Finally Home

44. Samantha

'Don't panic, Samantha,' I thought to myself. 'They aren't going to leave you at the airport.'

I kept looking around at the faces of people waiting for passengers. I still didn't see anyone. I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted, and realized it was still on Airplane Mode. Duh.

I turned off Airplane Mode and waited. The airport had wifi, so I connected to it and waited. No texts came through.

I took a deep breath.

'It's going to be okay,' I told myself.

I didn't want to run around the airport in case Uncle B or Aunt Sarah were looking for me.

I looked around at the terminal trying to decide the best place to wait. Across from the door to the street was a bench. So I dragged my luggage there and sat down to wait. I figured I'll give them a bit of time in case traffic held them up or something. They'll be here. They promised.

I kept checking my phone and watching as travellers left the terminal building. There were all sorts of staff and other passengers wandering around. I was far from alone, but as it cleared out, I started to worry.

When I'd been waiting for about 20 minutes, I texted Uncle B.

"Hey, Uncle B. I'm here," I said.

No answer. It was delivered but he hadn't read it yet.

I texted Aunt Sarah as well.

20 more minutes passed. I texted Dad.

"Hey kiddo! How was the flight?!" He asked.

"It was fine. But Uncle Brendon hasn't come to pick me up. I'm still at the airport."

"What do you mean? Is Zack there then?"

"No one is here. I'm inside but I think I might go outside and wait there."

"Stay where you are. I'll call Brendon and find out what's happening."

"Okay," I said. Dad texted with me while he tried to call Uncle B.

"Okay, he's not answering. I'll keep trying, okay? You're okay though?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a little worried."

"I don't doubt it. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this."

I sighed.

Just then I heard my name called and looked up. Aunt Sarah was running towards me.

She grabbed me in a hug.

"I am so sorry! We thought you were at the other terminal. We just looped back here. Were you waiting long? Are you okay?"

I hugged her back.

"No. Not too long. It's okay. I'm okay," I smiled.

I texted Dad quickly.

'Aunt Sarah just came. They went to the wrong terminal," I said. "All is good."

Dad sent a thumbs up and asked me to call later.

Aunt Sarah took my duffel bag and I put my back pack on and followed her outside to their car. As soon as I got to the car, I was wrapped in a tight and warm hug.

"Welcome to California, my sweet niece! I missed you!! Have you grown more?!"

I hugged Uncle Brendon back and looked up at him.

"I dunno. Probably," I smiled.

"No wonder Josh calls you a weed," he smiled. "I'm sorry we got mixed up. You're okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I said. "I didn't panic. I just reminded myself I have ways of communicating with people. And that you wouldn't have forgotten me."

"Not a chance," he said, still hugging me. "Are you hungry? Tired? You probably need to eat something, don't you?"

"I'm a little hungry," I said.

"Perfect. Because I'm a lot hungry and I thought we could grab dinner and then head home, by which point you'll probably be tired and ready for bed. Your room is all ready."

I smiled. I knew I'd have Jess's old room. I wondered if I'd still feel her presence.

Uncle Brendon walked me to their car with his arm around my shoulder and he had taken my bag from Aunt Sarah.

He loaded my bags into the trunk of his car, and we got in.

"How's the leg?" He asked as I stowed my crutch and as he pulled out of the terminal.

"Getting better. Stronger. I don't need the crutch as much, but it helps if I have to walk a lot. My leg tires out easily."

"Are you still doing physio?"

"Yeah," I said. "Probably until February or March."

"It's going well, though?"

"I guess. I mean, I can walk on my leg without it hurting too much. But I can't walk long distances yet. We're working on strengthening it at this point."

"I can't believe how quickly you've bounced back from that accident," Aunt Sarah said.

"Well, I worked hard. I wanted to still be able to come out here."

"So glad it worked out," Uncle B said.

We drove a little longer and then Uncle Brendon pulled up to a restaurant.

"Have you ever had sushi?" He asked.

"I don't think so," I said.

"Great. You're going to love it."

I followed them out of the car and into the restaurant.

They introduced me to sushi and sashimi. It was pretty good. I enjoyed it. It was a little weird eating raw fish, but it was good.

Once we were done, Uncle Brendon looked over at me and smiled.

"You are fading fast," he said. "Let's get you home and to bed."

I didn't argue. I barely had the energy to nod.

In the car and on the drive to their house, I fell asleep. I woke up just barely when I felt someone pick me up and carry me into the house.

"Reminds me of when Jess would fall asleep when we went out," I heard Uncle Brendon whisper. 

He placed me down on a soft surface and covered me with a blanket. I felt them kiss my forehead and then I fell into a deep sleep.