Sweat trickled down between my breasts as I awkwardly jogged through the departures terminal, scanning the waiting areas for my gate number. Something pointy in my backpack was digging into my side with every step, and I hitched the bag higher, dodging around a Korean family. I finally got to my gate and rushed up to the woman at the podium, panting and holding out my crumpled boarding pass.
She glanced at it and then gave me a disapproving look, her eyes lingering on the tattoo on the side of my neck. "This plane has finished boarding, Miss. I'm afraid you're too late."
"Are you sure I can't still get on?" I gasped, my heart sinking.
She pulled a walkie-talkie from under the podium and said something into it. She was answered by a staticky voice on the other end. "I'm afraid the plane has already left the gate. If you go to the airline counter they'll assign you another flight."
I dropped my backpack on the floor and considered lying down next to it. I was so tired. After taking a moment to come to terms with my new situation, I heaved the heavy backpack over my shoulder and made my slow way back to the airline counters. It was already 9pm and the next flight to New York didn't leave until 7 the next morning. Of course. A night in the airport would certainly be the cherry atop the ice cream Sunday this week had already been. Maybe if I was lucky I'd get a cold too.
I tucked my new boarding pass away and wandered off to find my gate; I would not miss this next flight. The airport was already emptying out fast. Most of the red-eye flights had already left, and though the airport was still technically open all night, only a skeleton crew of employees remained in the building.
At the gate for my 7am flight I found a cozy corner with a long padded bench. I'd spent the night in worse places. I settled down with my iPod and a book and used my backpack for a pillow. The book I'd chosen to read on the plane was one of my favorite romance novels. It had a pretty tame cover, so unless someone recognized it, they wouldn't know I was reading smut in public. I liked that; pretending it was just any novel when I was secretly getting slippery between the legs turned me on even more.
I was just getting into the story when a man wandered into the nearly empty gate area, looking up at the gate numbers. He was older than me but not by much, maybe thirty. He was wearing a black dress shirt tucked into black pants and pulling a rolling suitcase. His face was handsome but rather earnest-looking for my taste.
I watched him over the top of my book and hoped he wouldn't invade my private corner. He sat down on the bench opposite me. "Hello," he said, smiling at me. "I'm Matthew."
I rested the book face-down on my stomach and reached across the aisle to shake his hand. "I'm Francesca. Frankie." He was cuter up close. I'd always had a thing for blue eyes. But ever so innocent looking. Not the type of guy who'd fuck me against a wall and pull my hair.
"Did you also miss the plane to New York?" he asked.
I nodded. "This is pretty good spot to sleep, though."
He nodded absently. "I think I'm going to try to find some dinner before everything closes. Would you care to join me?"
I wasn't very hungry but I agreed anyway. What else was I going to do with my evening? We gathered our bags and set off in the direction of the main terminal. "So what are you going to do in New York?" my new best friend Matthew asked.
I cleared my throat around the lump that immediately formed there at his words. "Family stuff," I said, brushing the words aside with my hand. "I'm from there, but I've been living out here for a few years."
"What about this place?" he said, pointing to an open shop. "It looks like they have sandwiches." We purchased some rations to see us through the night. "Should we eat here?" Matthew asked, "Or go back to our gate?"
"Let's go back," I suggested. "That corner feels like home already."
"One thing I hate about airports," Matthew said, as we trudged back the way we'd come, "is that you have to drag your stuff with you wherever you go."
"They should have lockers or something," I agreed.
"Or if people could be trusted not to steal..." he said.
"Well yes, obviously," I laughed. "If human nature were different that would certainly solve a lot of pesky problems."
"Don't you think humans are inherently good?" he asked as we sat down on our benches again.
"Of course not. Do you?" I asked incredulously, unwrapping my sandwich on my knees.
"I believe all people are born good."
"That's some enlightenment thinking shit," I scoffed. "'Tabula Rasa' and all that. I've read a lot of psychology; I don't think you're correct." I took a bite of my sandwich and he did the same. We chewed quietly for a minute. "Gods this is nasty," I laughed. "Airport food, right?"
"Gods?" he asked quietly.
"Whichever ones are listening." I hoped I hadn't offended my only airport friend too badly. I could come on strong when the topic was something I was passionate about. The subjects of science and religion were particular passions of mine.
We ate quietly for a while. I rejected my sandwich for a bag of chips, but Matthew devoured everything he'd bought. "You can have the rest of my sandwich if you want," I offered. "I'm not going to finish it."
"Are you sure?" he asked before reaching over and taking it.
"So what are you doing in New York?" I asked, hoping to get the conversation rolling again on a neutral topic.
Matthew chewed and swallowed. "I've been assigned to lead a congregation there." I raised my eyebrows. "I'm a Catholic priest."
"Well." I said. That's one way to kill a conversation, Frankie. I ate some chips.
"I'm guessing you're not a believer?"
"You'd guess right," I smiled. "Atheist and proud."
There was another long silence. I thought about listening to my music. If he didn't want to sit with me he could move. I was here first.
"Did you ever believe?" he asked quietly. He looked sad, staring at me with those big blue eyes.
"When I was a kid, I guess," I said, winding a strand of long black hair around my index finger. "My parents told me about god but we never went to church. It wasn't much of an issue until I was in in my twenties and I started really reading stuff. The more I learned about how the world works, the less the myth made sense."
"Do you think you'll ever come back to the church?" he asked. I wondered if he was excited. The chance to convert a real life atheist and he had all night.
"I'd need compelling proof," I stated bluntly, letting the strand of hair fall from my finger in a spiral curl. "The laws of physics and nature make sense to me and they can be tested and proven." I sat up to face him and smirked. "What have you got?"
"Well the Bible is the word of God—"
