Kiss Me, Lynn (Kiss Me Series)
Page 17
Their flight was called, and boarding began. Sharon tried e-mail once more while they were standing in line to board.
“The wireless signal right here isn’t great, and I don’t think we’ll be able to check again once we’re on board. I’ll wait here and keep trying.” She handed Lynn her tote bag. “Take this for me. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Don’t wait too long! Tell them what you’re doing so they’ll know you’re here for the flight.”
“I will.” Sharon went to the desk.
Barb touched Lynn’s arm. “Any news yet?”
“Not yet.”
“We’re all praying for good news!”
“I know. Thanks.”
Lynn watched Sharon at the desk. The attendant pointed toward an area near the gate, next to a shop. Sharon nodded, smiled, and headed for that area. Lynn entered the jetway and walked slowly toward the plane. Each step became harder, the closer she got to the doorway of the plane that would take her back to Lima, back to overcast skies and fog. Back to a city without sunshine. Winter in Lima matched her sorrow and her regret at having to leave the sunshine of Cusco, and the man she loved.
The flight attendant checked Lynn’s boarding pass and gave her instructions on how to get to her seat, about a third of the way back on the right side. She knew Sharon was sitting next to her, on the aisle. Lynn eventually found her seat by the window and stowed her carry-on and Sharon’s under the seats in front of them. Then, she stared out the window.
A chain link fence divided the parking lot and the area outside where planes arrived and departed the terminal. Beyond the fence, two people sat on a bench. One of them looked a little like Alex, but the bench was too far away to see him clearly. It couldn’t be him, could it? If he’d come to the airport, why hadn’t he seen them before they went through security to the gate?
Just then, Sharon came bounding into the plane, gasping for breath as though she’d run all the way from the terminal. She held the laptop under one arm. The minute she entered the plane, she yelled, “Lynn! She’s okay! Your mother is okay!”
Lynn couldn’t believe it! She stood and waved to Sharon who pushed her way past three people in the aisle.
“I got a post from your father! She’s awake, hungry, and complaining about all the attention she’s getting! She’s okay! Your father is ecstatic! He told you, “Be happy! We’ll see you at Christmas! You get to make the dressing this year!’”
Lynn couldn’t breathe. Relief flooded through her. All right. She was all right! Then she remembered…
She sat down and peered out the window at the bench. The man was getting up, walking toward the fence. He wore a hat. A white hat.
Lynn grabbed her purse. “Carry-ons are under the seats!” She hugged Sharon. “I’ll call you as soon as I can!” She ran toward the front of the plane.
The flight attendant was reaching for the door to seal it.
“I have to get off the plane! Please! Let me get off!”
“But we’re ready to take off!”
“I can’t leave! You have to let me off the plane!”
“Are you ill? Are you having chest pains?”
“No! I’m fine! I just can’t leave Cusco!”
The attendant checked with another attendant, then nodded and pushed the door open just far enough for Lynn to get back into the jetway. She ran for the gate, then down the long hallway to the front of the airport and outside. The difference between the dark interior and the brilliant sunshine outside was enough to blind her for a few seconds, but she couldn’t wait for her eyes to adjust to the brightness. She shaded her eyes with one hand and searched for the bench near the fence. There it was! She ran, her lungs burning from lack of oxygen, but still she ran. When she got to the bench, it was empty, and no one stood next to the fence. She stopped, gasping for breath. She’d find him. Somehow, she had to find him.
“Lynn?”
She whirled around. “Alex?”
Then he was there, holding her, kissing her, laughing, crying, pulling her closer and closer, then looking into her eyes.
“Is your mother all right?”
“Yes! She’s going to be okay. My father told me…” She started to laugh.
“What? What did he say?”
“He said he’d see us at Christmas.”
“Christmas?”
“He told me to be happy. I can’t be happy without you.”
Alex tilted his head back and laughed, then he let out a whoop that had everyone around them pointing and laughing. Some were cheering.
“I love you, Alex. I don’t ever want to leave you.”
“Then you must marry me, my love. Say yes, then kiss me, Lynn.”
With more love than she ever dreamed, she kissed him first, then whispered, “Yes.”
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