Three.
Joy
What a nightmare.
Not only was my first flight delayed by three hours, I missed my connecting flight. Then, I had to wait six hours for the next flight. It’s been a heck of a trip, but I’ve finally landed at LAX and I’m itching to see my brother.
It’s been too long.
He didn’t respond to any of my messages about my crazy travel issues, but it was the middle of the night. So, as I turn my phone off airplane mode, I expect a plethora of return messages from him, but…I don’t have any.
Maybe he knew I wouldn’t be available while on the plane? Probably , I tell myself.
I grab my carry-on and purse and deboard the plane, heading for baggage claim. I try to call my brother twice before he finally answers. “Hello?”
“Hey,” I say, breathing a silent sigh of relief. “I finally landed. What a nightmare that was. Where are you? I’m at baggage now.”
There’s a long pause before Emmett exhales, “Listen, Joy, I’ve…got to work. A producer is willing to look at my latest project and I can’t miss out on an opportunity like this. You understand how it is.”
I don’t know if it’s the overwhelming exhaustion or the fact he’s ditching me after I’m already here. “No, Emmett, I don’t understand,” I practically scream, shocking myself and several people around me with my outburst, their heads whipping in my direction. I take in a deep breath and turn away, speaking in a much calmer, but still agitated tone. “You can’t do this to me again. We’ve had this planned for months .” When he doesn’t respond, I add weakly, “It’s Christmas.”
“Yeah, I know what time of year it is, sis,” he mutters. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this. We’ll do Easter on the beach. I promise.”
I fight back the tears. He said the same thing last year.
I can’t believe I wasted my time and money without hearing from him the last few days. That should’ve been a sign all on its own. I am an absolute idiot.
“I have to go.” I hang up the phone before I say something I’ll regret. None of his excuses are going to make me feel better anyhow. This is so typical Emmett Bell. I should’ve known.
My parents finalized their divorce in the middle of the holidays eight years ago. I had just turned seventeen, while my brother, Emmett, was nineteen at the time. The holidays haven’t been the same ever since.
My favorite time of the year simply became chaotic traveling and who-goes-where and who-wants-what. It went from a time of love and family to one of inconvenience and distance.
My father took a job in New York, while my mother stayed in California and remarried within the year to start a new family. It was a shock to the system you could say when she announced she was expecting.
Emmett stayed in California, close to where we grew up so he could pursue his dream of becoming a director, while I headed off to college in Texas for advertising. We’ve tried our best to remain close since we rarely see each other anymore, but it seems my big brother doesn’t have the same family drive as I do.
None of my family does .
Tapping my phone in my hands, I think for a minute. I’m in LA with nowhere to stay four days before Christmas. Hotel prices are ridiculous. Airbnbs are full. I could ask Emmett if I can still stay at his place, but I’m so angry with him right now, I know we’d just be fighting the few seconds he bothered to grace me with his presence. It’s not even worth it.
There’s only one other person I know still in California, though. So I make the call. It takes three rings for my mom to pick up the phone. “Hello? ”
“Surprise!” I laugh, feeling delirious from the lack of sleep. “I’m in LA visiting Emmett, and I was wondering—”
“Madison, don’t pull your sister’s hair,” she calls out in the background. “Sorry, what did you say?”
I bite my lip, feeling shockingly uncomfortable talking to my mother for the first time in months. “Um, I’m in town. So, I thought—”
“Oh, you should’ve called, Joy. Dan and I took the girls to Disney for Christmas. We won’t be home until the twenty-ninth.”
I could throw up right now. “Oh.”
There’s a faint commotion on the other end, then crying. “Sorry, hon, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Merry Christmas,” she pushes out before the line goes silent.
I lean against a pillar in the middle of baggage claim as the tears fall.
I feel so stupid right now. So, so stupid. Stupid and alone for Christmas.
And you know what’s even worse? My luggage is nowhere in sight.
“There has to be something you can do,” I say to the desk agent. “My luggage is god knows where, my flights have been either delayed or canceled. I’ve been stuck here for hours . There must be a connecting flight somewhere, anywhere, to get me back to Dallas. ”
The woman shakes her head, smacking her lips. “Sorry, dear, there’s nothing to Dallas until tomorrow night. I can try to find you a hotel, but with the holiday season…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Everything is full.” I bite my lip as I try to think.
“Hey, lady, are you done?” a man waiting impatiently behind me snaps. “Some of us have planes to catch.”
I sigh, utterly defeated. “Right, sorry.” I grab my carry-on and move to the side, letting the next person in line go.
I suppose I could just wait… In the airport overnight? Even the thought has me cringing.
I need a flight home. Or hot shower and a bed, at the very least.
My phone rings and I quickly fish it out, hoping it’s someone calling to tell me a seat opened last minute on an earlier flight—but it’s not. It’s my boss of all people.
Deep breaths, Joy, deep breaths .
I answer. “Mr. Davis, hi—”
“Joy! Fuck. I’ve been trying to call you for the last half hour,” he pushes out in a single breath. Did he just use my first name? “Where are you right now?”
He sounds a little panicked, but I don’t want to point that out in case it’s just my exhaustion getting to me. “Is everything okay, Mr. Davis?”
“I need you to come to Wisconsin. How soon could you be on a flight to Green Bay? ”
“Green Bay?” I’m so confused. “What’s wrong, Mr. Davis? Did something happen?”
He inhales deeply on the other end before he says, “Miss Bell, I need you to come to Wisconsin. This is an emergency. I understand it’s last minute and you’re probably spending time with family right now, but…I need you to get on a flight as soon as possible.”
An emergency? “What—”
“ Please .” There’s clear desperation in his voice. If he was trying to hide it before, he isn’t now. “I’m begging you. I need you here.”
Need . He’s used that word one too many times in this very short conversation. I don’t think anyone’s ever told me they need me. A little voice inside my head reminds me that it’s Christmas. While another voice says Mr. Davis is my boss. It would look good for me to drop everything to come to his aid.
It’s also not like I have anything else going on at the moment. Clearly .
But he doesn’t need to know that.
“Okay,” I say, fumbling to find my tablet. “Let me just look up flights to—”
“No need,” he says, his tone sounding more than relieved. “I’ve got everything pulled up online. There’s a flight leaving in two hours that connects to Green Bay. I remember you saying you were in LA. Can you get to LAX in the next hour? I’ll book this right now while I have you. ”
I fight back the urge to laugh hysterically. Considering I’m already here, it shouldn’t be a problem. “I can.”
He types quickly in the background as I relay all my information for him to enter. He emails the confirmation to me and I start walking to the kiosk to print out my first-class ticket to Wisconsin.
“I’ll be there to pick you up from the airport,” he says. “I’ll watch the flight tracker, but text me with any delays.”
“I will,” I say, grabbing my ticket and getting in line to talk to someone about making sure my luggage is rerouted—assuming they ever find it.
“Thank you for doing this.” Mr. Davis blows out a breath. “You have no idea what this means to me. Truly.”
I smile. “Of course, Mr. Davis.”
There’s a long pause before he asks, awkwardly, “Are you, uh, seeing anyone right now?”
I freeze. That’s an…odd question to ask. “Um, no, I’m not.”
“Good,” he mumbles before adding, “I’ll see you soon…Joy.”
He hangs up the phone.
Why the heck is that good ?