Ch 119 Stuck at the airport

        

  Being stuck at the airport was not for the faint of heart. Neither was it for a little boy waiting for his mother to come home, especially when his mother’s plane was delayed because of unknown reasons and he simply couldn’t be appeased—no matter how many times and different ways you tried to explain it to him.

          “When is Mommy gonna get here?” Tristan whined for the umpteenth time.

          Donny sighed wishing he knew. They had been stuck at the airport now for three hours and even his patience was wearing thin. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for you to come with me. I’m sorry you’re so bored, Tristan, but they said it was on time when it left Dallas, so it must have been delayed somewhere along the way.”

“Why?” Tristan asked petulantly.

“Oh, I don’t know…maybe there was a storm or a tornado or something like that and they...”

“Did da plane get sucked into a tornado and went to da Wizard of Oz?” he shrieked.

“No, no! Of course not! It…it’ll…” Donny said, looking up at the arrival board, silently praying for a miracle and he got one. “Tristan…I think it just got here. Yes, that’s her plane! Your Mommy’s plane is here.”

          “Can I see it land?” Tristan said, jumping up onto the seat and looking out the window.

          “Sorry, Buddy, those are the planes getting ready to leave.”

          “Is Mommy coming out now?”

          “We have to wait a bit more. The plane has to stop and unload and then your mom has to get…” Donny drifted off, because he knew Tristan didn’t want to hear it again. He had only explained this a dozen times. Lord knows he didn’t want to recite it again! “How about we get your mommy some flowers or some other welcome home gift? Then we’ll be ready to greet her when she gets out.”

          “Like what?” he grumbled.

          “Let’s look in the shops. We’ll find something she likes, I’m sure.”

          Tristan didn’t look too happy about this, but he jumped off the seat and took Donny’s hand. Together they went down the wide corridor weaving in and out of the crowd to the shops and restaurants at the far end. They passed several shops, Tristan nixing each one as not the kind of thing his mommy would like.

Expensive perfume?

“Mommy gets a headache when she wears too much perfume,” Tristan commented with a shrug.

Bottles of liquor?

“Mommy doesn’t drink  anyting but water,” he replied.

Designer handbags?

“Mommy puts her wallet in a pocket.”

 Rich, imported chocolates?

“Uh-uh! Mommy says they make her fat and she’s not allowed to be fat.”

Donny frowned at this. Was it her dead husband, he wondered, that had forced this idea on her or was it something else? Whatever the case, he didn’t care for it. He was scared to death of Cindy getting the ‘I’m-too-fat’ bug that seems viral at middle school level. He certainly didn’t want her exposed to an adult like that.

Jewelry?

 “Mommy already has a ring and dat’s all she likes to wear,” Tristan said.

Donny assumed he was talking about her wedding ring. Understandable. He had only just removed his own perhaps a year ago. A wedding ring, he knew all too well, becomes a part of you, and often you don’t even realize it’s still there, but when you do you tend to resist giving it up.

          “Uh-uh,” Tristan shook his head at the intricate, little crystal figurines in a shiny, brightly lit, glass display case. “She don’t like stuff like dat.”

          “Are you sure? They’re really pretty,” Donny said, somewhat exasperated.

          “No, she says stuff like dat should go in houses for people wit no kids, so I don’t knock it over and break it,” Tristan said with a careless shrug.

Donny laughed, but he was starting to think he wouldn’t like this woman at all if none of those things would please her. His Margarita had been so easy going that he bought her all sorts of unusual, goofy things just because she made such a grand fuss about the littlest thing. He was certain she would have been equally delighted with a bouquet of dandelions picked out of the lawn as much as a convertible Mercedes.

Donny sighed and said, “How about a fruit basket? Fruit doesn’t make you fat and if she doesn’t like it, we’ll eat the fruit. How about it?”

“Can I have da bananas?” 

Donny laughed, scooped him up into his arms, gave him a crushing hug and a peck on the cheek then went into a shop. Several minutes later they were out of the fifth shop they visited with a small fruit basket wrapped in cellophane, a bouquet of sweet smelling flowers, a few bottles of water—Donny and Tristan were very thirsty and Donny assumed May Lyn would be, too, once she got off the stuffy plane-- and a box of Swiss chocolates he decided to get for Cindy, plus a cute little crystal unicorn he was sure she would love, and finally a new mystery novel Wes would like to read, and  Donny, too, once his son was through with it first.

 They stood waiting--Donny holding all his purchases in one big, brightly colored shopping bag and Tristan so excited he was bouncing on his toes -- where they were told the passengers from flight 674 out of Dallas would come out. People flooded out and embraced their family and friends who were waiting for them and then headed out to waiting vehicles, but still no May Lyn.

Just when Donny was ready to fish out a couple of bananas from the basket—even though they had eaten earlier, he was pretty darn hungry again-- Tristan let out a shriek loud enough to awaken the dead and he broke free from Donny’s grip.

“Mommy!”

When Donny spotted the woman releasing hold of her suitcase and tossing a tote bag aside, throwing her arms out and kneeing to catch Tristan as he flung himself at her, he did a double take. He almost thought it was Wendy, but there were some obvious differences once he took a good look. Her hair was a shade or two lighter, her figure was less voluptuous, more slim than Wendy’s, she was a several inches taller than her sister and had a golden tan which gave her a California beach bunny appearance, and her eyes were the same brilliant blue as her son’s.

If Wendy had made Donny stand up and realize he wasn’t dead, this woman made him glad he was a man, an unattached man. Then he remembered that he probably wouldn’t like her, what with all her health food rules and disliking… well, everything! He was, however, determined to be nice. She was, after all, his best buddy’s mother and Wendy’s sister, so she couldn’t be all bad.

Donny stood slightly back watching her tightly holding Tristan as if she hadn’t seen him in decades…well, not exactly decades. Tristan was only four years old, after all. He saw her eyes grow over-bright, a sure sign emotions were high although she tried her best to hold it in. Tristan, he noticed, chatted as amicably and never-ceasing as he always did, asking her a zillion questions yet never allowing for a full answer before saying something else. Donny couldn’t help laughing. He just adored that kid!

Just then her eyes went to him and she blinked, once, twice, three times, before she got to her feet and held out her hand. Before Donny could switch the shopping bag to his other hand in order to shake hands with her, Tristan came and took the bag out of his hands and held it out to his mother.

“Here, Mommy. We got you presents!” he said, proudly. “Welcome home presents.”

Donny had opened his mouth to clarify, but swiftly shut it again. She wouldn’t like anything anyway. He’d explain later.

“Presents, for me?” May Lyn said, her smile almost too bright to look at. “I’d say you shouldn’t have, but I love presents!” She then giggled, gleefully looked into the bag and gasped.

“Do ya like it, Mommy?”

“Oh…” she said, her eyes going to Donny, holding his for a long moment then back to the contents of the bag. She reached in and extracted the tiny unicorn carefully secured in its own sturdy, plastic dome. She looked at it in awe. “How did you know I love unicorns? I don’t think Wendy even knows.”

Donny opened his mouth, then shut it again. So much for a gift for Cindy! Instead of telling her this, he shrugged. “Don’t all girls of all ages love fanciful creatures?”

She laughed and looked back into the bag. She replaced the unicorn after another delighted look and pulled out the last bottle of water, uncapped it and drank the whole thing down. She then looked up and grinned sheepishly. “I’ve been dying of thirst for the past hour!”

She handed the empty bottle to Tristan. She took out the flowers and sniffed them. “Oh, I love carnations!” She smelled them one more time and gave them to Tristan to hold for her.

The book was next. She read the title and stared at the cover with her lips parted. “I’ve been meaning to get this one. I’ve heard it’s his best yet. Have you read it?” she eagerly asked gazing at Donny.

Donny shook his head. He and Wes would have to wait to read that one another time, he supposed.

“I’ll let you read it when I’m done. Oh, this one’s going on my night stand…whenever it arrives,” she said, putting it back into the bag and extracting next the box of chocolate. Here she closed her eyes and held the box to her nose. “I probably gained a pound just sniffing it, but… I could really use some chocolate right now. After the last few days I’ve had I want nothing but comfort food. Forget about diets! Get me to the nearest greasy burger…and please, no barbeque! I’m completely sick of barbeque everything and Tex-Mex.”

Donny laughed. “I could eat, but I guess we can always give the fruit basket to my kids.”

“But you said I could have da bananas,” Tristan whined.

The adults laughed. “And so you shall, my little man,” May Lyn said, giving him another hug before she turned to Donny and hugged him, too. “Thank you, Donny. You really know how to make a girl feel welcome and thank you so much for all you’ve done for Tristan. Janet has been keeping me notified of all your outings and…well, I do so appreciate it.”

He shrugged again somewhat speechless, but then he didn’t have to say much with Tristan around. As Tristan regaled his mother with stories of where his buddy, Mr. Bashan, had taken him and all they did, Donny grabbed her bags and led the way out of the airport and to the shuttle which eventually took them to the parking lot and his car.

Perhaps Donny would like May Lyn after all. She liked everything he bought, so she wasn’t nearly as difficult as Tristan made her out to be. In fact, she was every bit as delightful as her sister. Quick to laugh, charming, funny and definitely easy on the eyes, what was there not to like?

He was going to have a little talk with Tristan, though. He obviously was not the person to consult when buying gifts for his mother!

*****

Donny and May Lyn mostly listened to Tristan as they ate.

“And Mr. Bashan is gonna get us a house with a tweehouse for me in da backyard,” he said, munching on a fry.

May Lyn’s eyebrows shot up into her bangs and disappeared. “Is he now?” she said, trying not to laugh. “And will he take us to the moon for vacation?”

Tristan stared at her, his expression one of confusion. “Do ya wanna go to da moon?”

They laughed. “No, sweetheart,” May Lyn said, passing her hand lovingly over his head and kissing the top of it. “I like my feet planted firmly on the ground. Don’t like airplanes, so I’m pretty sure a rocket ship would just about kill me.”

“Much turbulence?” Donny asked, sipping on a chocolate shake.

Her eyes widened and she shuddered. “It was horrible! Every time the plane shook—and I’m sure a wing or engine or something shook free and fell to earth on someone’s house-- I let out a yelp like a wounded puppy.”

Donny laughed. “The other passengers must have loved you,” he said.

“I’m thinking not so much,” she retorted, with a little grimace.

“Wasn’t there some big, strong guy there willing to hold your hand and tell you everything would be all right?” he joked.

“Wish there was! On one side of me an old lady, apparently scared even worse than me, spent the entire flight with a rosary spinning in her hands, her eyes closed and mumbling, ‘Ave Maria, madre de Dios’ and on the other side was some college kid with ear buds on the whole time. He had that music cranked up so loud I could hear the awful stuff perfectly. What joy!” she said rolling her eyes. “I didn’t know why he needed the buds.”

“To annoy you of course,” Donny said, shrugging. He took a sip from his milk shake and this time noticed her looking at it. “Would you like one?”

“Oh, no…but…could I take a sip of yours?” she said.

Without hesitation he handed her his cup and watched her tentatively put it to her lips. Her eyes closed and she took another, longer sip. “Man, that’s good,” she mumbled.

“I could get you one, or you can finish this one,” he said, grinning. “You have a milk mustache now.”

She licked at it. “Gone?”

He shook his head and smiled.

“Can’t take me anywhere!” she shouted, grabbing a paper napkin. She then stared at him through narrowed eyes. “So, tell me, Mr. Bashan, you and Wendy, are you…you know?”

“No! no, not at all. She’s married still and…”

“So, when she divorces Jeff…”

“No! She’s still in love with him and he definitely wants her back. They won’t get divorced, I’m almost positive.”

She stared at him, unconvinced. “But you and she were together in Boston.”

He gaped, his heart nearly stopping. “How did…I mean… it’s not what you think. We had separate rooms and nothing happened! She just pretended to be my date.”

“No, she was actually a real date if she indeed went with you,” May Lyn said.

“Okay, but…I didn’t want to go at all, not alone, but Wendy insisted. It was a college reunion and she said she’d never been to Boston and had always wanted to go and…it was only two days and then she was in New York with Alec and…and I came back home and…” He stopped rambling and ran his hand over his mouth. “May Lyn, please don’t tell anyone. It’ll just cause trouble when nothing really happened.”

“Nothing?” she said, skeptically. “I know precisely the affect my gorgeous sister has on men…even sensible ones like you appear to be.”

“Okay, we danced…that’s it,” he said nervously.

She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side as if to say, ‘and then what happened?’

“Okay, one kiss, but that was it!”

She smiled. “Why is it so important to you to keep this a secret? You didn’t do anything wrong, even if something did happen.”

“It didn’t!”

“Jeff cheated first, Donny, so I wouldn’t blame Wendy at all, nor you. At least now they’re even.”

Donny shook his head. “No, they’re not. I mean… he might have…done whatever, I don’t know, but I know she didn’t, not with me.”

They were silent for a minute and that’s when they realized Tristan had fallen asleep, his head on May Lyn’s lap.

“We better get home. You’re probably as exhausted as he is,” Donny said, piling their trash together and tossing it into the garbage. He then scooped up Tristan, who mumbled about tree houses then laid his head on Donny’s shoulder and slept on.

“Do you think they’ll get back together?” May Lyn asked, settling into the passenger’s seat.

Donny finished snapping Tristan into the car seat before getting in the driver’s seat and buckling himself in. “I hope so. Wendy puts up a good front, but she’s miserable and Jeff…you’ve never seen a sadder, more pathetic looking guy. He’s totally lost without his family. Wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

“Wonder if there’s anything we could do for them,” she mused, leaning her head back and sighing.

“If there is I don’t know what,” he said, pulling into traffic. “Why don’t you take a nap? It’s a long, boring ride back home.”

“Can’t you entertain me?” she teased. “You’ve done all right so far.”

“I’m not that interesting,” he replied, chuckling.

“Tristan says otherwise. Wendy told me she talked to a real estate agent and found a spot for my studio with an apartment. Was that you she was talking about?”

“Yep, the store front is in Port Orianco, right across from the deli on Milton Street. A lot of traffic there, so I think it would be good for you. I can show you anytime you’re ready.”

“Is tomorrow too soon?”

He grinned. “No, just right.”

“But no tree house,” she said sadly. “Whatever shall we do about that?”

“You can use Wes’ old tree house until we find you a nice house,” he said.

“What’s the rent?”

“On the studio?”

“On the tree house,” she said, giggling.

“Ah! How about penny a day,” he replied.

“Highway robbery,” she said in mock indignation.

“Or best offer?” Donny suggested.

She laughed. “We’ll have to see it first,” May said, trying to suppress a yawn.

“Come on now, May. Sleep, that’s what you need. You won’t get any rest once you get home. Your family won’t let you.”

He was so right about that!