Between Two Worlds - Book 1

Chapter 2

It was Saturday morning and we were running around home when we assumed we must have been in the car already. 

While we should have been early, we were now half an hour late.Head in the clouds, mom had completely forgotten to wake me up when I had been relying on her since my alarm clock broke and my phone only worked half the time since he took a dip in the toilet bowl.

The airport was more or less two hours away, it was eleven o'clock, my plane was leaving at three o'clock and we should skip our leisurely lunch in a small cafe not far from the airport unless I wanted to miss my flight.

"You have everything you need, are you sure ?" Mom asked me for the fifteenth time while wiping her hair with the towel that was normally used to dry the dishes.

"Definitly yes," I replied, snatching the dish towel from her and handing her a clean, freshly ironed bath towel.

" You haven't forgotten the gifts you had planned to give ?"

"No, and I packed your butter cookies well. They're stuck under a pile of clothes in my suitcase."

"Good, I'll start the car, join me when you're ready. I take your suitcase."

As she grabbed my big fushia suitcase, I stopped her with a gesture, holding back a giggle.

" Mom, it would be less embarrassing if you put on pants..."

"Ah darn !" she exclaimed, slapping the palm of her hand against her forehead.

It is finally with three quarter of an hour late that we left the house.

"Hope there won't be too much traffic," my mother said, fumbling awkwardly on the built-in GPS of her new car.

 "Leave it to me." I said, inserting the airport address myself. "Anyway you know the way by heart since time."

"Yes, but it would be a shame not to use what is free." she retorted with a proud smile.

If she wasn't a punctuality pro, she was a true negotiation artist. She allegedly sold glasses to a blind man, so it was no surprise that I saw her triumphantly come back from the garage to tell me that she had managed to get a bunch of free options for her new car as well as the color metallic of his choice and a discount to top it off since my grandpa was an old customer... an old customer who had never had a price.

"Oh my God !" she cried as we drove up the highway. "I think I forgot to lock the door."

"I locked the door. I was the last one out." I reminded her.

Reassured, she finally pretended to drive without gesticulating in all directions.

" Bye darling. Take care of yourself.  And don't go out alone at night. Or alone with Maisie."

I had just checked in my suitcase and was about to go through the doors that led to security when she snagged on my arm like Velcro on a clothe.

"Mom please, I'm twenty."

"Yes, but..."

"I'll be careful, I won't talk to strangers, I'll eat five fruits and vegetables a day and yes, I'll make it clear to Ellen that these are homemade butter cookies." I cut her off sarcastically.

 "Alright, alright, I'll let you go. Have fun." 

After a final hug, I was finally able to get through the security check and get to my terminal, relieved to have arrived on time and to no longer have to put up with my mother's concerns.

I spent the flight reading Wuthering Heights. I knew the book by heart but I never tired of the tormented loves of Heathcliff and Catherine.

On landing, I remained seated while everyone groaned about having to wait for the doors to open, standing up. I waited for most of the crowd to come out and finally get up and leave. I walked quite comfortably to the conveyor belt which passed the suitcases over and over again.