Please fasten your seat belts and turn off all electronic devices as we will be landing shortly.
I stared out of the window, as the pilot buzzed off of the intercom. The view of the sun setting on the California skyline from 39,000 feet in the air was stunning. The clouds were lit up a mixture of vivid oranges and blues, it was almost like a painting. Refusing to take my eyes off of the sunset I felt around for the buckle of my seat belt. I managed to fasten it, all with out looking as the plane had begun its bumpy downward coast.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have began our descent into the John Wayne Airport, The current local time is 6:47 pm, and the temperature is a cool 69 degrees. Thank you for flying with Delta Airlines.
The pilots final announcement reminded me of where I was going, and who I would be seeing in only a few short hours. A nervous yet excited shiver went down my spine as the flight attendants began instructing passengers to get all their bags and to move their seats to the up right position. The woman sitting next to me was fast asleep and had almost certainly missed out on the instructions. I gently nudged her awake and let her know that we were about to land in a few. She thanked me groggily, rubbing her eyes as she too had to blindly search for her seat belt. It wasn't long before the plane had touched down and all the passengers were making their way towards the terminals.
I followed the flood of people to the baggage claim and grabbed my suitcases. I had packed enough to last for the week even though I wasn't really sure how long I would be staying. I had previously called Uber and scheduled for the driver to pick me up at 7:00. It was 7:10 by the time I made it to the entrance where they were supposed to meet me, so I had my fingers crossed hoping they hadn't gotten impatient and left. I took a short sigh of relief when I checked my phone and saw they were still parked in the parking deck. I walked outside, in the distance i could the roaring engines other planes taking off and coming in. Near the end of the parking deck, I saw an older man standing outside his car with an restless look on his face. I walked over to him and as I got closer I spotted the trademark Uber license plate on the bumper of his grey Honda Civic.
"Hi, I'm assuming you're my Uber driver since you're the only one in this parking deck with the plate. I'm sorry I took so long to find you, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long", I said setting my luggage down near the trunk of his car.
"It's fine, I didn't have any plans for the rest of today so I'm in no rush. Here let me get your bags", he popped open the trunk of his car and kindly took my bags and put them in. I thanked him and got in the car. I sat in the backseat and put my seat belt on as the driver turned on his GPS. The automated voice read the preset address out loud and I felt that anxious feeling that I felt on the plane again. He backed out of the parking space and drove toward the exit of the parking deck.
***
By now the sun was down and the street lights had just begun to flicker on. I sat silently in the car staring out of the window, my head resting on my hand as we rode along the highway. The radio was off and the driver didn't try to make any small talk, combining that with the smoothness of the ride had I was easily lulled to sleep for who knows how long. My eyes fluttered open to the faint glowing lights of the passing cities in the distance, though that wasn't where I was headed to just yet. I peaked my head between the seats to look at the drivers GPS. "20 more minutes", I sighed under my breath as I watched the highlighted path on the GPS slowly recede. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes only to have them pop back open at the sound of the driver talking.
"So what are you doing out in So Cal ," he suddenly asked.
It took me a second to realize he was talking to me before I answered, those were the first words he's said in over an hour.
"I'm coming to visit a friend. I'd been saving up for a long ass time to come see him."
"A friend," he hummed, "he must be special if you saved your money all this time just to come see him. Are you sure he's not a boyfriend?"
We came up to a traffic signal, and I could feel my cheeks beginning to glow as red as the stop light as he looked back at me waiting for a response. "I'm sure, we're just good friends", I smirked into my palm as I averted my eyes to the window again.
"Well, you just may be an exception, but I know most friends don't make other friends smile like that when someone brings them up", he chuckled, pressing the gas when the light turned green.
I laughed lightly, partly to my self and partly to his comment. Brushing it off as we continued down the road.
