the horn honked sharply as the car rolled to a stop in front of her house. after she had placed all her bags in the trunk of the cab, her headache crept up to just behind her eyelids. she walked around the side of the cab, knowing she would not have time for coffee on her way to the airport. she placed her numb fingers squarely on her temples as she situated herself in the backseat.
“norfolk international, please.”
her mind fast forwarded to the hours ahead. she made a mental checklist, and thankfully, was able to mark each one off. cell phone, boarding pass, a few small bills to purchase headphones on board, and wallet. usually people make these checklists with the hopes of relaxing after they assure themselves of their preparation. not olivia. her rapid fire checklists only serve as fuel to the fire of her neuroses.
after booking her ticket home, she was comforted by the buffer of several months before seeing his family. that blanket of time was now gone, and she felt the cool dread sharpening with each mile marker that passed.
a year ago, she would have been obsessing over what outfit would be worn to which family function. checking the daily highs and lows on the weather channel for her holiday destination, making sure that outfits coordinated. this year, olivia’s goal had been to pack a pair of jeans, and avoid the sweats that had taken up permanent residence on her lower half.
her lack of concern for her appearance started out as a sigh of relief. she had gladly hopped off the treadmill of beauty maintenance. there was simply not enough space in her thought life for facial peels and pedicures.
olivia opened her cell phone to check the time. she saw traffic slowing ahead, and felt a tinge of hope that maybe it would detain her from the flight.
she softened as she thought about how this trip would be different if he were here. olivia let her mind do a little walking, and closed her eyes for what felt like the first time in weeks. she thought about how he’d laugh at her fidgeting like she always did before a flight. she imagined him sitting next to her, talking about his nephews, and how excited they must be about the snow. she smiled now, knowing he would have been just as excited.
the car pulled to a stop, and olivia’s eyes shot open.
“$38.50, ma’am.”
she grabbed a couple of limp twenties and placed them in his hand. she went to work strapping her various bags over each shoulder, and double checking to make sure she had grabbed her phone from the backseat.
olivia weaved quickly through the families saying hellos, and waving goodbyes. for a minute, she had forgotten where she was headed, and why.
for a minute, in the cab, he was there.
after getting through the various lines, she was relieved to see a small coffee stand near her gate. she ordered without a thought, and grabbed a magazine to distract her during the flight.
after spotting an open seat, she slumped into the musty chair, threw her magazine to the floor, and sighed heavily.
I like your story. I really get the sense of anticipation and dread that is accompanying this taxi ride. What I’m not sure about is why Olivia feels such dread at going home, and what has changed in her life for her to not care about appearances, etc. Also, that not caring vs. wishing her flight would be detained seem at odds. It seems that whatever Olivia has been doing for the past several months has changed her, but not sufficiently to be going home with joy. I’d like to know more about the nature of that change and what caused it. That wouldn’t have to be long, just a few more explanatory sentences.
This was my favorite part:
ahh…it went away! My favorite part is her weaving through families up to “for a minute, in the cab, he was there.” That has a great impact. One other thing I will say is that it’s hard to read prose, especially on the screen, when no caps are used. Oh, and last thing: I really like how you built up to the prompt instead of starting with it and explaining back (which is what I was drawn to do). Thanks for sharing!
Cameron