let me on the plane? Suddenly, my anxiety switches. I want on the plane now, I don’t want to be robbed of my Europe vacation. I have to get on the plane. The attendant sets my passport down and rips my ticket, handing me the stub. “Have a nice flight.” He smiles at me and I walk through the gate.

Owen and Adam are waiting for me it turns out. When they see me walking towards them, Adam starts walking further down the tunnel to the plane. Owen smiles and asks how I am doing.

                “I’m doing okay. I’m telling you, I’m not usually like this. I’m just really nervous and my sister was supposed to be with me.”

                “It’s okay, I promise, it’ll be okay.” He speaks to me with such compassion and hope that I can’t help but feel comforted.

                “Thank you.” I say softly, hoping that it sounds as sincere as I mean it.

                “Now let’s go before I lose Adam again.” Owen smiles and I giggle at that. As we walk closer to the airplane door, I can hear the engines humming and the wind blowing through the crack between the actual plane and the walking tunnel they make us use. I divert my eyes to the floor. I almost want to trick myself into not knowing I’m getting on a metal tube and flying through the sky.

                “Hey, what do you do? I never go the chance to ask.” Owen draws my attention back to him.

                “I, uh, I own my own store.” I tell him.

                “That’s pretty cool. What kind of shop is it?”

                “A flower shop. I’ve always loved flowers; their looks, their fragrances, their meanings, learning which work together and which don’t. Flowers can mean so many different things to so many different people, but they usually make someone feel special.” I look up to Owen when he doesn’t respond and see that he is just looking at me with such interest.

                “What?” I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear nervously.

                “It’s just…it’s been a while since I’ve heard someone with such passion for their work.” He tells me with a smile.