Chapter 41: Serendipity

Aidan ditched his car at the curb of the airport departures terminal. He knew full well that it would be towed, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be needing it where he was going. No one drives in New York.

He slammed the car door closed and dashed across the sidewalk toward the nearest set of revolving doors. It was nearly four o’clock already. He was cutting it close. He probably should have felt nervous. What if he didn’t catch the flight in time? What if he did catch it, and Kate wasn’t happy to see him?

The thoughts flitted through his head as he ran, but he only felt an unnatural calm – the same calm that had settled over him in the car earlier, as he pulled out of the freeway rest stop and turned back toward the airport. He knew what he had to do. There was no question in his mind. Of course he would get on the flight. It was fate. It was supposed to happen. Serendipity. Meant to be.

He skimmed his eyes across the row of airline check-in counters and let out a brief yelp of triumph as he caught sight of a familiar face. See, he thought to himself. Talk about serendipity.

He jogged over to the United Airlines counter and pulled up to a stop in front of his favorite fangirl ticket agent.

“Hey!”

She looked up from her computer monitor at the sound of his voice, and her face broke into a smile as she realized who it was.

“Oh my God!” she squealed. ”You again?”

“I couldn’t stay away.”

“Let me guess. You need to page someone?”

He shook his head. “No no. Listen, I need to get onto flight 871. To New York.”

Her eyebrows shot up at the request. “That flight leaves in 15 minutes!”

“I know.”

“No, but—“ She shook her head at him and started tapping at her keyboard.

“I will do anything,” he said, leaning across the desk to look at the monitor while she typed. “Anything you want. Picture. Autograph. Godfather to your firstborn child—“

She froze in mid-keystroke. Her jaw dropped open. “Did you just offer to father my firstborn—“

“Godfather!” he corrected, waving his arms wildly back and forth to expunge the record. “Not father! Godfather!”

She continued to stare at him, her eyes wide with shock. Aidan brought his hands together in front of his face in a gesture of supplication. “Please don’t misquote me on that one. Please.”

“I have a boyfriend.”

“And I have a girlfriend,” he said, pointing back at the monitor. “That’s why I need to get on the flight.”

She nodded ruefully and returned her fingers to the keyboard, but she shook her head a moment later. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at him. “That flight is completely sold out. I can get you on the 8:30—”

“No, I need to be on this one. It’ll totally kill the romance if I’m not on this one.”

She shrugged at him helplessly. “Maybe get her some flowers?”

“There’s got to be something you can do.”

“I can try calling the flight crew,” she said with a sigh. “But I really doubt—“

“Please,” he said. “It has to be this flight. It has to be.”

She picked up her intercom and turned her face away from him as she placed the call. Aidan looked down at his hands, watching his knuckles go white with tension as he gripped the edge of the desk.

“I guess it was meant to be!” he heard her exclaim a moment later. “This never happens!”

“There’s a seat?”

She nodded. “Someone got off at the last second. They’re holding the plane at the gate. But you have to run!”

He spun around and began sprinting in the direction of the security checkpoint.

“WAIT!” he heard her voice call after him.

Now what? He pulled up to a stop and turned back around to face her. Did she want a picture with him? Now? “Sorry!” he shouted, pointing at his watch. “No time for pictures!”

She lifted her arm and waved a piece of paper. “You need your boarding pass!” she yelled.

He jogged back over to her desk. “Seriously,” he said, grinning sheepishly as he took the ticket from her hands. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Aidan.”

He blew her a kiss and then turned again to dash for the boarding area. He looked down at his ticket as he ran.

There it was, like a gift from above. His new lucky number:

Seat 22E.