Ace of Hearts

3

"I don't want to go back so soon." Jade whines from beside me as we drag ourselves throughout the spacious Denver airport. "Do you think my parents would freak out if we came back a couple days late?"

I chuckle at the thought of Brenda and James's reactions to the scenario. "You're parents, no. Mine, would annihilate any trace of my existence off the face of the earth. Plus, I have some things I need to do." I tap my plane ticket against my thigh mindlessly weighing the pros and cons of the possibility.

I barely notice the sad looks Jade keeps casting my way and the flex of her jaw as she prepares to speak. "You're really serious about it aren't you?"

"Of course, I am. I just need to figure out how and when to do it." There's a long pause between our next exchange as we end up caught up in our own thoughts. "I'm going to go check our flight on the board. Grab us some seats by the outlet?"

Jade nods silently as we split paths, but we both stop in our tracks when we hear our flight number being called through the speakers followed by a way-too-perky voice announcing, "Flight 317 has been cancelled due to hazardous weather affecting the flight path. We apologize for any inconvenience, and—" I tune out the woman's voice as I set my bags down by a set of chairs and proceed to shove my way to the front of the desk's forming line.

I spent nearly an hour being stared down by a woman with foundation that made her skin look orange. "Look, I don't need to get out on the next flight. I would honestly be perfectly content with a voucher and book another departure when the weather clears up."

"Let me see what I can do for you, miss." That's all she would say to me before typing something on her computer, making a snarky comment, and beginning the cycle all over again. "Alright, miss, here is your voucher. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"No, not today." I tell her as I grab the vouchers and leave to find Jade laughing at my misery. "It's not funny. I think, I'm going to get a bruise from that old lady's purse stabbing my back."

"Come on, Ace. I'll buy you a milkshake as a prize for your knockout." She chuckles and slings an arm over my shoulder.

"It better be the biggest milkshake ever." I jokingly grumble.

Turns out, I ended up with a whole lot more than just a milkshake.

Jade and I sit talking and laughing at the counter of a small diner, but in our usual fashion, it doesn't last for very long before we turn serious. "So where are you going to start your search for them?" The reference to my birth parents escapes her lips in a whisper. "I mean, couldn't they have moved since you were born?"

"They probably have, but my best chance of finding a trace of them is in New Orleans. I was born there, lived there for six years before we moved. It's home. Even if I don't find them there, at least I can see home again."

"I guess you have a point. I just wish you didn't have to be alone through all of this." She avoids looking at me as she spins her straw around in her drink. "Maybe you could—"

Her words are cut short by a bunch of rowdy guys our age entering the diner, and in a split second, our peace is shattered by them shouting over one another. "Well, I guess it's nice to know that some things are a constant no matter where we go." I chuckle bitterly as I focus on my nearly empty drink. "I'm going to pick some music before the jock-strapped baboons take over the juke box."

"Just be sure to play at least one song I'll know." Jade instructs me as I walk away. Although we both know my music taste is far too old school and indie to ever truly meet that request, I play along with the concept of it.

The chatter of the jocks continues on like the bass line of a bad pop song, and it fills the air until I think that I might suffocate from the overwhelming amount of sheer noise. It's one of the many moments I feel my mind cluttering with a thousand jumbled thoughts. My coins click through the old school juke box, which gives me something to focus on—to ground myself.