Chapter 4
Chapter Four
The airline finally called, and Jessica arrived at the airport with a smile on her face.
School would start tomorrow, and she’d begun to despair about getting her suitcase in time.
But it was finally here, and she’d be able to take it home and prepare for her first day at the new job.
Apparently, someone had taken her suitcase home with them.
They’d missed seeing the pink ribbon tied in a neat bow atop the otherwise ubiquitous black bag and had scooped it up before she’d had a chance to spot it.
She was grateful she’d had the forethought to fasten the lock before she checked it at the ticket desk.
There was a line at the lost luggage counter.
She stood at the back of it behind a tall man with broad shoulders.
His arms were crossed, and his stance gave the impression of impatience.
He wore a camouflage baseball cap and pants with a simple black T-shirt, and his impressive muscles, along with the buzz cut, immediately made her think he could be military.
Not that she had any experience to back that up, but it’s what she felt in her gut when she looked at him. And her gut was often right.
Every few minutes, they all took a couple of steps forward.
The lined inched her closer to the counter at an impossibly slow pace.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. The luggage counter closed at five, and she’d be lucky if she made it to the front before then.
What would they do? Would they shut down even if there were still people in line?
Would she have to come back again tomorrow?
Just then, they moved forward again, and the man in front of her pulled a protein bar out of his pocket and began to eat.
Her stomach growled. She’d skipped lunch, not feeling particularly hungry at the time—something she now regretted.
But the house was looking good, if she did say so herself.
She’d done most of the unpacking. The first thing she’d realised was that the rooms were dismally empty.
Her existing furniture consisted of the few things she’d kept in the apartment with her roommates during their senior year together.
She’d lived in a dorm before that, but now she had her own TV, bed, and dresser, along with a dining table and chairs.
But the rest of the furniture had belonged to her two roommates, and so the big old farmhouse looked hollow and in desperate need of decorating, something she couldn’t afford until she’d received at least a few paycheques.
“Can I help you, sir?” the woman behind the counter drawled as she pushed a pair of oversized glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her short black hair was plastered to her scalp with gel.
The man in front of Jessica stepped forward and uncrossed his arms to lean his hands on the counter. “I’m here to pick up my suitcase. I took the wrong one home, but I brought it right back. You couldn’t find mine, but I got a message to come and get it.”
He gave her his details, and Jessica couldn’t help overhearing. His name was Tyler. When he described his suitcase, she wondered if he was the one who’d taken hers home.
“It’s black and about this high.” At the look on her face, he nodded. “I know, just like every other suitcase. I should’ve put some kind of tag on it, but I bought it at the airport when my duffel broke. It was the best I could do last minute.”
The woman rolled her large brown eyes as she spun to waddle through a back doorway, most likely in search of his lost bag, but there was no way of knowing. She hadn’t said a word.
“Well, that was rude,” Tyler whispered under his breath.
Jessica stifled a giggle. She had a habit of giggling at inappropriate times. She pressed a hand to her mouth and did her best to look as though she hadn’t been eavesdropping.
When the woman returned, she was toting Jessica’s suitcase behind her. The man shook his head with a laugh. “No, that’s the one I returned.”
So he had taken her bag. He was the reason she’d had to go home without her luggage and had to deal with no clean underwear for two days.
The woman was about to head back through the doorway, but before Jessica could stop herself, she cried out, “Don’t!”
Both Tyler and the woman behind the counter looked at her with a surprised expression.
Jessica stepped forward, her cheeks hot with a rush of embarrassment.
“Sorry. I just meant, please don’t take the suitcase back there again.
I’ve been waiting what feels like forever, and that’s my bag.
I’m in desperate need of new underwear but I don’t know my way around, there’s a million things to do, and I have to start teaching school tomorrow in a brand-new state, at a strange school, and I can’t do that in the same pair of underwear.
Besides which, my lucky blouse and skirt are in there, and I really wanted to wear them tomorrow.
If you close for the night before I get that bag, I’m going to cry. ”
The woman’s brow furrowed. Tyler smiled, his gaze meeting hers with a playful sparkle in his blue eyes.
“I can’t just give this to you. Do you have some proof?” the woman asked.
“I’ve got the key right here,” Jessica replied as she fumbled in her purse.
She pulled it out and brandished it triumphantly.
The woman waddled over to a small gate in the counter, pushed it up, and walked through.
She moved at a snail’s pace, but Jessica didn’t care.
She was just so grateful to see her suitcase in perfect condition with the jaunty pink ribbon fixed to the handle.
“Hold on a moment,” Tyler said. “My bag looks just like hers. Did you see it back there?”
The woman held up a palm in his direction. “Just a minute, sir. I’m in the middle of something.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Sure, no problem.”
Jessica tried not to laugh, but she failed. She pushed her lips together to hide it when the woman glared at her. “Try unlocking it. And I’m gonna need to see some ID.”
“No problem. I have my license.”
It took a few attempts, but finally the lock clicked open. Jessica showed her ID to the lady, who made her sign for the bag. Finally, as Jessica was putting her ID away, the woman turned to face Tyler again.
“Can I help you, sir?”
His lips twitched. “Uh, yes, please. I have a bag, just like that one, back there. I took that one home by mistake. Sorry about that.” He directed the last comment to Jessica.
“It’s fine. An honest mistake.” She shot him a smile as she zipped up her purse.
When she stepped outside, she heard him start over to explain the situation with exasperation in his voice.
Jessica laughed out loud now that she was out of earshot.
Poor man. How long would he be standing there before he finally got his suitcase back?
That is, unless they closed the door and made him come back tomorrow.
There was no way of knowing. She was grateful she’d managed to get hers without too much difficulty.
Finally, she could have clean underwear and get her clothes out to iron for the next day.
Butterflies flitted around her stomach at the thought — her first day of school as a teacher. Was she ready? She didn’t feel ready.