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Home.
All Merry Brenner wanted to do was get home, but with a sinking heart, she realized that wasn't going to happen any time soon. In skinny jeans, suede boots, an oversized red sweater, and her hands full with her meager luggage and purse, she stood off to one side of the crowded customer service desk at the airport.
Even though she'd flown all over the world with her mother and stepfather, who was an officer in the Air Force, she hated flying. She was a white knuckle flier at best, and after the rough unscheduled landing in Pueblo, Colorado, due to a "situation," she was totally on edge.
Right now, she should be collecting her baggage at the carrousel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she thought she'd end her trip. Instead here she was, staring at the four attendants at the long counter giving every displaced passenger the same company line. "We do apologize for this inconvenience." No mention of cars sitting in long term parking lots that were not going to be picked up, or loved ones waiting for them on the other end.
"Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems with your original plane, we have had to downsize to a smaller carrier." That really meant, "You're out of luck, unless you're one of the chosen few who'd managed to finagle a seat on that alternate carrier." Followed by what the company probably thought was a generous offer. "Of course, you can be put on standby for the other flights out to Santa Fe."
There were two, and both had filled up immediately by displaced passengers. "Or there is a flight departing for Santa Fe…" Her hopes had risen when she'd heard that. "…at eight-fifty-two tomorrow with a five hour stopover in Denver." Just where she didn't want to be. "Arrival time in Santa Fe at seven-thirty tomorrow evening."
Merry had put her name on all the lists, but still refused to accept the fact that there was no feasible way to get out of here tonight. Turning away in a huff, she didn't bother to stick around to listen to their very generous offer of, "Admittance to the flight lounge that has WiFi, along with a complimentary voucher for a meal at the only restaurant in the terminal, and a coupon for fifty percent off your next flight anywhere in the contiguous states."
She lugged her things toward a row of hard plastic chairs that overlooked the runways, and dropped everything at her feet. Then she sank down into the nearest chair and forced herself to stay calm.
All she had to do was get to Wolf Lake, New Mexico, a small town where tourists migrated to in the summer. In the winter it was a stop off for skiers before they headed farther north to the popular resorts higher in the mountains.
It was her home. It was where she'd moved six months ago, coming back after twenty years to settle there, to start a new job. Landing that position at The Family Center, to aid in the development of children who needed the help and guidance of a trained psychologist, had seemed like a dream come true for her. Because the truth was, she'd wanted to return to Wolf Lake from the moment her mother and stepfather had spirited her off to the first of many military posts they would relocate to over the years. Now she was back, or had been back, until she'd gone out of town for that three-day child development seminar in Chicago.
Swiping an errant strand of auburn hair off her cheek, she stared straight ahead on the concourse, barely noticing the people milling about in search of their flights. She was sitting still, but her mind was going a mile a minute trying to think of any way to get out of Pueblo and on her way back home. She'd already checked the car rentals, which had none available, and even asked at the charter counter, but immediately gave up that idea when she heard what it would cost. It was far beyond anything she could manage on the modest salary she earned from The Family Center.
The kids. She shook her head. They'd never understand that she'd broken her promise. Never. She'd told them she was going away to a conference for a few days, and that had been a bit upsetting for most of them. However, for Erin, a six-year-old girl, who was so small she could have passed for four years old, it had hit hardest. The child had stared at her intently, then thrown her arms around Merry's legs and hugged Merry so tightly that it was almost painful.
Erin was alone in the world, her mother dead, her father serving a life term in prison. The girl with a wild mass of brilliant red curls, and pale, freckled skin, seldom talked. And she hadn't uttered a word then, just moaned softly until Merry had settled her down. The promise she'd made to all the children, she made again to Erin privately. "Three days and nights, then I promise I'll be back before you have to leave with Mrs. Harper."
Maybe the child heard the honest intent of those words and trusted her, or maybe she just gave up. But either way, that promise would mean nothing now, not unless Merry could make good on it. The urgency in her to get home grew stronger and drove her to her feet… Her kids, including Erin, didn't understand excuses. She couldn't afford to let them down. Her kids had special needs in varying degrees, but their foremost need was being able to depend on people close to them.
Merri looked around, frustrated, but still not giving up. She was proactive, as one of her college professors had pointed out without exactly saying that was a good thing. But she thought it was, so on impulse, canvased the other passengers stuck in the terminal in an attempt to see if she could secure one of their seats if they weren't in a hurry. But, once again, she hit a brick wall. It seemed everyone diverted here wanted to get out as soon as possible. She looked around the main terminal, at the throngs of passengers going in and out of the souvenir and snack shops, checking out kiosks and generally killing time until the boarding call for their flights came over the PA system.
Merry was part of that same crowd, but unfortunately, she was not going to get any announcement in her favor anytime soon. Pacing restlessly around the concourse, she wound up back at the service desk for the airline again. Thankfully, most of the other passengers had been dealt with, and there were only a handful of people near the counters now.
"One more time," she muttered to herself as she headed to the end of a line fronted by an anxious-looking young man, followed by an elderly couple. The young man abruptly pushed away from the counter, calling back over his shoulder, "Thanks for nothing," as he stomped off. The couple moved to the desk, leaving Merry alone in the line. The gentleman spoke quietly to the agent, his tone polite, but his words indistinguishable. The elderly lady suddenly raised her voice to say, "But we have to get a flight out of here now!" Her voice took on a soft, plaintive whine as she turned toward the man beside her. "Ashford, tell this lady we have to get back to Los Angeles."
The gentleman nodded, dropping an arm around his companion's shoulders, and he spoke to the agent again in a louder voice. "Madam, this is not acceptable. We have opera tickets that are impossible to procure, and now you're telling me that there will be two empty seats in the hall this evening! Unacceptable, totally unacceptable." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Who is your supervisor?"
"Andrew Davison," the agent said, and directed them to his office before adding, "I hope Mr. Davison can do something to help you."
With a shake of his head, the gentleman walked off with his lady, and the path was finally clear for Merry to get to the desk. Hi," she said, hating the tightness in her voice as she forced a jittery smile at the agent whose name tag read Alice Z. "I need to get home, and arriving there tomorrow evening isn't an option."
April Z, a stunningly attractive blonde, looked a bit frayed from dealing with all those displaced passengers, but that polite smile remained. "I'm so sorry, but there are no open seats on the flights out to Los Angeles right now."
Merry stopped her. "I'm trying to get to Santa Fe. My original plane was going to go on to L.A., but I was getting off in Santa Fe."
"Oh," the woman said, but that information didn't change her demeanor one bit. "I can put you on standby for a flight to Santa Fe if you like? Or do you have a medical emergency, family crisis, or any other compelling reason that you have to be on a flight now?"
Alice Z. looked at her expectantly, but Merry knew that no one would think that her reason for needing to get home would be compelling to anyone except her. "Um…no, nothing like that."
With what looked like real disappointment, the pretty blonde turned to the nearest computer screen, tapped it with a slender finger, then said, "Your last name?"
"Brenner."
"Ah, yes, here you are. I can get you out on a flight out in the morning."
"I already heard that. It goes to Denver first, then a five hour layover before it gets to Santa Fe tomorrow evening."
"Then apparently you know what I know," the agent said with a sigh.
"I just have to get home," she reiterated desperately. "There has to be some way to do that and get there by tonight. It isn't that far."
April Z. turned back to the computer screen, taking several moments scrolling the information, then reached behind her for a swivel chair and dropped down in it before turning back in Merry's direction. "I usually love my job," she muttered, "but right about now."
As her words trailed off, Merry found herself in the position of showing a degree of sympathy. "I know. You've done your best."
The woman spread her hands. "This airport is not huge, and we just do not have the kind of resources that the other main airports have." She hesitated. "Believe me, if I had any way to get you on an alternative flight or get you a rental car, I would. Or arrange a charter, even."
"Charters are out of the question," Merry said quickly.
"It's pretty important you get home, isn't it?"
"I'm supposed to be home today, by the evening at the latest. I know that's the same song and dance that you're hearing from all the passengers, but I've got a promise I need to fulfill to my kids."
She saw April's eyes soften slightly. "You have children?"
"Oh, no, at least, not my own. I'm a child psychologist and I'm on a grant at The Family Center in a small reservation town northeast of Santa Fe called Wolf Lake."
"I've heard of it," April said with a nod.
"The children I work with are challenged by their limitations and by their lives. I had to be at a seminar the past few days, but when I left, I promised them I would be back today before they went home." She picked up her bags and released a heavy sigh. "I never thought about this happening, but I'll figure this out, someway. Thanks for trying."
"Sure, and good luck," April Z. said, then called after her, "If I find anything at all, I'll page you, okay?"
"Thanks," she replied as she headed away from the counter. She felt exhausted, not to mention disgruntled that even though she'd given it her best shot, it hadn't made a difference. Worse yet, she didn't know what to do now, except call Dr. Moses Blackstar, who was her supervisor at the Center, and fill him in on what was going on.
Merry headed off to find a place to sit and make the call, then settled for a seat by a side window and dropped down in the thinly padded chair. Setting her luggage at her feet, she sank back and glanced out the windows as a sleek, smaller jet climbed out of sight into the gray, cloudy sky.
She almost chuckled at a crazy image that came to her of her standing on the runway, thumb out, trying to hitch a ride on one of those private jets. They had to seat eight or ten, and surely one of them would have an empty seat and be heading to the Santa Fe area. Then the humor died as she fumbled around in her purse to find her cell phone.
She called Dr. Blackstar's number, but it was a dead end. The doctor was in an emergency surgery and his assistant was gone for the day. She left a message, briefly explaining about her delay and that she was still trying to get back. Then she called an associate at the center—Marsala O'Brian, a twenty-two-year-old intern working under the grant, too.
The girl picked up on the second ring. "Merry, are you back?"
"No, I'm not." She described her situation, then added, "I'm trying as hard as I can to find out how to make it back there today, but so far I've hit nothing but brick walls."
"What a mess, but it's good that they landed safely, isn't it? I mean, those planes are huge and—" She bit off her words. "Forget I said that. You're okay and that's what's important."
"But I promised the kids," she said softly.
"And you'll be back, just a bit later than you said. I can explain it to them, and tomorrow you can explain it to them yourself."
That made sense, but that didn't mean she was going to sit back and wait for tomorrow. "Thanks, Marsala. But don't say anything to them until I know for sure if I can't get back. I'll call you as soon as I know, okay?"
"Yes. I'll wait until six, when they're being picked up. That's just two hours. Can you get here by then?"
"Maybe not, but just wait until I call you back."
"You got it."
"One more thing? Could you tell Erin one on one, not with the boys around? Can you do that for me?"
"Of course I can. I'll do it first."
"I owe you big time," she said, then ended the call and stood.
