Planes Trains and Automobiles

NOTE: All characters in this story are over 18 years old.

*****

"Pull up a little further so I don't have to step through that slush," Jessica said as her mom pulled up to the curb outside of the American terminal at Hopkins International airport. The snow had been increasing steadily all day, but Jessica didn't care, because she was heading to Hawaii.

Jessica and her mom walked to the back of the RAV4. While her mom unloaded Jessica's luggage, she pulled off her Northface jacket and threw it in the back with her gloves and hat, leaving her in just her floral sundress and strappy sandals.

"What are you doing," her mom asked incredulously, "you'll catch your death of cold."

"By this time tomorrow, I'll be sipping Mai Tai's on the beach with Megan, so I don't think I'll need my coat and gloves until you come back to pick me up next week."

Megan was Jessica's college roommate and the bride-to-be at the "destination wedding" in Honolulu the following Saturday. It had been two years since they graduated and Jessica was looking forward to reconnecting with her best friend and seeing the whole gang from her University days.

"You should at least have a sweater or something," her mother said to the shivering girl, "and some sensible shoes."

"I've got everything I need in here, mom," replied Jessica, as she extended the handle on the full-sized suitcase that came in just under 50 pounds on the bathroom scale.

Jessica and her mom hugged each other tightly. "Safe travels dear, give Megan a big hug and a kiss for me."

"I love you, mom. I'll text you when I get there." After a quick kiss on her cheek, Jessica left her mother and wheeled the big suitcase through the slush and into the terminal.

Ever the planner, Jessica was at the airport two-and-a-half hours before her flight. She hated rushing or being late, and it left her plenty of time to grab an early dinner. After clearing security, she immediately walked up to the large Departures monitor, even though the agent had written A14 in big, red letters on her boarding pass when he checked her bag. She was surprised at the number of flights showing a status of delayed but was happy to see that her flight's status was displayed as on time.

"Gate A14," she said to herself after confirming the information on the monitor and headed down the crowded hallway of Concourse A toward her gate.

After a quick stop at Starbucks, she found herself a seat in the gate area next to a power outlet. She sipped her latte as she watched the throng of travelers in transit through the Concourse. Between people watching, the group-chat of college friends discussing their plans for the week before the wedding, and her latte, Jessica had not noticed the status of her flight change to "delayed 1 hour" until the gate agent made the announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you are waiting on flight 453 with service to Salt Lake City and a final destination of Honolulu, Hawaii, we have just been informed that the incoming plane has been delayed on the ground in Little Rock due to the weather here in Cleveland. At this point, the flight is delayed one hour. We will keep you updated and let you know when the Little Rock flight is given clearance to take off."

There was a collective groan from her fellow passengers waiting at the gate, but Jessica just plugged in her phone charger and accepted the news as a perfect opportunity to clear out her email inbox.

While busy on her phone the gate area had become much more crowded, something she realized when she heard another collective groan from the larger crowd. When she looked up she saw that the monitor behind the desk now showed the flight status as delayed two hours.

"Shit," she murmured to herself and texted her mother that her flight has been delayed.

Almost simultaneously, she heard a deep voice exclaim, "Oh, thank GOD," in-between deep breaths. She looked up to see a relatively handsome, middle-aged man in a business suit panting as if he had just finished a triathlon. She did a double-take as the guy looked like an older version of her father, or at least what she would imagine him to look like at that age.

"My in-coming flight just landed at Gate C22 and I wasn't sure I was going to make it from one end of the terminal to the other on time," he explained to the pretty young woman looking up at him from her seat.

"I'll watch your carry-on if you want to go back and take another crack at beating your personal best," she quipped, causing the man to break out in genuine laughter. Sarcasm was Jessica's primary language.

After composing himself, he looked at what she was wearing and said, "Let me guess, you're going to Hawaii too?"

"Yes, for a college friend's wedding," Jessica replied, "how about you?"

"Business," he replied, tapping the computer bag hanging from his shoulder.

"Would you like to sit," she asked, moving her Vera Bradley carry-on from the adjacent seat.

"Thank you," he replied, "after that sprint, I'm going to need a couple of Advil and a double-Jack-and-Coke when we get on the plane. Russ," he said, as he extended his hand and sat, "Russ Wilson."

"Jessica Peterson," she replied as she shook his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Russ."

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied. Russ pulled out his laptop and began to work. Jessica pulled her phone back out and idly scrolled through her Facebook newsfeed.

"Lake effect," Russ said, without looking up from his laptop.

"Excuse me," Jessica replied, unsure if he as talking to her or not.

"Lake effect snow," Russ continued while still clicking away at his keyboard, "the moisture comes in off Lake Erie and dumps a ton of snow on Cleveland."

"I know, I'm from here," she replied.

"Right here, at Gate A14?" It was now Russell's turn to be funny.

"No, silly, here in Cleveland," she replied with a giggle, "I've lived here my whole life." For some reason, she felt immediately comfortable with Russ from the moment she laid eyes on him.

"So how long is that," he asked while sizing Jessica up, "twenty, maybe twenty-one years?"

"Twenty-three, actually."

"Wow, you're the same age as my daughter. She's a nurse in Philly"

"No way, so am I," replied Jessica. She quickly added, "Not in Philly, but here in Cleveland," before Russ could retort with another dad-joke.

"You're onto my corny sense of humor already," laughed Russ, "you're intuitive like Brittney too."

Their conversation was interrupted by another announcement from the gate agent. The Little Rock flight had still not taken off, and they had no update on when the flight might receive clearance.

"Can you watch my bags," Jessica asked, "I think I'm going to go see if I can get out on another flight"

"Don't bother," Russ said while spinning his laptop toward her. The screen showed the Departure board for Hopkins airport, where most every flight was listed as delayed. "When it's this bad, it's just a matter of time before they cancel all the flights and close the airport."

"They can't do that," she whined, "there's a Welcome Luau for the wedding party on the beach tomorrow night that I don't want to miss. I guess I'd better text my mother and have her come pick me up. I just hope I can get out on a flight tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Russ snickered, "are you kidding me? This place will be a madhouse tomorrow, you'll be lucky to get out of here by Wednesday."

"WEDNESDAY?" Jessica shrieked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't call your mom just yet, you may still be able to make that Luau," Russ said, as he spun his laptop around again for her to see.

"Amtrak?" Jessica asked as she read the masthead of the website displayed on his computer. "Umm, Russ, I don't think there's a train to Hawaii."

"True. But there is one to Chicago," Russ countered. "It leaves Cleveland at 3:00 AM train that gets into Chicago at 8:45 AM. American has a direct flight out of O'Hare at 11 AM that lands in Honolulu at 3:45 PM. If everything runs on schedule, you'll have plenty of time to spruce up and hit that Luau.

"But how do you switch a ticket out of Cleveland for one out of Chicago? And I'd have to get my luggage. They won't let your luggage fly if you're not on the plane. And I could never afford to change my ticket to a direct flight."

As Jessica rattled off every conceivable problem with the plan, Russ just looked at the frantic young woman and smiled. When she finally slowed down to take a breath, he jumped in.

"Don't worry about all that. When you're an Executive Platinum member, they take care of all that for you."

"But I'm not an Executive Platinum member, Russ."

"No, but I am. And since you were so nice to offer me this seat, I'd like to help you get to that Luau."

"Oh, that's so kind of you to offer, but I could never repay you. I nearly had to sell a kidney to afford this trip as it is."

"There's nothing to repay. I have so many miles built up that my great-grandkids will be flying for free long after I'm gone. Besides, you really do remind me of Brittney, and if she was here, I'd do the same for her."

Jessica bit her lower lip. He seemed trustworthy, and after everything she spent on this vacation, she didn't want to miss a minute of it. But it was still a lot of generosity to accept from someone she just met.

"Geez, I don't know, Russ..."

Russ cut her off mid-sentence. "Tell you what, you cover the Uber rides and your train ticket, and I'll take care of the rest. It'll be a little adventure and you'll have a great story to tell your friends tomorrow night over poi and umbrella-drinks. Deal?"

Jessica glanced at the line in front of the gate agent's desk which was about 50 people deep, and she realized Russ was right.

"DEAL!" she exclaimed, throwing caution to the wind.

After 10 minutes of frenetic keyboard activity, Russ had their flights changed and seats reserved on Amtrak. Jessica pulled out her phone to request an Uber, but Russ said, "Wait." He pulled out his wallet and removed his license. "Take a picture of this and text it to your mother and your friends, so they know who you're traveling with.

I want you to feel safe and for them not to be concerned."

She did as he instructed and they both headed to Door 5 across from Baggage Claim to meet their Uber.

Before they stepped outside, Russ stopped and unzipped his roller bag, and dug out his overcoat. "Here," he said as he handed it to Jessica, "otherwise you'll catch your death of cold."

"Now you sound like my mother," she said, as she pulled on the overcoat, making her look like a little girl playing dress-up. The snow had picked up considerably since her mom had dropped her off, and the wind howled outside the terminal. Within minutes the Silver Escalade pulled up and they both jumped in the back seat.

"Sorry, just came on shift," the driver apologized, as the temperature inside of his car was almost as cold as outside. "The heat should kick on in a bit."

Jessica pulled the collar of the overcoat tightly around her neck, and visibly shivered underneath. "May I?" asked Russ, as he held his left arm up. With a nervous nod, Jessica slid nearer to him and allowed him to put his arm around her. Russ rubbed her arm and shoulder in an attempt to warm the thin girl. Her closeness was welcomed, as his suit coat was not doing much to keep him warm in the back of the cold SUV. She leaned her head on his shoulder as the Uber driver whisked them through the snow-covered streets of Cleveland.

"You two go in and get warm, and I'll bring in your bags," the driver instructed as he pulled up in front of the Amtrak station. Jessica gingerly stepped through the snow to get to the small brick building, with Russ's arm still around her. A minute later Malik came in with their carry-ons and Russ's laptop bag.

Other than the Amtrak ticket agent, they were the only three people in the station. They both thanked Malik for getting them there quickly and safely, and Jessica saw Russ slip him a generous tip as he shook his hand good-bye.

When he exited through the automatic doors, the wind whipped through the small building. Jessica and Russ took adjacent seats in the run-down building, and he placed his arm around her, this time without waiting for permission.

"Capital Limited is running on time, even with all this snow," said the ticket agent, without bothering to look up from his magazine. "It should be here within 30 minutes."

"Thank you," they replied in unison.

Jessica had warmed up by now, but she remained snuggled up with Russ. She had been working double-shifts at the hospital for the past two months to save up enough for pay for the trip, and it was over six weeks since she and her boyfriend broke up, so she was truly enjoying having Russ's strong arm around her. Besides, it was very peaceful to just stare out the windows of the quiet station and watch the lights reflect off the snowflakes falling outside.

The Amtrak agent was stealing peeks at his only two customers above the half-glasses at the end of his nose, trying to figure out if it was a father and daughter, or a lucky guy with a trophy wife. Even though the young girl's body was covered in the oversized coat, he could tell by her face and the contour of her neck that she was a lovely young woman.

"The Capitol Limited is arriving on Track Two," crackled the automated announcement over the loudspeakers in the waiting area.

The agent's gaze dropped down to the strappy sandals sticking out of the bottom of the baggy coat. "You'll need to walk about 50 yards to the track to board the train," he cautioned. "I shoveled it about an hour ago, but with the way this snow is falling, you wouldn't know it."

Russ carried their bags and held Jessica's arm as she strategically stepped though the snowy path in her practically bare feet. As they boarded the train, they were happy to see the car mostly empty, and the few passengers they passed were sound asleep.

Russ placed their bags up on the overhead shelf and Jessica slid into the window seat. She immediately removed her sandals and frantically rubbed her feet together, trying to get the blood to return to her extremities.

Russ sat in the aisle seat, and for the second time that night, asked, "May I?" as he turned in his seat to face her, bending his right leg under his left.

Jessica looked at him with a puzzled glance, until she realized he was offering to warm her feet. "You sure you don't mind," she asked politely, hoping that he truly didn't.

"I'm the one who dragged you out in this weather, so I kind of feel responsible," he joked, as he held out his hands to receive her bare feet.

Jessica turned in her seat to face him and placed her nearly frost-bitten feet into his hands. He leaned forward and huffed his warm breath on her reddened skin and then began to rub them vigorously.

She stifled a moan as the feeling returned to her numb feet, and the frantic rubbing morphed into a full-blown foot massage. "Your wife must be a very lucky woman," whispered Jessica, as a compliment to his talented fingers.

Russ stopped rubbing her feet, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I lost her two years ago to cancer, shortly after Brittney graduated nursing school."

"I'm so sorry, it's just you've mentioned your daughter a few times, and the wedding ring, I just assumed..."

Russ smiled at her admission, flattered that she had checked out his ring finger. He resumed the foot massage and the story.

"We thought we had beaten it, three years in remission, and then it came back in Britt's senior year. It's the reason she went into nursing. My wife was holding on to see Brittney get her diploma, and then three weeks later, she was gone. Since then I've thrown myself into work and I guess kept wearing the ring because, despite my daughter's encouragement, I'm just not ready to put myself out there again."

Jessica bit her lower lip to swallow a moan. As he talked about his late wife, the foot massage intensified, and while her heart was breaking for him, his hands were setting off inappropriate fireworks in her brain.

"But enough about me," Russ offered in an attempt to change the subject, "I've heard a lot about your mother, may I ask about your father?"

It was Jessica's turn to pause and exhale.

"He was a Marine reservist who got deployed to Afghanistan," she replied tersely.

"Was?" asked Russ empathetically.

"IED," she said coldly. "The silver lining is they said he was killed instantly and didn't suffer."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he said warmly. After a period of awkward silence, in an attempt to lighten the mood, he asked, "How 'bout them Browns?"

"Yeah, did you see the 'Factory of Sadness' next to the train station?" she replied with a giggle, using the infamous nickname for the stadium.

Happy that he had successfully changed the subject, Russ said, "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

Jessica pulled her feet off his lap to let him get up, assuming he was heading for the restroom. A short time later he returned to their seat with several mini-bottles of Jack Daniels, some snacks, two plastic cups with ice, and a bottle of Coke. "Diner car was still open," he said as he mixed two drinks and handed one to Jessica, noticing that she had shed the overcoat while he was gone.

"To your wife," she toasted.

"To your father," he reciprocated.

They clinked their cups together and drank.

"You know, you kind of look like him," Jessica said sheepishly as she sipped the strong cocktail.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when I first saw you, I thought you were him. I miss him so much every day."

Russ lifted his right arm in a tacit invitation and she snuggled up to him again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but this time his hand rested on her right hip, with only the thin material of her sundress between his palm and her bare skin. The two sipped their drinks in silence, quietly enjoying each other's company, the rhythm of the train, and the internal warmth of the Tennessee whiskey.

A short while later, Russ heard the soft purr of sleep coming from Jessica, so he lifted her empty cup onto the tray table and mixed himself another double. He emptied his cup, leaned his seat back, and let himself fall asleep as well.

He dreamed about his wife, something he hadn't done in a very long time. She was healthy and vibrant, and they were in the kitchen making lunch. He came up from behind her and nuzzled her neck, inhaling the herbal scent of her shampoo. She pushed her ass back against him, and teasingly rubbed it on his hardening cock.

When Brittney left for college, they rekindled their love life, and with the house to themselves, often had 'anywhere sex,' re-Christening every room in the house.

Russ reached around his wife and fondled her breasts, the way her nipples responded indicating that she wasn't wearing a bra. An avid runner, her breasts were not very large, but her nipples were long and responsive. Her ass cheeks squeezed around his cock, coaxing it to full-mast, and just as he was about to lift her onto the countertop, he was distracted by the whistle of the teapot.

"Forget the teapot," she whispered in his ear, "Do it. Do it right here, right now. You know how badly you want to. How badly you need to. I want you to. You deserve to be happy. You deserve this."

The whistle of the teapot got louder until it woke Russ up from his dream. It was then that he realized it wasn't a teapot at all, but rather the squeal of the train's brakes as it pulled into the Toledo station.

Taking stock of his surroundings, he noticed that his face was buried in Jessica's auburn hair and that his hand now rested in the valley between her breasts. They must have shifted as they both slept because her hand was now squarely on his lap, with a slight grip on his morning wood.