Airport Arrival

By Christal Keith

"For this reason
a man shall leave
his father and his
mother, and be
joined to his wife;
and they shall
become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24

he young woman sat on the edge of the bench bouncing her foot and trying hard to look somewhat patient. There were so many other people bustling around the airport. She searched their faces to make sure he hadn’t arrived already. Then she pulled out her cell phone to make sure that she hadn’t missed any calls. Where was he?

She stood up for the sake of working off some nervous energy. She began to walk around the room slowly while feigning interest in the pictures hung on the wall. Michael had left two months earlier and Jennifer had been certain the time would fly by. There had been so much to do.

As the days wore on though, she had begun to grow weary. Thankfully, a number of his family members still lived in the area and helped her to finish the work. Jennifer was very relieved when she finally sealed the last box of her belongings and watched the movers put it onto a truck. She had sighed with a deep measure of completion as she saw the “sold” sign in her front yard. She knew the time was almost up.

Now, as she stood in the airport, she imagined what her new home was going to look like. Michael had sent her a few pictures and some descriptions in emails, but it was hard to get a feel for it. The new house looked beautiful. The ceilings were so high and the rooms looked very spacious.

Michael had already been living there for several weeks, getting it ready for her arrival. She was so excited to see it. Growing up, all of her homes had been apartments; when she and Michael got married, the house had been just large enough for the both of them. My, how those days had been fun.

“Fun.” She thought while laughing to herself. Fun was a euphemism for exceedingly difficult, stressful, and painful. She stifled her laugh so others wouldn’t think she was strange. The old house had many problems. It seemed like there was always something broken. For a long time, if it rained, Jennifer had to get two buckets to catch a steady drip from a spot on the ceiling.

During the day it wasn’t so bad, but at night the sound of the water splooshing into the bucket had been maddening. She was almost thankful when the pieces of plaster started falling. It had forced them to fix it. Then a pipe in the bathroom had burst and the two of them had spent a Saturday afternoon bailing water out of a window. She smiled.

They had gotten distracted that day. When she slipped and fell, Michael had reached down to help her up and made sure she was ok. She had gotten lost in the compassion in his eyes and leaned over to kiss him. They abandoned the bathroom for drier ground.

The woman blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. The house might have been lacking, but she and Michael had simply tried to take them in stride. The worst had been the year that raccoons had managed to climb in through a hole in the attic and nest in the walls. Jennifer had wondered if she would ever be able to sleep again.

Animal control had to be called four times before they finally got the last of the critters out. It might not have been so bad if she and Michael hadn’t decided to get a puppy months earlier. Jennifer laughed.

That poor dog. If he ever seemed high strung, she blamed it on that year of listening to the scratching inside the walls. It had driven him nearly insane. He had spent many hours barking endlessly at a white wall.

Jennifer turned around and noticed that people were coming in through one of the gates. She held her breath. All of this change was exciting, but if someone had told her that she could go to her new home alone or go back to her old home with Michael, there wouldn’t have even been a heartbeat to think about it. He was who she was waiting for.

Her heart began to thump loudly in her chest as she heard a woman on the loudspeaker announce his plane’s arrival at the gate. She began to bounce on her toes trying to maintain her composure. Her breath caught as the line winded down and he didn’t seem to be among them. Had he missed his flight? Had to stay longer? She frowned with concern and reached inside her purse to find her phone.

“Whatcha looking for?” came a warm masculine voice. Jennifer’s hands stopped as she looked up. His brown eyes were lit up with tenderness. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He squeezed her and lifted her slightly off the floor. Setting her back down they smiled at one another and kissed warmly.

“I missed you.” Was all she could say when he let go of her. Michael put his arm around her and they headed off towards the parking lot. In less than twenty four hours the two of them would be back here to get on a flight and head off to the new home and unfold their future together. Jennifer knew, however, that what was really important was standing right next to her with his arm wrapped firmly around her.

The two of them still had just a few things to do before they could leave. Passing baggage claim, though, made her heart warm. There was nothing to stop for. He had only a carry on bag with him. They wouldn’t be there long enough to need any more than that.