Belonging - House of Goths 2

Chapter 4

One foot in front of the other. Gwen repeated the mantra in her head as she walked, dragging her suitcase behind her. It was all she could do to keep from panicking. She knew what she had to do. First, she needed to find the correct airline counter. In order for her to do this, she needed to focus on one task at a time. If she let herself think about all of it at once, she might lose her mind.

The one thing that kept her from worrying too much, was her trust in her friend. Stacy would not have led her astray. Sure enough, Gwen found the correct airline counter and took a deep breath. With quite a bit of people already ahead of her, she had time to check her documents. Even though she knew exactly where they were, in her purse, she just had to verify their location yet again. It's what she did. She blamed it on her obsessive compulsive personality.

While she waited, she tried to ignore the hustle and bustle around her. But she was also vigilant of her immediate surroundings. She took in the faces of those in front of her and those behind her. These would be the people she would share her flight with. As of yet, she saw no sign of Crispin. She was both glad and worried. She was glad because she didn't want him to see her until they were on the plane. But she was worried that perhaps he might not actually show up. That would be horrible. She would be forced to go it alone. Both scenarios were terrifying.

With time on her hands, she started to wonder. When the inevitable confrontation did happen, she didn't have a clue as to how to explain herself. She hadn't allowed herself to dwell on it, to be honest. If she had, she might never have gotten this far. What if he reacted badly? What if he wanted nothing to do with her? She would be doomed. She had no backup plan! How did this happen? She planned everything. It's how she coped, yet here she was, with no such plan!

What she should do is turn around and go home. That would be the smart thing to do. But before she could make up her mind, she found herself at the front of the line. With one foot in front of the other, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. One task at a time, one step at a time. It was the only way she would get through this. She would deal with Crispin when the time came.

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Crispin arrived at the airport with minutes to spare. His unexpected run-in with Becky had cost him precious time. Still, he couldn't have walked away before she'd been sufficiently reassured of his return. The silly little dormouse was a right mess, giant crocodile tears trailing down her cheeks, lips all aquiver.

It caused a wince in his heart at the mere memory of her distress. Yet he would be lying if he said he hadn't appreciated the sentiment. At that thought, Crispin gave his head a shake and approached the airline counter. Is was for that very reason, he had to get away.

"Sir, you got here in the nick of time," said the attractive lady ticket agent. "Ticket and passport, please."

"Yes, of course," Crispin said, handing over his documents, placing his suitcase on the scale. As he watched the attractive young woman hurry to enter his information, he didn't miss the furtive glances she cast him. Well, how opportune a situation. "Pardon me, miss, your name?"

"It's Anne, sir," she answered readily.

"Aw, what a lovely name," he practically purred. "Now, Anne, would it be too late to ask a favour?" He leant in close and flashed her his most charming panty-peeling smile. "Is it possible to be seated alone? You see, I'm a songwriter and I'm looking for a bit of solitude on the flight for... inspiration."

"A songwriter? Wow, I knew it. I could tell you were someone of note," she said, starstruck. "Sure, let me check, although this late in the game, I can't make any promises. This is a fully booked flight, Mr. Clover."