Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Bryant and I in NYC during Thanksgiving

Last Thanksgiving, Bryant and I were flying to New York to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I transform into an organized, anal woman when it comes to flying (those of you who think I am always anal, keep your thoughts to yourself). I wanted to print off the tickets and check the boarding times twelve times before we actually got to the airport, but since I was at a conference, I could do nothing and had to trust that Bryant had things under control. The problem is, Bryant, who is usually INCREDIBLY OCD, decided to take a little break and just fly by the seat of his pants, quite literally. So, when he came to pick me up from the conference, we didn’t have tickets and we hadn’t checked the boarding times in the last couple of hours. I was a nervous wreck.

We boarded our flight in Orlando and landed in Washington D.C. to switch flights. If you have never flown into or out of D.C., don’t. The airport is a mad house. As we were walking off our plan, I was thinking about the fact that since we arrived later than scheduled, we should probably get to our gate as fast as possible to be sure our next flight was not boarding already. I knew I would not be able to relax until I was absolutely certain I had the time to relax. What was Bryant thinking about? Pizza and coffee (again, I need to put a word in for him: he is usually on the ball…I guess this was a simple aberration). He convinced me that we had time to at least make a quick stop by Starbucks, and hey, it was on the way to the gate. No problem. I obliged, unwillingly…anxious the entire time. In fact, when I look back, I see myself standing outside of Starbucks, phone in hand, tapping my foot…while Bryant is calmly waiting in line to pay for our two cups of coffee.

We finally started to head to our gate. Once we got there, I was relieved to see that we were incredibly early since I did not hear any calls for Albany and did not see the flight times posted on the boards. I figured we actually had some time to spare. We set down our luggage and sipped our coffees leisurely. However, as I was standing there, I realized something peculiar. The two flight attendants that were manning our gate were not just announcing one flight at a time. In fact, they were boarding five flights at once…naming a location one after the other. I began to focus, making sure I didn’t miss anything. Philadelphia. Nope. New York City. Natta. Newark. We’re good. Plattsburgh. Still fine. And last call to Albany. PANIC!!! When I heard that announcement, I immediately switched into survival mode. I grabbed my purse, and only my purse, and ran towards the gate. I conveniently forgot that Bryant and all of our luggage were left in my dust (please also remember he has a cup of coffee in his hand). I threw the tickets at the gate agents and went flying down the hallways yelling, “Where’s the flight to Albany? Where’s the flight?” Dazed flight attendants pointed me in the right direction, wondering if I had forgotten to take my medication. I ran out onto the tarmac, still unsure as to where Bryant and our luggage was, and be-lined it toward the airplane. As I stumbled inside the aircraft, I turned behind me to see Bryant struggling with suitcases in either hand, trying to maneuver up the plane’s staircase that was really designed for just a person, not a person trying to juggle a cup of coffee and two pieces of luggage. Did I help him? No! Why? Well, hindsight is 20/20 and I guess at the time I thought making sure I was on the plane was the priority. One of us had to get on the plane to make sure it did not leave without us. My reasoning made sense at the time.

I walked down the aisle to find our seats…in the very back. At this point, Bryant is exhausted. He has managed to carry all of our luggage onto the plane and has somehow figured out where to put them in the overhead compartments. He finally sits down next to me, buckles his seatbelt, takes a sip of coffee and as he sighs, turns and asks me, “What did you shout on this plane?”

“What do you mean?” I asked embarrassed. He was too far behind me to hear anything I said when we were boarding…how did he know I said anything at all?

“Nicole, I know you shouted something…I can just tell by the apologetic looks on people’s faces as they see me walk down the aisle. What did you do?”

“Well, I simply walked onto the plane and screamed, ‘Is this the flight to Albany?’”

His simple reply was, “Thought so.” And a few minutes later, we were in the air to Albany.