The Romantics(67)

She shrugged. “Not my problem, sir. Please step aside.”

Shit.

He tried a new tactic. “Okay,” he said. “Look. I just need to get through security to talk to someone. It’s really important that I talk to her right now, before she gets on the plane. It’s kind of like an emergency. And her phone is dead. So if you could just let me through—I’ll go through the detectors and everything like I had a boarding pass, and obviously I’m not going to be able to get on a plane without one—then I can get hold of her and tell her what I need to tell her.”

The woman laughed, stared at him, broke into a grin.

Whoa. Had his plan actually worked?

“Not a problem, sir. Just answer me one question, and I’ll let you right through.”

Hot damn, Gael thought. Maybe things really had loosened up around here. Word on the street was you didn’t even have to put your liquids in plastic baggies anymore. Who knew?

“Sure,” he said.

“Can you tell me my birthday, sir?”

“Your birthday?” he asked.

“Uh huh.” She nodded.

“I don’t get it. How would I know your birthday?” he asked.

She smiled even wider. “Well, sir, it seems that you’re under the impression that I was born yesterday, so someone as smart as you should certainly be able to deduce my birthday.”

Double shit.

“Next,” she said.

He had no other option but to remove himself from the line. He shook his head as he walked away. He’d been so stupid to think that any of this would work.

But then, in a flash, he saw his opening.

Literally. An opening.

There was a hole in the roped off section where people lined up to go through the metal detectors. It was like someone had rejiggered the line and then forgotten to close the gap.

He looked back at the lady. She was dealing with a whole family now, strollers and screaming toddlers and all.

This was his chance.

He walked coolly, casually, through the opening, got in line behind a couple making lovey-dovey eyes at each other. Tried not to freak out at what he’d just done.

And for a minute, he really thought he’d made it.

But then he heard, “Step back, sir!” and “We have a situation!” and before he could even think to get out of the line, two of the tallest and scariest TSA guys he’d ever seen had him surrounded.

“You’re going to have to come with us.”

Triple shit.





an iphone miracle


Sammy’s seat belt was buckled, the awkward safety video had played, and the plane was in line for takeoff. There was no turning back now.

And it was good, she told herself. Sometimes you needed to just make a freaking decision and let the cards fall. She was glad that she couldn’t change things now. She was glad that she was on her way to see John.

She reached down for her purse to get a stick of gum for the flight—her ears always acted up during takeoff and landing—but when she grabbed it, her phone fell out, landing on the floor at her feet.

Somehow, the screen was lit up.

She picked up her phone. Not only was her phone on, but it had 87 percent battery. What the hell? she wondered. How had that even happened? Was she losing her mind?

Sammy sometimes believed that her great-grandmother was looking out for her from above, and she entertained the idea that there was life on other planets. She even sometimes thought she had a little ESP. But there was one supernatural thing that she certainly did not believe in. And that was the ability of her beat-up iPhone to magically recharge itself. Its battery life was literally the bane of her existence.

And yet, here it was, turned on and waiting for her.

She had three new texts. She tapped on the Messages icon.

One was from her roommate, Lucy, just after 5:00:

so guess who just showed up at our dorm pretty much ready to declare his love for you?

Another arrived from her ten minutes later:

i told you john was the wrong choice

And one was from, of all people, Piper, who had a phone for emergencies only. Sammy, her parents, and Gael were literally her only contacts. Sammy had never even seen Piper send a text.

hey sammy, it’s piper, maybe you shouldn’t get on the plane tonight, just sayin

What’s more, there were three missed calls and one voice mail.

OMG.

Before she could even look at who the calls were from, the flight attendant was hovering over her. “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to put your phone on airplane mode.”

“I just need to check one thing.”

The flight attendant held up her hand. “Ma’am, we are already taxiing. You need to turn it on airplane mode. Now.”

People on either side of her were suddenly staring.

“Just let me look at this. It will take like one second, I promise.”

“Ma’am, do not make me say it a third time.”

“But—” Sammy didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she tapped the call log. The missed calls were from Gael.

And so was the voice mail.

“Put your phone on airplane mode, ma’am,” the flight attendant said again.

“No,” Sammy said defiantly. “God, just hold on a second.”

The woman turned to the other attendants. “We have an unruly passenger here,” she said.