Page 1 of See You Next Month

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“Welcome to paradise,” Kelsey Kenny muttered morosely as she stepped off the plane and walked through the long hallway into the airport. She looked around as people smiled at familiar faces or hugged. No one was there for her, so she strolled through the airport to baggage claim.

Passengers were already plucking pieces of luggage off the rotating table like they were precious prizes. Then, just as quickly, they turned to hurry out of the airport in search of their tropical vacation in paradise or perhaps some of them even lived here.

Ah, the Virgin Islands. Kelsey couldn’t imagine living there—then again, she could work from anywhere.

Kelsey was in no hurry. Yes, she guessed this could be considered a vacation for her, but it simply didn’t feel very festive. As she walked to the end of the baggage claim and found a place to wait, she spied her bright blue hard-sided suitcase beginning its trek around the sliding tabletop. She hadn’t packed much, just a few swimsuits, some shorts, and a couple of cute dresses that she could dress up for dinner or dress down for a casual day at the resort.

A woman hurried towards where Kelsey stood. She was having trouble corralling her oversized purse and what looked like a computer satchel as she reached for one of the bags.

“Dammit,” she huffed as the bag passed her by.

Kelsey watched this playing out and could see how frustrated the woman was, so she reached down and easily plucked the bag off the carousel.

“Here you go,” Kelsey said as she rolled the heavy suitcase towards the woman.

The woman gasped. “Thank you so much! I missed it.”

Kelsey smiled. “Glad I could help.”

“I’ve got another one and you’d think they’d be together,” the woman said, staring at the opening where the bags tumbled onto the table.

Kelsey smiled at the woman’s Southern accent. It reminded her of syrup, sweet and slow. She turned back to the table only to realize she’d let her own bag pass by.

“Way to go, Kelsey,” she mumbled.

“Excuse me?” the woman asked.

Kelsey chuckled. “I let my bag get by me. I’ll just have to wait until it comes around again.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m in no hurry.”

The woman sighed. “I just want to get to my room. I hope there’s a shuttle waiting outside.”

Kelsey nodded and kept her eye on her bag as it came into view once again.

“Oh good, there’s my other bag,” the woman said happily.

A bag matching the suitcase Kelsey had taken off the carousel for the woman was directly behind Kelsey’s blue suitcase. This bag looked even larger than the first one. She must be staying for several weeks, Kelsey thought.

Kelsey reached for her bag and easily pulled it off the table. She could see the woman was having trouble lifting the large suitcase over the short rail, so Kelsey reached under the bag and gave it a push.

“Thank you!” the woman exclaimed. “I’ve done this before, but maybe I packed too much.”

“You think,” Kelsey said under her breath.

“I promise you, I handled both bags with no problems when I boarded in Charlotte. Just watch,” the woman said.

Once she had both bags on their wheels and their handles pulled up, she slipped the satchel over one handle and her purse over the other. She rolled the bags away a short distance and spun each bag to do a little pirouette.

“See what I mean.” She smiled and did a slight curtsey.

Kelsey chuckled. “You are skilled.” She rolled her bag near the woman and smiled. “I can only manage one bag, so I have to cram everything inside.”

The woman smiled. “I doubt that. I think you’re just being nice.”

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