"I'm tired," Diana moans, leaning against a pillar in the airport.
"You basically woke up three hours ago, D," I sigh.
"That was from a nap. I woke up at seven, or eight... it might have been nine. But we were cleaning up the Airbnb and everything, after that I took a nap. The nap was like an hour-long, so yeah, I'm tired."
"Maybe you need to be active. You could go help my dad at the check-in counter," I say, nodding to where my dad is with Lucas.
"And leave you here all by yourself?" She says with fake concern. "No way. I'll just... stop complaining."
"Ah! Ow!" I arch my back, my lower abdomen suddenly hurting.
"What? What was that? Is it your bra? Is- what's going on?" Diana says, grabbing my arm.
"My bra?" I repeat, face scrunched in confusion.
"Yeah, I mean- there was this girl in my class, she had big boobs. She used to do that in class a lot, saying her bra was uncomfortable," she nods earnestly. "And your boobs... um."
"No, Diana, it's not my bra," I say, rolling my eyes.
She frowns and releases me. "Then what's wrong?"
"It was just a contraction," I tell her, taking her place at the pillar.
Her features are filled with fear all over again and her mouth drops. "Contraction? Like you're giving birth?"
"What?" I shake my head and close my eyes, trying to will away the migraine that's forming. "No, D. Contractions don't mean you're giving birth, labor comes first."
"Semantics."
"They were just false contractions. Braxtons something. It's like a warm-up before the actual thing." I open my eyes and raise an eyebrow at her.
She eyes me warily and crosses her arms, "Okay, cause now wouldn't really be a good time."
"Uh-huh, no problem. Just let me know when it'll be a good time so I can let them know," I say.
"What's your problem?" She scoffs.
"I'm pregnant," I retort.
"That doesn't mean you have to be rude," she sneers before walking away to meet my dad.
I sigh again and resist the urge to sit on the floor. My feet are still hurting from yesterday and I've already had two leg cramps today. Abdomen and back pain have joined the party, and the only desire I have is to lay down and sleep. Luckily the only luggage we had was for check-in, so I don't have to worry that someone would steal anything if I close my eyes for a second.
"Alright," my dad says when he reaches me. Diana is a little way behind him avoiding my eyes and Lucas is glued to my dad's side, blinking the sleep away. "Let's go home."
"Are Nathan and Pat not coming to say goodbye?" He asks, his eyes partly closed.
"We said goodbye to them already, little man," I say, tapping his head. "Remember? Before we left the house we had a goodbye dinner?"
"Uh-huh," he nods, probably not hearing me.
"Could we get one of those airport car stuff? We're all tired and I know you don't really have the strength to carry him right now," I suggest.
Please say yes. Please say yes.
"It's alright, I've got him," Diana says coming closer. She separates him from my dad and carries him into her arms. "Oomph, you're soon going to be too big for this bud."
She rubs his head and follows my dad as he starts walking to terminal A. I shoulder my purse and move to meet up with her, my slippers slapping on the tile. As airports go, there's a good number of people so the sound doesn't attract anyone.
"I'm sorry," I say once I'm beside her, my palms resting on my lower back to ease the tension. A typical pregnant woman walk; if people in the airport weren't sure if I was pregnant, they definitely know now.
"It's fine, Triple-A," she says, adjusting Lucas. "We're all cranky and you have more reason to be than the rest of us."
"Thanks for understanding," I smile.
We settle into a comfortable silence which continues all the way to boarding the plane. Being pregnant and having Lucas in our care gives us priority boarding, so we don't have to wait in a line or struggle with anyone to get on. The woman checking the boarding passes gives as an odd look as we pass and I have to stop myself from snapping at her.
"This is you and Diana, and this is Lucas and me," my dad says, gesturing to four business class seats.
"Pardon me?" I say, confused at his statement. "Are you telling me you bought four business class tickets?"
"Annelise, sit down," he says. He takes Lucas from Diana and puts him in the window seat, buckling his seat belt. Diana maneuvers behind me and takes the seat directly behind Lucas. "As you can see, there are only two adults and I also have travel miles. Stop talking about money. I understand that you've had to be a safe spender for the past few years but that doesn't mean you have to count every penny."
I scoff at him and put my hands on my hips. "Look, dad-"
"Annelise, I'm not going to repeat myself."
He puts our IDs and boarding passes in the novel he's carrying and drops into his seat, leaving me aghast. My face heats up and I sit, completely embarrassed at being scolded.
Well, what does he want me to think? I don't have a job. Nathan doesn't have a job. When he comes to Salsburg we're probably all going to stay at dad's place. Doesn't he see a problem with that? His future son-in-law living in his house? His daughter raising her- ugh!
I feel irritation bubbling up in me but I push it down and put my seatbelt on, fastening it tight under my belly. My jaw ticks in time with my heartbeat and I find my nostrils flaring as well. I pull out my phone and plug my earphones in, opening the music app.
"Please tell Nathan and Pat that we've boarded," I say to Diana before putting my earphones in my ear and pressing shuffle.
I pretend to listen when the air hostess is giving the airplane safety performance; you've seen it once, you've seen it a thousand times, right? The instructions are given to stay seated, buckle up seatbelts, and keep seats upright, and the plane begins down the runway. Diana grabs my arm as it speeds up then takes off, but quickly releases me. I sigh and remove my earphones, shifting my body slightly to face her.
"Hey, once we reach cruising altitude, you're going to feel better," I say, taking her hand in mine. "Do you have gum? It helps with the ears popping."
She shakes her head no. "It's with your dad."
"Right, that's true," I say, trying not to grimace.
"Can I- could I actually just listen to music with you?" She asks, her tone softer than normal.
"Uh..." The space between us is larger than between economy seats and I don't think the wire would be long enough for both of us. "Do you have the wireless earphones my dad got you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, we can use that." I hand her my phone and close my eyes, reclining my chair, the fasten seatbelt sign haven gone off.
"Ma'am, do you need anything?" Someone lightly taps my arm, and I open my eyes to find a young man crouching above me, his smile showcasing his deep dimples. "Do you need anything?" He repeats.
"Um, could I get some water actually? Like the whole bottle with a couple of cups?" I'm still a bit stuffed from the meal at home but dehydration isn't something you'd want to play with, especially when pregnant.
"Actually, could you bring just two cups of water, minus the bottle?" Diana says, blinking and smiling at him.
"What...?" I say, raising my chair a little and narrowing my eyes at her.
"I don't want to bottle to like... spill or something, you know?"
"No, I don't know."
"Like, if you need more, you can just call him for more," she explains, her smile unwavering. She adjusts her hair from side to side and it finally clicks.
"Oh, right." I turn back to the flight attendant and offer him a smile of my own. "Okay, Alex," I say, reading his nametag. "Just two cups of water and some almonds, please."
He nods and scurries off toward the front of the plane, and Diana grabs me. "Annelise, you have to help me."
"Diana, are we ever going to even see him again?" I laugh, prying her fingers off me.
"What if he goes to Salsburg East High?" She says, her eyes wide.
"I think you have to be at least twenty-one to be a flight attendant."
"Is twenty-one too old for me? I mean I'm going to be eighteen in March, so?"
I giggle and muffle my laughter with my hand. "Seriously, D?"
"Come on, don't act like you haven't seen someone and taken an instant liking to them."
Alex comes back before I can reply, balancing our drinks and snacks on a tray. I pull the tray hiding in the armrest out and he places them down.
"So uh, Alex, you look a bit young to be a flight attendant," I say, making sure my features aren't too creepy.
"Um, yeah, I mean, no," he stutters, scratching his head. "I'm just doing this as a summer job. A couple more flights and I'll be free."
"Okay," I nod, glancing at Diana who is pretending to be disinterested and using her phone. "Is it weird if I ask how old you are?"
He glances around the plane, probably not wanting to be caught chatting. "I'm twenty," he says, clearing his throat.
"Alright, that's cool. Well, I don't need anything. What about you, Diana?" I say so he catches her name.
"I'm fine, thank you."
Thank you? I laugh in my mind.
"Okay, so, if we need anything we'll holla at you."
"'Holla at you'?" Diana scoffs once he's gone.
"Pfft. If you want to show your hand at flirting, we can just switch seats and you'll have the floor," I laugh, rolling my eyes. "We have five hours on this flight, by the end of it, I hope you'd have made some progress."
"I'm not switching seats with you," she tells me, raising a brow.
"You have to though... I'm pregnant," I smile.
She squeezes her face in confusion. "That doesn't have anything to do with anything."
"Do you really want to argue it out, though?"
"You're so annoying," she groans.
"Are you both going to keep bantering the rest of the flight?" My dad asks through the space between him and Lucas' chair. "I'm trying to read."
I try not to roll my eyes so Diana doesn't get the wrong idea and tug at her arm. "Come on, let's switch. This is an opportunity to talk to strangers," I say, reducing my volume.
"I thought the saying was don't talk to strangers," she says sarcastically.
"Well, you're starting at a new school so it's a nice skill to have," I smile dramatically. "I'm going to the bathroom and when I'm back I'm taking your seat."
"Whatever," she mutters as I unbuckle my seatbelt and stand.
~~~
Diana has been for calling Alex's attention every now and then for the past three hours, and each time he brings what she requested, they exchange a piece of information about themselves. Yes, he lives in Salsburg. No, he goes to the community college over in Richmond. His uncle helped him get the job. With every exchange, I wonder what my dad thinks about it.
"Be careful, young man, she's not yet legal," is something he might have said had it been me, but he doesn't really have the right to say it concerning her.
"Do you think I should ask for his number? I mean, Richmond isn't that far, right?" She whispers to me.
I had long since abandoned the reclined position, remembering that I'm not meant to lay on my back, so my ear is fairly close with her leaning over.
"Couple of things, D," I say kindly. "He could go to jail. You just met him, and I think you should concentrate on school."
"We're not going to have sex, I just want to get to know him. Plus you and Nathan got engaged after six months." She sighs and bangs her head on the headrest. "The high school counselor spoke to your dad when we went to request a transfer and stuff, I'm going to concentrate on school, don't worry."
I bite the inside of my cheek, understanding how she's feeling. "Okay, I have an idea," I whisper back to her. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and when he's bringing my dad his drink, I can offer him up your number. That way, you'll know whether or not he's actually interested and you can save space."
She claps silently and nods. "Omg, Triple-A, you're the best."
"I thought I was annoying," I say playfully, flicking her nose.
"It's a spectrum, okay?" She laughs, removing her seatbelt. "Thanks! I promise I won't be distracted in school... if it works out."
I smile at her as she scurries away, popping some almonds in my mouth.
"Annelise, what are you doing?" My dad's voice says.
"Eating," I reply monotonously, my mouth filled with almonds.
He turns around and fixes me with a stare, his bushy eyebrows drawn together, and I groan.
"Papa, what's wrong with me trying to help her learn a lesson? She trusts me, so if anything happens she would tell me. And nothing is going to happen, okay?" I say. "You raised me right, you'll do a good job with her and Lucas as well."
"Uh, sir, your juice," Alex says, pulling my dad's attention away from me.
"Thank you," he grumbles, knowing I'm going through with my plan.
"Hey, Alex, can I ask you a question," I say before he can turn away. "I know you probably think I'm pretty weird right?"
"Uh... I."
"It was rhetorical, don't worry," I laugh. "But I was wondering if you wanted my sister's number? I mean, I couldn't help but overhear you guys hitting it off, and just in case any of y'all are feeling shy..."
"Oh, I- I don't... um."
"Is that a 'no', then? If it's a 'no' she won't hear about it and you can continue, whatever is going on," I say, waving my fingers. "But if it's a 'yes', she still won't know, but when we land, you could text her and I'm sure she would think it's a nice surprise."
He glances at my dad, his neck turning red. "Isn't she too young?" he asks, biting his lip nervously.
"Well, she's older than sixteen, if that's what you're wondering," I shrug innocently. "She might be coming back any minute though, so what's your decision?"
He looks at my dad again, who is now finding the bottom of his glass very interesting.
Good job, dad.
"Okay, sure."
I give him a wide smile. "Great! I'll slip it to you when you bring breakfast."
He nods and moves away. He's not watching where he's going and ends up bumping into Diana who is on her way back.
"I'm so sorry," he says, holding her arms to steady her.
"It's fine," she replies, not making an effort to step out of his grip.
I squeeze my lips together to cover my laugh and wrap myself tighter in the airplane provided blanket, thoroughly missing my pregnancy pillow.
"Diana, sit down," my dad says, not bothering to look up at them.
"Right," she clears her throat. "Sorry."
She quickly settles and Alex all but runs away, and I shake my head at the whole situation, remembering what it was to be so young.
"So?" She says, grabbing at my blanket.
I inch it away from her and laugh. "How good are you at acting?" She gives me a confused face and I shrug. "Can you keep a poker face?"
"Yeah, definitely, I've had years of practice," she says matter-of-factly. "Come on, what did he say?"
I try and see if Alex is looking this way but luckily, he's preoccupied watching another flight attendant show him something.
"He said he'll be ready to collect it when he brings breakfast," I say, wiggling my brows.
"That's not really what he said," I hear my dad say, and my smile drops.
"Papa, seriously?" I scoff, hitting the back of his chair lightly, earning a small laugh. I guess he's loosened up some.
Diana looks more confused than before as she shakes her head. "I don't understand, so what did he say?"
"That's basically what he said," I roll my eyes. "Semantics, right? The important thing is that you know he's interested in you."
She starts to smile broadly but I hold up a finger. "Poker face. I told him I wouldn't tell you, regardless of your answer. So, if you talk to him again, act the same. I am taking a nap. Okay? Goodnight."
I recline my seat but turn over to my left side, pulling the blanket over my head. In the dark and silence, near silence, the planes engines wiring away, the pain in my back and feet become more pronounced. I try and breathe through it, telling myself it's practice for labor, and send a prayer to heaven to get me through the rest of the flight.