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Thanksgiving day I was packed and ready to head out to the airport. I stashed a few books I’d meant to read in the last month and didn’t, snacks, sleeping pills, and a CD player in my carry-on. It was going to be a long flight, I wasn’t looking forward to it and mostly I wasn’t looking forward to having to encounter Josh once more. The time we spent apart had helped me greatly. I knew that as soon as I saw that gorgeous face I was going to lose it and I dreaded it. Lindy had been a huge help with the house but she tended to rattle on and on about Josh and Jan. I almost couldn’t stand to hear any more. Then she confessed that she was afraid they were going to get married.
“Afraid?” I prodded. She pursed her lips and sighed.
“Yeah, I have to confess Theo, I don’t want him to marry that woman. I want grandchildren and what do you bet she won’t get pregnant for fear of ruining her career. She strikes me as being very selfish that way.” I sucked my bottom lip while I took in her concern.
“It’s the ugly reality of modeling Lindy.” I said finally. “But Josh wouldn’t disappoint you by not having a child, would he?”
“If he marries that woman he will.” Lindy was not a fan of Josh’s relationship. That probably made it stronger.
I settled myself into my seat and watched as a few of the band members straggled in. I put on my headphones, slipped a classical music CD into the player and leaned my head back. Moments passed when I felt someone flop down in the seat next to me. I tried to ignore but I swore I could feel someone staring at me. I peeked out of one eye and nearly jumped out of my skin. There was Josh, just a few inches from my face, smiling brightly. His eyes sparkled. I clutched at my chest and pulled off the headphones.
“What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?” I stammered. He snickered.
“Well it wasn’t my intent but you sure looked scared.” He turned and squirmed in his seat, trying to get comfortable. “This is going to be a long, boring flight. I hope you brought me something to do.” I clicked my tongue and glared at him.
“Tell me you brought something to do little Josh. Do you think I’m going to sit here and play patty cake with you for two days?” He grinned foolishly.
“That sounds like a lot of fun. What’s involved in this ‘patty cake’ game?” He raised one eyebrow at me. I smiled a half smile and turned my head to look out the window. At my dismissal he stood up and stuffed something into the overhead compartment and then moseyed over to talk to Zach, the pianist in the band sitting a few rows ahead of us. I watched him banter with Zach, he hadn’t changed much in the couple of months we were away. His hair was longer and a little matted tonight. He had the shadow of a beard on his almost pretty face and in his round, brown eyes, a certain sparkle. A thought suddenly hit me just like a pound of bricks – he probably had asked Jan to marry him. That was why he was so chipper and lively. He’d popped the question and she said yes. I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Not only was this going to be a long flight but it was going to be hell on earth – or in the sky as the case may be.
