page5 (1/2)

Tampa, here I come…

Tampa, FL, September 8th, Tuesday

Ryan

The wheels touch down on the runway and the plane jolts a little from the movement, but other than some minor shimmies and shakes inside the cabin, the pilot pulls off a pretty s

Christine, the twentyso next to ht indicates she should and starts connecting her phone back to cellular data “What a flight, huh?” she asks, her brown eyeschestnut hair over her shoulder, and continues to choy that makes me wonder if her jaw is sore

“Yep,” I answer, trying to stay out of the aard small-talk trap I’ve worked so hard to avoid She pulled ht took off from JFK, but I knew by the time heels up, I had to put a stop to it

I’in hen it’s silent, I get a lot more work done—and Christine’s version involves a little too h She was all up in my personal space with her flirtatious advances, and well, she’s not exactly my type My version of enjoyable conversation doesn’t revolve around being shown dance videos on an app called “TikTok” Her dance videos, by the way

I avert ets I exist, and wait patiently in my seat until the plane comes to a stop, my seat belt still buckled and my phone still in airplane mode

The FAA has those rules in place for a reason I understand it, and I appreciate it My whole career as a VP of a ement, so the only risks I ever take are entirely calculated, and are ones I’m certain will end in positive scenarios

Once the seat belt light goes out and everyone begins to stand to disembark the plane, I unbuckle my seat belt, adjust my tie and suit jacket, take et to my feet when it’s my row’s turn to exit

Carry-on pulled from the overhead bin, I head down the small row and off the plane

The instant I’lance over my shoulder to see that I’ve left Christine and her TikTok videos in the dust

Thank goodness

Down the escalator and another two flights of stairs, I reach claim number four, but before I spot my black leather duffel on the carousel, ray suit jacket

Inco Call Dad

I’m tempted not to answer—very tempted, actually—but I do anyway There’s a chance he needs iven the circumstances of my visit in the first place, and I don’t want to leave hi

“Hey, Dad”

“Where are you?”

“Baggage claim”

“Baggage claim where?”

“Tampa”