Page 95 of Past Due

Chapter Twenty-Four

Besian checked his watch and calculated how long they had been traveling. He grimaced when he realized it had been almost twenty hours since they left their Tirana hotel. They had hopped on a 4:00 AM flight to Vienna where they had a three-hour layover before taking a connecting flight to Frankfurt. After another layover in Frankfurt, they boarded a nonstop bound for Houston.

There had been two seats left in first class, and he had snagged them quickly. Almost eleven hours into the flight, he was glad he had chosen to spend the extra money. At least they were comfortable and not crammed together back in economy.

Marley dozed next to him. He envied the easy way she fell asleep while flying. He tensed with every bump and strange noise. When he did manage to nod off, he would wake suddenly and glance around in paranoia, certain someone was watching Marley. Annoyed by his stress-induced reaction, he had stopped trying to sleep and grabbed the heavy book from Marley’s backpack. He was halfway through Sylvia’s journal by now.

The captain’s voice filtered across the speakers mounted above them, and Marley stirred. He tucked the receipt from her purchase of a coloring book and crayons at the Frankfurt airport into the book to hold his place. She inhaled and stretched her arms overhead and flexed her legs. Rubbing her face, she asked, “What time is it?”

“It’s after five. On the ground in Houston,” he clarified when she frowned with confusion.

She lifted her window cover and glanced out at the purply pink sky. “Is it really early in the morning or almost night?”

“Evening,” he said.

“Ugh,” she made a disgusted sound. “I feel like we’ve been flying for days.”

“I know.”

“How long until we land?”

“Not long,” he suspected.

She glanced up at the front of the cabin. “I’m running to the bathroom while the seatbelt sign is off.”

“Be careful. There’s been some turbulence.”

As if on cue, the plane jostled as she tried to slip in front of him. She exaggerated her imbalance and purposely fell forward. “Oh! Sorry, sir.”

He snorted softly at her silliness and let her sneak in a few quick kisses. He grinned against her playful mouth and let his hand rest on her hip for a moment. With a tap to the tip of his nose, she straightened up and stepped into the aisle.

As he watched her go, he caught the judgmental stare of the woman sitting across the aisle from them. Lifting his hand, he flashed his wedding band and said, “Newlyweds.”

The woman didn’t seem the least bit impressed and returned her attention to her iPad. Not that he cared what she thought. Marley hadn’t done anything wrong or been improper in anyway.

When Marley returned, she slipped into her seat and buckled her safety belt. She noticed the book he had been reading. “I’m surprised you’re still working through that one.”

“Why?”

“It’s long and kinda dry. Journals aren’t always the easiest thing to finish.”

“It has some interesting parts.”

“Well, if you want to read more of Plath’s work, I have some books you can borrow. If you want something similar to that,” she gestured to the brick-like book on his lap, “you should try A Room of One’s Own by—“

“Virginia Woolf,” he said with a nod. “I read it a few months ago.”

She seemed taken aback. “Why?”

He held her curious gaze. “You know why.”

“B,” she whispered lovingly. “For me?”

“Ben helped,” he admitted. “He knew some of the books you had given Aston.”

“And you bought them and read them?”

“Of course.” He gently grasped her hand and interlaced their fingers. “I wanted to understand you.”

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