Uninvolved (39 page)

Days passed
,
and Becka was finishing her packing. Dave was taking her to the airport the next day. It had been three weeks since she had seen
Nate
. In the beginning
,
Becka had been sure that with the passage of time it would get easier. It hadn’t
.
Becka missed
Nate
as much as ever. It took her deleting his contact information (again) to stop her from texting him that she had changed her mind.

Becka was at the
m
all to pick up some last minute Christmas presents. Her mother was impossible to shop for so Becka was just getting her a gift
card to Cold Water Creek. She was heading to Starbucks to get a caramel frappuccino when she heard
,

"Becka, right?"

Becka turned to the source of the voice. It was Ian. She wasn’t sure what to do so she just gave him a half wave.

He walked over to her and said
,
"Can we talk?"

"Ian, I don’t think that’s a good idea."

"So are you with
Nate
?"

"Um, that's really none of your business."

"You're right
.
I'm sorry
.
I'll go. It was nice seeing you."

Becka walked slowly to Starbucks
,
trying to figure out what that was about. She hesitated before going in, changing her mind a
bout getting a drink. The random
run
-
in with Ian
caught her off guard with thoughts of
Nate
. Becka did her best to hold herself together as she rushed through the shopping center and out to her car. She was thankful it was a sunny day and that her sunglasses hid her tear brimming eyes from holiday shoppers. Once in her car
,
Becka put her head in her hands and let the tears come. After calming down
,
she drove home. At least she had run into Ian after she already had her mom's gift card. Otherwise
,
her mom may have been giftless
on
Christmas morning because
,
short of getting her something at the airport
,
Becka was not going back to the mall anytime soon.

The last week before her trip
,
Becka felt oddly calm. She would still from time to time wonder what
Nate
was up to and
hope that he might be thinking
about her as well. Otherwise
,
in
her attempts to not leave too much work behind for he
r team
,
Becka had her hands full
. Dave was going to be staying in Phoenix
,
and Becka was having the hardest time finding the perfect gift for him. Becka eventually settle
d
on a swanky monthly beer subscription. The first case came with the order confirmation
,
so Becka had something to wrap and leave for him
k
nowing them they would probably exchange and open gifts before he took her to the airport.

Becka took some Advil P
M
before she went to bed. She was never a great traveler and tended to stay up the night before a flight worrying about it.
She had this overwhelming feeling like she was forgetting something. Like she would get home and then realize she
hadn’t
pack
ed
any underwear, so then she'd open her suitcase to double check that
,
yes, she did remember to pack whatever she thought she forgot. With an Advil PM
,
she would feel too tired to stress.
This way she would at least have a good night sleep.

That morning
,
Becka and Dave exchanged Christmas presents. Dave was notorious for gag gifts but surprised her with a bottle of her favorite perfume. Becka wondered if he was being extra nice because of the whole
Nate
deal. Becka pushed that thought out of her mind as she watched Dave open her gift. Once Dave realized it was a monthly gift that kept giving
,
he was thrilled. When he had
thought
it was just one case of beer
,
he had given Becka a look like
“
really
?
”

Her flight was at
ten
am so Dave dropped her off at
eight-thirty
. This way
,
she had plenty of time to get checked in and through security. Her phone went off just as it was her turn to check her b
aggage. She ignored it.
Once she was past security and after she had bought a
caramel
Frappuccino,
she settled down at her gate to wait for boarding.

Pulling out her phone
,
Becka checked her message. It was
Nate
. He said he missed her and wanted to see her and that he was an idiot. Becka sat there openmouthed at her gate in Sky
H
arbor Airport. She hurried to call him back.

"
Nate
?"

"Becka?"

"Um
,
hey, I got your message."

"I feel like such an idiot
.
Are
you busy? Can I come over?"

"
Um,
I'm actually at the airport. I'm going back home."

"Are you moving?."

"
Um, n
o, no
.
Just
for Christmas."

"You scared me there for a second."

"Sorry
.
I just
—
are we really talking or am I hallucinating?"

"We are really talking
,
Becka
.
"
Nate
laughed.

"Whew
.
Hey
are
you
laughing?"

"I'm sorry
.
It
's just hysterical to me that you are sitting in an airport right now. When are you coming back?"

"The 30th."

"Can I pick you up?"

"Huh?"

"When your flight lands."

"I don't know
.
Has
anything changed?"

"Shit
.
Sorry.
I probably should have started with that. I'm not sure how it will work
,
but I miss you and
I want to see you.

"Want to see me and then bail first thing in the morning want to see me?"

"Becka, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Are you sure?"

"I am
.
So
can I pick you up?"

"
From the airport?
Uh, sure. That'd be great."

Becka was almost shaking in her chair. Was this happening? Was this really happening? And why the hell did it have to happen today when she was leaving? Becka gave him her return flight inform
ation and mentally reminded her
self to text Dave that she no longer need
ed
a ride
.
Or
a date
for
New Year
’
s
,
it would seem. She talked to
Nate
until her flight started boarding. At first
,
it was a bit awkw
ard
.
They
had never really talked on the phone for long before
.

Becka promised to call him once she landed. She had a layover in Las Vegas. Once Becka was settled in her
seat,
she could not help but grin. She actually felt a bit silly, considering
she was cramped between strangers. Before the stewardesses announced they had to turn off all electronics
,
Becka texted Dave
,
Crystal
,
and Lucy about
Nate
. Then she had to turn her phone off. Becka
p
opped a
piece
of gum into her mouth,
sat back
,
and tried to settle down for her flight.

Becka was restless
.
She
had her e
R
eader
,
but until they reached ten thousand feet
,
she wasn’t allowed to turn it on. She killed time flipping through a SkyMall magazine. Some of the stuff they sold was ridiculous
,
others genius. Becka thought about taking the catalog with her
when she landed
but figured she did not really need
an inflatable pillow for long flights.

Once they announced they could turn on electronics
,
Becka flipped on her e
R
eader. She was just too excited to actually read. Becka tried to
make conversation with the woma
n sitting next to her
,
but the lady was
not
very personable. The flight was very short
.
By
the time they had finished their absurdly small package of pretzels
,
they were making their descent. Becka turned her e
R
eader off and looked out the window
,
trying to get a view of the Vegas strip. Turns out
,
she was sitting on the wrong side of the plane for a good view.
Maybe she would be luckier on her next flight.

Becka had a short layover. After hitting the ladies
’
room
(
because Becka despised airplane bathrooms
)
Becka went straight to her gate. Snagging a seat by the cha
rging tower
,
Becka plugged her phone
in and called
Nate
.

"Hey
,
you."

"Hey
,
kid."

"Seriously, why do you call me that
?"

"You just seem young."

"Are you calling me immature? Seriously
,
how old are you?"

"No, I am not calling you immature
.
It’s
good. How old do you think I am?"

"25 or 26."

"Close
.
I'm 27."

"Old man
.
Geez,
no wonder you think I'm a kid."

"I'll show you
what
this old man can do."

Becka suddenly felt hot all over. God, why couldn’t he have called her yesterday? They talked until her next flight boarded. Becka was absolutely giddy.
Nate wanted to be with her. It was hard to think about anything else but, o
nce she was in her seat
,
she started getting really excited about seeing Lilly. Becka started chewing another piece of gum. The altitude change during takeoff and landing always messed with her ears. Her flight was alright otherwise. It was long enough that she had an actual meal and an in
-
flig
ht movie. The movie she had seen
before
,
but
she found
it was still good.

Chapter 20

Becka was flying into Dulles Airport
,
and her parent’s house was in Mount Vernon. Other than sitting next to a guy who did not chew with his mouth shut
,
Becka had an easy flight. When the plane landed
,
she tried to be patient as she waited for the people sitting in the rows in front of her to file out. Pulling her carryon behind her
,
Becka restrained herself from running through the airport. She was just so excited to see Lilly. Once past security
,
she saw a giant handmade sign with her name and a
“W
elcome home
,
Arizona baby
”
message on it.

“Lilly!”

“Becka!”

They tried not to block the flow of airport traffic as they laughed and hugged, Lilly remarking on how long Becka’s hair was getting, Becka asking where all of Lilly’s hair went. She had not even told her she was getting it cut. Now it was a sleek angled bob that ended at her chin. Lilly shook her hair telling Becka how much easier it was with Mason to just wash it and go.