A Symptom of Love (GERI Labs #1)

3. Airports

3

Airports

The Day Of

T he flight lands in Madrid. Still deep into her latest data analysis, Eleanor does note that despite the brilliantly smooth landing, there is no clapping, no singing.

Does the “good to be home” kind of cheering after touchdown not happen in other countries? Guess not… She hasn’t really noticed that before.

The flight attendant blurts something in Spanish over the speaker. Eleanor can’t quite make anything out, and waits for the English translation to follow, but it doesn’t. There’s background chatter she can’t understand, but people seem annoyed.

“What’s wrong?” Eleanor turns to the family sitting behind her.

“Storm,” the mom answers in a Spanish accent. “Many flights are delayed.”

Great. Or actually maybe not so bad, she can find a place with WiFi and an outlet to charge her laptop and go on with her work, all she’s ever needed.

As people start rising from their seats, Eleanor shoves her laptop into her backpack, throws it over her shoulder and heads toward the long corridor that leads from the plane to the airport.

Just a slight delay, she can make the most out of it.

“Arrived in Madrid,” she texts her mom, who will surely spread the word through the family vine immediately. Her mom sends back hearts and kisses emojis and a photo of her dad snoring on his couch with the TV remote in his hand. Business as usual.

Eleanor breezes through the busy airport. She passes by some shops and fast-food restaurants. Her strides are wide and urgent, trying to get to her gate sooner than later—‘ Any time not used for work is time wasted,’ the infamous quote from grad school. Gillie always says that this is the stupidest quote he’s ever heard and that the correct one starts with ‘Any time not used for sleep…’ Eleanor isn’t sure if either of those are common quotes, but the thought brings a smile to her face as she passes by the flashing-red arrival and departure display boards.

People start gathering next to the screens, fussing and blocking the passageway, which makes her turn her head to look. The red writing is in Spanish but she’s pretty sure it means ‘delayed,’ and from the flight numbers and destinations, there’s no doubt that her flight to Washington D.C. is no exception. But that’s a technical detail she’s already assumed, so nothing new here. Eleanor shrugs and completes her journey to where her boarding pass says her gate should be.

She’s relieved to see an empty row of seats next to a charging station that is somewhat secluded from the main seating area. Electricity, WiFi, and peace of mind to do her work, what else can a girl ask for? She takes a seat, pulls out her laptop and lets her brain trail back to work. Pleased that she was able to find that nice spot, the rest of the world can definitely wait.

Eleanor’s not sure how long it’s been. But when her laptop signals she’s almost out of battery—of course she forgot to plug it into the charger, despite sitting right next to it—she lifts her eyes to realize it’s already dark outside. It wasn’t very sunny earlier with the storm outside and all, but now it looks as if nighttime has already taken over a while ago. She glances at her phone, which confirms she’s not wrong. Has it been so long? Time does seem to fly when she’s focused on her favorite hobby: work. Or rather: science. Or actually: both.

Eleanor’s stomach is growling. She completely forgot about that, or maybe she’s just assumed she’d eat on her next flight, which would have been a few hours ago.

She gets up, laptop still in hand, and walks to the flight info display boards, happy to see the confirmation that her flight hasn’t left yet but will soon be boarding.

Good!

And that it was delayed.

Not a surprise and only a minor inconvenience as long as she has her laptop with her, and some WiFi. It doesn’t even have to be high speed.

But the terminal and gate numbers that appear next to her flight are different.

Oh shit… She’s been sitting at the wrong terminal this entire time?!

Eleanor packs her stuff frantically and runs to the closest area map to figure out her way to the correct terminal and gate. She plans her route quickly, throws her backpack straps over her shoulders and sprints. She makes it to her gate out of breath, panting. A long line of people already lined up to board the plane. She stops by the screen to double check the destination and flight number. Can’t make the same mistake twice, at least not on the same day. Relieved to see she’s made it to the right place, and at the right time, she sighs.

Well, barely, but that still counts.

It was a slight scare, but looking on the bright side—if her flight had to be delayed, at least she was able to find a nice quiet secluded area to do her work and even got to squeeze in some unplanned exercise.

The lady at the gate makes an announcement through the speakers and while awaiting the English translation, judging by the general disappointment in the crowd and the fact that the long line of people is starting to spread around, Eleanor gets a sense that this is not good news. Then the English message follows, announcing that the flight will be boarding—eventually—but not now. When? That’s a mystery.

Oh well. Her eyes scan the area for a decent place to hook up this laptop of hers so she can go back to data crunching. Her battery is just about to die, so Eleanor must act fast. She spots the perfect place—which happens to also be the last empty seat—and makes a run for it.

Which inevitably lands her in this handsome man’s lap.