Stay Together Chapter 5 by Maira Dawn

Chapter 5

(COPYRIGHT©2024 MAIRA DAWN)

Emily’s mom forced a smile as she watched her husband, though her bright blue eyes still radiated unease. She gently squeezed Emily’s hand and whispered. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie. We’ll make it.” 

Emily nodded, though her shoulders remained tense. She glanced around nervously, her dark hair swishing around her face. “I hope we do.” She paused, hesitating before saying, “But this line was so long. And we still need to go through security before we board.”

Elizabeth straightened, her expression worried despite her words. “It’s okay. Your dad’s got this. We just need to follow him.”

It seemed to Emily that her mother was trying to reassure herself just as much as her, but she had to agree. “Yeah, you’re right. He went through the papers a hundred times to make sure they were in order.”

“Dad might have the papers,” Mike grumbled. “But I just want him to hand them over so they let us on that plane.”

“We just need to be patient,” Elizabeth told them. “We’ll get there.”

As soon as the agent handed the papers back to James, he folded them and tucked them deep inside his carry-on’s front pocket. He tipped his head toward the sign that directed them toward security. “Well, we got this far. Let’s see how fast we can get to the next step.” All smiles, the family moved to the boarding area. 

The line was shorter here, and when they sailed through the security check, Emily breathed a sigh of relief. With a quick look at her phone’s clock, she assured herself they would make this plane, even if it was by the skin of their teeth.

A quick sprint and they arrived at the gate. Breathing heavily, James handed the tickets over to a young airline rep, who looked the papers over. Even Emily could tell he was out of his depth by the beads of sweat on his forehead and the darting glances for help to a more senior agent on the telephone.

The senior agent hung up the phone and whispered to the younger one. The young man looked startled and eyed the line before his gaze drifted to Emily’s father. Another agent came and whispered to the first one. He pointed to the side of the desk. “Could you and your family wait here, sir?”

“Okay,” James said, drawing out the word. He glanced at Liz, whose worried expression deepened.

“Are we getting bumped?” Emily asked, looking from one parent to the other.

“What?” Mike said. “We better not!”

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Mom assured them.

The senior ticket agent disappeared and then returned. He waved them forward, pointing to the corridor leading to the plane’s door. “This way, sir.”

Overhead, an announcement told the passengers who remained in line that the plane was full. The voice droned on, directing them to various kiosks.

Sending an apologetic glance to the other passengers as she stepped into the corridor, Emily felt her spirits lift. 

“They can’t kick us off now!” she said, eyes sparkling. “Right?”

The agent in front of her flashed a smile. “That is right.”

Mike let out a whisper. “Whoop! Whoop!”

They passed an agent standing at the plane door. “Have a pleasant flight,” she said.

Hurrying onto the plane, they took their seats as the plane’s cabin door closed. Mike laughed and grabbed the barf bag from the pocket on the seatback, blowing it up like a balloon. 

Emily rolled her eyes. “Real mature, Mikey.” But she couldn’t help giving him a small smile. This was a vacation, after all.

The engines revved as she reached for both parts of her seat belt. A little thrill ran over Emily’s spine. 

She clicked the belt in place and tightened it. Then made sure Mike’s was good too. Flashing him and her parents a smile, she leaned back in her seat, ready for takeoff.

The plane shuddered. 

She squeezed the armrests in anticipation of the airplane taxiing.

Like a switch had been flipped, the plane went dark.

Continued . . .

Please remember this is a developing story and in a rawer state than what I publish. As such, it has only been self-edited and you will see some errors.

In addition, some changes may occur between now and publishing, including major storylines. I try to avoid this, but it sometimes happens.

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