Christy took an hour and a half, and I finally went to check on her when she still hadn’t come downstairs. I knocked on her half-open door and then gently pushed it open.

Her room looked like her dresser and closet had both exploded. Two large suitcases stood by the door and she was doing her best to close a smaller one.

I looked at my watch.

“Um… we need to leave in about fifteen minutes. Anything I can help with?”

“Oh, thanks! Would you take those downstairs for me?”

“Wait… these?” I gestured at the large suitcases. I’d thought they were empty, just standing by in case her things wouldn’t all fit in the smaller suitcase.

“Yes.” She caught my expression. “What’s the matter?”

“You know it’s just four days, right?”

“Of course I do. Please don’t give me a hard time about all my clothes.

I’m taking a bunch of summer outfits home so I can return with my winter clothes.”

“Hold on…” I nodded at the closet and all the other clothes strewn around the room. “You mean this isn’t all your clothes?”

“Are you kidding? No, no way I could keep all my things in here.”

My eyes widened, but she missed it.

“I have a full closet at home, plus all this stuff. Crap! Will you help me close this stupid suitcase?”

I put my weight on it and persuaded the latches to close.

“Thanks! This is the one with things I’m gonna wear. Lemme pack my bathroom stuff and a few delicates and then I’ll be ready. Five minutes.”

I knew better than to trust her estimate. “Five minutes” of Christy-time was half an hour in the Newtonian universe. Still, pestering her would only make things worse, so I lugged the two large suitcases downstairs.

Trip was walking from his office to the kitchen. He backed up and did a double take.

“Don’t ask,” I said.

I went upstairs, brought my own things down, and loaded everything into the Land Cruiser. Then I waited for Christy to finish packing. When she did, after only twenty-five minutes, I loaded her two smaller bags. We said goodbye to Trip and Wren and left in a bit of a hurry.

“It’s okay. I usually have to get to the gate an hour early. It’s just a habit.

We don’t have to this time, though. Thank goodness.”

“Why? I mean, why do you get there so early?”

“I fly for free because my dad works for the airline.”

“Oh, that’s right. Pretty cool.”

“Yes, but… I have to fly stand-by. I have to show up early, wear a coat and tie—I’m representing the company when I fly, so I have to look nice—

and I might get bumped if there aren’t enough seats.”

“Oh. That kinda stinks.”

“Right. It’s worst around holidays, though.”

“Like Thanksgiving.”

gonna be cutting it close, though.”

Christy nodded. Then she jerked upright. She yanked open her purse but then relaxed.

I chuckled as she pulled out her ticket. “Thought you’d forgotten it?”

“Yeah. My mom sent it to me a month ago, and I kept it on top of my dresser so I wouldn’t lose it.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Mr. Clean.”

“Hold on a sec… That’s the ticket your mom sent you? I thought you were going to trade it in and get one on the same flight as mine.”

“I forgot. We’ve been so busy and all.”

“Oh. Okay. So… no problem.”

“I’m sorry, but this flight left four hours ago,” the ticket agent explained when we got there. “I can’t exchange it.”

“Can’t you do anything?” I insisted.

“No, I’m sorry. I can only refund a ticket before the time of departure.”

I took a firm grip on my frustration.

“Can’t I just buy a new one?” Christy asked.

“Of course. To San Diego via Atlanta?”

The agent checked her terminal. “We have a flight that leaves in thirty minutes.”

“That one!” Christy said. She was actually excited.

I was borderline furious. First, that she’d forgotten to exchange her original ticket. But also because she’d have to pay for a new one. Last-minute tickets were insanely expensive, although the agent was able to refund the cost of the return ticket and apply it to the new ones. Still, Christy didn’t bat an eye when the agent told her how much it would cost.

“Can I write a check?” she asked.

“See?” Christy said to me. “Problem solved.”

pay for her ticket if her check wasn’t good. Not unless I wanted to use my credit card and then dip into savings to pay it off. So I kept my mouth shut and fingers crossed.

We spent another ten minutes getting the ticket printed and paid for, but the agent called the gate to tell them we were coming. We made it with ten minutes to spare. As far as I was concerned, that was nearly the same as watching the plane depart without us. Christy seemed unfazed and chattered about her family or something.

I wasn’t paying attention. Instead, I was wondering how crazy I was to want a relationship with her. She was my exact opposite in so many ways.