I had to remove my shoes and put my purse and carry on bag in the scanning thingy, and I don't think my bare feet liked the feeling of cold tile floor. I scrunched my freezing toes and felt a shiver down my spine from the nerves.
I waited impatiently for my box of belongings on the other end of the scanner, worried that I will make people wait. I was already running a bit late, but it wasn't my fault. There was traffic on the way, and a monstrous line of people waiting to get their tickets.
Finally my stuff came rolling out on a conveyer belt, followed by the person behind me's large bag and about twenty pieces of jewelry. For heavens sakes, I feel bad for the person behind her.
I quickly tried to jam my foot into my shoe, thinking I could just fix it on the plane. After that strange feat happened, I grabbed my bags and rushed to find my gate.
For a minute I lost my parents in the mass of people, but I eventually found my dad's tall frame walking next to my mother. My brain was buzzing with adrenaline, and I hurried towards them.
"Oh. My. Gosh! You guys have to at least wait for me!" I wheezed, "I'm not in the best of shape."
"Sorry, honey. Not our problem, you'll have to work on that in Europe," my sassy mother answered. My jaw hung open at that comment and I scoffed.
"Excuse me, but I think I don't," I shot back jokingly, faking a snooty look. I heard the carrier whimper loudly, and it caught my attention, "don't worry little one, it'll be alright."
"Ok, so our gate is 8B, this is 8A. Here's 9A, there's 10A... Aha, 8B!" My father exclaimed, pointing all the way down the building, "but we better get a move on, they start boarding in ten minutes."
Together, my little group of three power-walked down to my gate with a little time to spare. I searched for a few seconds until a hand gripped my shoulders and turned me around. Naturally, I thought it was my attacker and absolutely panicked. I turned my crazed-looking face to see the one and only Brooke.
I sighed a sigh of relief and hugged my dear friend tightly. For a minute I totally forgot about the puppy in the carrier cage I was guarding. Before Brooke found me, I had placed the cage on a chair to give my arm a rest.
"Hey Brooke, I have a special surprise for you." I bent down and presented the cage to her. Brooke gasped and bent down to look inside. He had a look of awe on her face and I could tell I was right that she wasn't allergic to dogs.
"Oh, Char, he's precious! Did you name him yet?" she inquired, sticking her fingers through the bars.
"No, I was waiting for you so we could name him together. And by the way, how did you know he was a boy?"
"Char the cage is big enough that I can, in fact, see his... you know and blue collar. I know all!" She answered, hilariously, I might add. We both burst out laughing and and were interrupted by the lady at the gate calling for us to board.
I walked over to my parents and Brooke said her goodbyes to her mom, who was her only parent. Her dad died when she was eight due to lung cancer and overactive smoking. Brooke cried for weeks, and was depressed for months. But gladly I came along a couple weeks after her emotional storm and filled the hole in her heart.
Tears filled my eyes as I approached my mom and dad, finally realizing that I would be thousands of miles away from them. I already feel homesick, and I hope I don't chicken out halfway through the flight.
My tears spilled out over my cheeks as I shared wordless conversations with my parents. My mother reached out and wiped the tear from my face with her shirt sleeve, and I smiled. I pulled her into a hug and squeezed my eyes shut, not caring that I was probably staining her shirt with more tears. I felt my father join our group hug, and I felt complete.
