Page 65 of Too Much In Common
Candace sat on the end of the couch with a tearful Pollyanna next to her. Taking a position near the door, he stood with a passive expression, presumably ignoring the mother/daughter conversation unfolding in front of him. Chris heard enough of the conversation to understand that Pollyanna didn’t want to go home. Dana emerged from one of the bedrooms with a robot toy followed by the boys.
“We wanted to leave it to see if it would find its way home like in the movie...” Porter’s tone had taken on a tired sort of whine. Candace and Colin had chosen to return at night in hopes of the children sleeping on the plane. Seeing the children near meltdown phase, Chris hoped they were right.
The Hastings app pinged. Chris read the message and related it to the room. “The vehicles are ready.”
“All ready then? Come on, kids.” Colin’s announcement silenced the little rebels. They left the suite as planned. Well mostly.
Chris ignored the kids making faces on the elevator. His job was to protect the family from threats, not from each other.
A half hour after the private plane reached cruising altitude, Peter and Pollyanna fell asleep. Porter played a computer game with Colin. Chris opened his phone and saw a message he’d missed during the boarding process.
Tian: Mom called. Dad had an episode. I am jump-seating to Boston on the 10 p.m. flight. Sorry to have missed you.
He leaned his head back against the seat and stared at the ceiling. The universe was not on his side.
The seat next to him squeaked softly. “I’d say a penny for your thoughts, but I am sure they’re worth much more.”
Chris turned his head to Candace’s voice. “Nothing much. Cupid was off the mark this year.”
“What do you mean? I thought you liked Tian.”
“That’s the problem. I like her, but we seem to be on two different flight paths. They aren’t crossing often enough for us to take our relationship to the next level.”
“Getting back a day early isn’t going to help?”
“Her dad is ill. She’ll be on a flight to Boston before we land.” He leaned his head back against the seat to avoid Candace’s gaze.
“When will she be back?”
“She’s flying to Paris on the thirteenth and won’t be back until the sixteenth. It’s supposed to be her father’s last flight.”
“How long will you be apart?”
“Assuming I can see her on the sixteenth, thirteen days.”
“Two weeks.”
“And I’ve only known her for a month. I feel like there is so much potential for us.”
“Something will work out.”
“I keep thinking that. And then one of our jobs interferes.” Trying to wipe the frustration from his mind, Chris ran a hand through his short hair. “It’s crazy, the more time I spend with her, the more I think she could be the one. How insane is it that we live practically next door to each other and are having a long-distance relationship?”
“I haven’t heard of that predicament before.”
The hum of the engine filled the void in their conversation.
“I think she’s going to dump me. Easier now than later, right?”
“She’d dump you over a job?”
“I said that out loud, didn’t I? Let me rephrase. I think she is going to dump me because having a future together is so impossible. I traded around some days last time she was in Chicago so we could spend time together, but the truth is, neither of us are in a position to plan our schedules. She knows hers a month in advance, but all it takes is a blizzard to throw it off. My job can change at a moment’s notice.”
“That is one of the parts of my married life I like least—knowing that being spontaneous affects so many people. I can’t decide I want to go to a movie ten minutes before showing. Now that we’ve adopted the kids, it’s even more true. I assume all parents have that problem. Mine is compounded because of security. I want to be fair to you guys too.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I asked.” Candace played with the ends of her scarf. “What if I could be spontaneous and help you?”
