Flight Risk

5 - Over the Prairies

My legs lumbered with the finesse of a zombie as we shuffled behind a family of four toward the boarding line for our last flight. My eyes were burning, and I had an unpleasant combo of a headache and dizziness. Caleb's far-off stare led me to believe he was in a similar state.

Since neither of us had paid for advance seat selection, we'd reserved ours together while in Hong Kong. Though in my semi-conscious state, I doubted I'd be an interesting seat partner. Once we arrived at our seats, Caleb loaded our bags into the overhead bin without cursing or losing his balance, to my chagrin, as I would love to have something to tease him about.

We groggily debated who would get the window seat, but I won so he would enjoy the best view for his first trip over the Rockies.

When I removed my scarf to cushion my head, he offered me his suede neck pillow instead. Initially, I refused, but he insisted the mountains would engross him, and he didn't plan on sleeping, especially with the window seat. His slow blinks didn't convince me, but my grogginess won in the end. As I tucked the pillow around my neck, I smiled and sighed, inhaling his piny scent. Hopefully, he was too sleep-deprived to notice my internal reactions were escaping like marbles rolling down a tilted floor.

The boarding continued, adding a woman in her forties in a baggy t-shirt and yoga pants to our row. She had a tired look that matched the bleakness of a flight to Winnipeg inspired. Caleb was the only one I'd spotted who had a trace of eagerness at this early hour. However, once the flight crew began the safety presentation, the guy working clearly had a shot of caffeine in his drink this morning.

When our plane made it to the runway and we waited for another jet to take off, Caleb leaned in and whispered, "Last flight."

Normally, I'd be excited, but I lacked the energy, and the idea of parting with Caleb dragged me down. Our Canadian 'home' bases were close enough that I could offer to show him around if he had a few days before he ran off to Churchill. Although he likely wanted to visit his friend, not a random person he met on his flight.

"Almost time for your big adventure," I said.

He grinned at me. "This is all part of the adventure. And it's off to an amazing start."

I chuckled despite the fluttering in my chest. "You're cheesy when you're tired."

"And you make poor decisions." He inched nearer, still looking down at me. "You should be in this seat. I've been closer to the window than you on every flight. We can stealthily switch."

I doubted we could without getting a cheerful reminder from the flight crew or dirty looks from the woman next to us, eyeing up an article about Morocco in the in-flight magazine.

"This is my regular path west. I've flown over them before."

He fixed me with one more questioning stare before conceding. "You didn't need to do this, but thank you. You are the best travel companion."

He smiled at me again, and if he didn't stop, my entire body would turn into an invisible butterfly habitat. Although, minus the jitters, that sounded cool.

Usually, I struggled to believe people when they told me things like 'I'll miss you', 'I'll never forget you,' or 'You're amazing'. It seemed like lip service when breaking off a travel fling, and I never fully invested to avoid hurting them as I had Trevor, which was impossible given that a few days or weeks on an island could never compare to years in a relationship. But Caleb had spent almost every moment of this trip with me. He couldn't have been certain in Hong Kong if I'd drive him up the wall or entertain him, but now that it was done, he told me I was the best with sincerity. I'd be lying if I didn't feel the same, and for once, I longed to say it.