Justin fretted as the phone rang. This was cutting things too fine; but he'd been an idiot enough already without compounding the felony. He wasn't...
'Hi, Betty here!' Betty's voice on the answering machine sounded absurdly cheerful. 'Sorry I can't come to the phone; I'm probably away somewhere having way too much fun right now. But, hey, I'll be back soon enough, so let me know who you are and why you're calling, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks. Byeee!'
The bleep startled Justin for a moment before he plunged in. 'Hi, Betty, it's Justin; I'm at the airport. I can't talk for long, they're calling my plane, but... I found the picture you gave me; thank you. I...' Deep breath. Calm, he thought. Center yourself. 'You got it wrong, Betty. I'm hardly Mister Fantastic - which is why I've been such a bloody fool treating you like the Invisible Girl. That stops. Right now.' Focus. Say what you mean. 'I really must run now; I'll try to catch you once I've got to Honolulu. I... Take care, Betty. See you soon.'
Cretin, he cursed himself as he replaced the receiver. You knew what you wanted to say and couldn't say it. Go. Get on the damn plane and pray you haven't blown things completely.
Hefting his traveling bag over his shoulder, he had to run most of the way to the departure gate, fumbling his boarding pass out of a pocket as he went, and blowing like a steam engine by the time he bounded down the ramp and into the aircraft. The flight looked almost fully booked; too flustered to even look at the boarding pass, he settled for the nearest spare seat. This did little, though, to minimize his sense of embarrassment as, the last passenger to board, he stowed his bag into the overhead locker with what felt like four hundred pairs of eyes firmly on him.
Finally, Justin let himself slump into his seat, closing his eyes as the plane began to taxi down the runway, waiting for that familiar lurching sensation as the Boeing lifted off the tarmac. No going back now. With a four-hour time difference to account for, they should touch down in Honolulu in the early evening; if I'm lucky, Justin thought, Thad will remember that, take pity on his poor jet-lagged brother and not insist on showing me the town. If I'm lucky...
'Excuse me?'
The voice poured into Justin's sleep-fogged consciousness like Jack Daniels over ice. He shook his head quickly, forcing himself awake. 'Sorry. I was miles away,' he yielded.
The woman standing in the aisle alongside him favored him with a bright, cheery smile. 'I know. I apologize for having to wake you, but I can't get back to my seat. I got out okay, but you seem to be sprawled out a bit more now.'
Justin shrugged. The drawbacks of being that bit oversized in a one-size-fits-all world. It was probably just as well that he'd been awakened, anyway; he had some reading to be done before he met with the Ararat people tomorrow, and this was a good time to take care of that. 'No need for apology, ma'am,' he said, rising from his seat to allow the woman to pass.
As he reached for the locker, he paused for a moment. The woman's face seemed familiar from somewhere. Maybe he should ask? It'd bug him to death if he didn't. But he needed to be fully on his game for tomorrow, and that meant preparation...
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