New Beginning 973

Norma shuffled down the steps onto the tarmac, throat twitching at the plane fumes. Heat waves shimmered ahead, and the iridescent blue sky dwarfed everything on the flat landscape.   She unbuttoned her jacket and fished for her sunglasses. A pair of girls pushed past her, a rucksack bumping her elbow. Her sunglasses cluttered to the ground, but they continued in their stride without a backwards glance. Surely they hadn’t boarded the plane on that freezing morning wearing those shorts and sandals? No, they were probably organized enough to have changed on board.   Brian's gaze followed their tanned legs. Norma slid her sunglasses on, and frowned. It was probably not their foresight he was admiring.   "Pull your tongue back in, dearest, people might trip," she sneered.   Brian ignored her.   Norma mopped her forehead and marched towards the terminal. Overdressed, overweight and already over this damn trip. 

"Are these your bags, ma'am?"

Norma turned to the attendant who had spoken, in the process catching her foot on the edge of Brian's wayward tongue and nearly falling face-first.

"For God's sake, Brian, I said pull it back in!"

"Thawy."

The attendant finished counting and held out a hand. "Twenty-four bags at fifty dollars each comes to twelve hundred dollars, ma'am."

"I paid the bag fee when we checked in in Chicago!"

"Sorry, ma'am, that was the transport fee; this is the reacquisition fee."

Fuming, Norma pulled out her checkbook, knowing she didn't have enough in her account to cover this. Overpacked, overdrawn, and already over any attraction she used to feel for Brian and his absurdly long tongue.


Opening: anon......Continuation: JRMosher