Amy

For a moment I forgot about my excitement and anxiety. The flight there was bad, the passengers next to me made it worse. My head started swimming and my throat started pushing down bile. The book I was reading suddenly held no appeal to me whatsoever. The headache I was having made sure I couldn't keep reading anyway. I find myself checking the time precisely every five minutes. I just wished there was a fast-forward button I could push. The couple next to me calls on the flight attendant for maybe the thousandth time, and she appears with the every-ready smile and perkiness that was too pleasant to be true. Another shudder, another tremor, the plane goes through another air-pocket. I turn the overhead light off and try to get some shut-eye. The drinks arrived the smell of alcohol made want to puke my gutts out all over the seat, just for the sake of passing time. I shut my eyes and drifted between wakefulness and a dreamless sleep. A bump, I jolted awake to the pilot's announcement of touch down in fifteen minutes. Thank God. I took my time getting to my feet, shouldering my bags, walk down the aisle, out the door and into the rain. Perfect. Rain drops pelted me sideways and I pulled my coat tighter against the cold wind. My face was drenched in seconds. I stepped through the glass doors, looking for waving hands. Someone grabbed me from my right and there she was. The terminal was so small that people could actually welcome arrivals right there in the tarmac. The irony of it didn't escape me. Before I could say a word she'd already engulfed my i a hug longer than I would usually stand for. And yet I felt at home, finally with someone I can let my guards down completely. We stood there hugging each other and I realized it's been almost a year since we last saw each other. I hugged her back and it all seemed worth it. I'm finally here. With my bestest friend in the world.