Departures (16 page)

Sierra and Jana took off at a jogging pace and caught the elevator down to the next level.

“I should have brought some from home,” Jana said. “They have this diet chocolate at the grocery store that’s pretty good. I didn’t think to buy any before we left, and I’m sure they won’t have any where we’re going in Montana. Thanks for coming with me, Sierra.”

From the high-pitched tone of Jana’s voice and how fast she was speaking, Sierra guessed Jana was nervous. They were doing the one thing they weren’t supposed to do—splitting up from the guys. Not that anything bad could happen in five minutes while they bought candy, but now that Sierra thought about it, it bothered her that they
had so quickly broken the rule Jana’s parents had been so firm about.

A gathering of two moms and a total of five children were at the counter inside the candy store. All of them seemed to be talking at once. Clearly, this was going to take awhile. “I think we should go back,” Sierra said. “We told your parents we would stay together the whole time.”

Jana gave Sierra a stunned look as if she’d forgotten all about her promise to her parents. All her insecurities about the mall seemed to come rushing back. “I forgot,” she said in a small voice. “Oh, you’re right. We should go back.”

The candy store forgotten, Sierra and Jana hurried to the elevator but had to wait for the door to open.

“Come on, come on,” Jana chanted nervously. “This is not good. If we miss that plane and it’s my fault, I’ll be so mad at myself.”

“We haven’t missed the plane yet,” Sierra said.

The elevator door opened, but they had to wait for a woman with a stroller to come out. Jana hit the button twice.

“The guys better be right where we left them,” Jana said.

“Don’t worry. They will be,” Sierra said.

But they weren’t.

“Oh no. This is bad,” Jana said, looking right and left. Her expression showed her panic. “Should we go outside? Or back down to the candy store? Do you think they thought we were supposed to meet at the candy store? What if they’re already outside, sitting in a cab, waiting for us?”

“I think we should wait right here,” Sierra said. “That was the plan.”

Just then Sierra spotted Gregg hurrying toward them. “Hey, come
on!” he called out. “We had to go to the information desk to find out where the taxis pull up. Tim is there now. Let’s go.”

Sierra and Jana ran after Gregg, hurrying to the designated area in the parking complex where a number of taxis were lined up waiting.

When a taxi pulled forward, they all climbed in. Gregg directed the driver to take them to the airport and checked his watch.

“Are we going to make it back in time?” Jana asked.

“I think so,” Gregg said.

Sierra couldn’t decide if it was okay to enjoy the thrill of this little adventure, or if she should be frantic like Jana. She decided to sit back and go for the ride. She couldn’t do anything to change the situation. But she was glad she had suggested to Jana that they cancel the candy store. Knowing Jana, they probably would still be in there trying to decide what to buy.

Once they arrived at the airport, they broke into a full sprint. But then they arrived at the security check and had to halt for a long line. Gregg checked his watch again. At the gate, Gregg went up to the desk and spoke for all of them since he had the tickets. Sierra noticed no people were in the waiting area, and no one seemed to be boarding the flight even though the doors were open.

Are we late? Has everyone already gotten on? Or did we miss the flight?

“I’m sorry,” the ticket agent said to Gregg after reviewing their tickets. “You were given the wrong information. These tickets were reissued by another airline agent.”

“We were told the tickets were good for this airline and for this flight,” Gregg said.

“Yes, our airline will honor the tickets, but the other airline didn’t
have our current schedule when the tickets were issued,” he said. “We no longer service Kalispell.”

“What does that mean?” Jana asked, stepping forward. “The flight already left?”

“No, our airline cancelled that route. We used to fly to Kalispell, but we don’t anymore. The change was made on the first of July, so it’s easy to see why the other airline didn’t know. The computer must not have given them the current information.” As he was talking, the agent was typing busily. “There’s a 6:15 flight with Partner Airlines.”

“You mean 6:15 in the morning?” Jana asked. “We have to stay here all night?”

The agent typed in some more. “Yes, that’s what it looks like. There was an earlier flight at 7:23 this evening, but now there’s nothing until 6:15. You can take these tickets and go directly to Partner Airlines’ ticket booth on the Blue Concourse, and they’ll honor them for you. There won’t be any additional charges, I don’t think.”

“Thanks,” Gregg said, gathering the papers.

They all turned to find the Blue Concourse, and Jana said, “I knew we should have stayed at the airport.”

“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” Gregg said. “We thought we had the right information, and we didn’t. No biggie. Get over it. We’ll have these tickets reissued, and then we’ll call Mom and Dad.”

“You can call Mom and Dad. I don’t want to be the one to tell them,” Jana said.

Gregg looked irritated. “I’ll call them. Don’t worry. It’s only a few more hours. Come on, Jana. You’re all paranoid again.”

“I am not,” Jana said.

Oh boy! Here we go again!

Tim walked in stride with Sierra and said, “None of this seems to bother you.”

Sierra shrugged. “It’s the modern world. We’re at the mercy of others all the time.” To herself she thought,
And if I’d realized that I’d spend the weekend at the mercy of Jana’s many moods, I’m not sure I would have come!

regg exchanged the tickets, called his parents, and used a bank machine to get some extra money. By then it was after 11:00.

Everyone managed to fall asleep rather quickly on the benches in the waiting area except Sierra, who couldn’t find a comfortable way to lie on the narrow bench in her tie skirt. She tried to sleep sitting up but soon gave up that idea and fished in her backpack for something to eat.

She discovered a granola bar, but eating it made her thirsty. It didn’t seem necessary to wake any of the others to tell them where she was going, so Sierra quietly left them in search of a vending machine. The huge airport was so empty in the middle of the night it seemed spooky. She found some vending machines by the rest rooms. The piped-in music, which floated from the speaker above Sierra’s head, played a song she recognized, and she began to hum along, hoping the sound of her own voice would take away the eerie feeling.

Sierra dropped her coins into the machine. Behind her she heard one of the rest room doors open. She didn’t turn to see who was coming out but pushed one of the buttons on the drink machine and listened to the loud rumble as the can fell into the metal tray.

Suddenly, as she bent to pick up her can, a pair of hands grabbed her around the waist. Responding with raw instinct, Sierra spun
around with the can held firmly in her hand. With all her might, she slugged her attacker right under the jaw with her fist and the cold can of soda. Then she screamed.

The uniformed night janitor lay on the tile floor at her feet, knocked out cold. Beside him was a yellow stand-up warning sign that said,
Caution. Wet floor. Slippery
.

It took Sierra only a moment to realize the janitor, who was a rather small man, had slipped on his own wet floor and grabbed at Sierra on his way down. He was down now, all right. Down and out.

Kneeling beside him, Sierra gently tapped the man’s cheek. “Sir? Can you hear me, sir?” She saw that his jaw was already swelling from where she had slugged him.

Looking around and trying not to panic, Sierra patted the man on the arm and said, “I’ll be right back. Just stay there. What am I saying? Of course you’re going to stay right there. I knocked you unconscious!”

She hopped up and ran back to the waiting area. “I can’t believe this!” she muttered breathlessly as she looked to her right and left for any sign of a human who could come to her assistance.

“Gregg!” she called out, dashing into their waiting area and waking all seven people who were trying to sleep in that quiet section. “Tim! Jana! Come quick, you guys! I knocked a guy out!”

They all sprang to their feet, asking a dozen questions. “You did what? What happened?”

“Just come with me, you guys!” Sierra took off running, and they followed. She entered the area where she had left the janitor on the tile floor and stopped.

“He was right there,” Sierra said, looking right and left. “Honest.”

“What happened?” Gregg asked.

“Why did you leave us without telling anyone?” Tim wanted to know.

“Sierra, what are you talking about?” Jana asked in a groggy voice.

Catching her breath, Sierra explained. “I was thirsty. I couldn’t sleep. I came here to buy something to drink, but when I had my back turned, this guy grabbed me.”

“Grabbed you?” Gregg asked, stepping closer to Sierra as if he were ready to defend her honor.

“It was the janitor,” Sierra explained. “But I didn’t know that. My back was turned like this.” She demonstrated, leaning over at the vending machine. “I was getting my drink, and I felt someone grab me, so I spun around like this.”

Gregg leaned back just in time as Sierra’s empty fist came flying in his direction.

“And I hit him in the jaw with the can in my hand. I hit him hard, and he was just lying there.” She motioned to the ground, next to the wet floor sign. “I think he slipped. That’s why he grabbed me. I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t open his eyes.”

Just then the door to the men’s rest room opened. The janitor came out on shaky legs, holding Sierra’s cold can of juice to his swollen jaw. The moment he saw Sierra, he pulled back in fear.

“Are you okay?” Sierra asked. “I’m so sorry. Do you want us to help you to the first-aid center?”

The janitor held up his hand. He was shorter than all four of them and probably weighed less than Sierra. She felt awful.

“It’s okay,” the man said calmly. “I’m sorry I startled you. I didn’t mean to—”

“I know,” Sierra interrupted him. “It’s just that I thought—”

“I know,” he interrupted her. Then he turned to Tim and Gregg and in a calmer tone said, “You don’t have to worry about this one taking care of herself.”

They all laughed nervously.

The janitor held the can of juice out for Sierra.

“Oh no. Please. Keep it. It’s the least I can do for you.”

“Okay,” the janitor said. “I think it’s about time for my break.” He shuffled past them, being careful to keep his distance from Sierra.

The four of them went the other direction, heading back to their gate. Sierra’s heart was still pounding fiercely.

Gregg came up beside her, and slipping his arm around her shoulder, he asked, “Are you okay?”

Sierra nodded.

“I know I told you back at the mall that you were going to be a knockout someday, but this isn’t exactly what I meant.”

Sierra laughed and with her laughter came a wave of relief.

Just then Jana turned around and saw Gregg with his arm around Sierra and Sierra laughing. Jana gave Sierra a stunned look. Then Jana grabbed Tim’s arm and pulled it around her shoulders, resting her head against his chest. Sierra knew the competition had begun.