There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Alyssa was not having a good day.

Scratch that, she wasn’t having a good week.

All of her holiday plans were crumbling little by little. She still had a million things to do before going home to her family in Chicago, and no time to do it. And to top it off, she was in Canada.

Alyssa worked at a big time advertising company in Chicago, and since her family lived in the suburbs, she didn’t really worry about holiday travel or buying presents. She had bought all the gifts she needed online, but they wouldn’t arrive to her house until two days before Christmas. She thought nothing of it, since she had planned on driving to her parents house later the same night on which the gifts arrived.

And if that didn’t work, she’d just drive down on Christmas Eve. It wouldn’t even take her an hour.

She wasn’t worried.

Well, she wasn’t worried until her boss sent her to fucking Canada last minute. Jennifer, the girl who was supposed to go to Canada for this big deal, got sick and wasn’t able to go, so Alyssa was asked. She knew she could have said no, but this was a big opportunity for her. This could propel her further up the rankings, so it was really a no-brainer for her.

She had to do this Canada trip, and she had to completely nail it. If she could do well with this deal, it was almost a given that she’d be the go-to girl for future deals like this. It was an opportunity she could just not pass up.

When Alyssa did in fact rock the deal and earn praises from her boss, she decided not to feel too bitter about the fact that she was supposed to be lounging around her apartment. Yes, the trip did mess up her schedule a bit, but it would be okay. She would get on her flight to O’Hare, get a cab to her Chicago apartment (even though O’Hare was right by her parent’s house), unpack her work clothes from her duffel bag and fill it with Christmas vacation stuff, wrap her presents (which her neighbor had thankfully picked up for her yesterday so they wouldn’t just be sitting by the mailboxes), and be out the door back to the suburbs. Yes, it was pushing it, but she couldn’t not go to her parent’s house for Christmas.

She hadn’t been there in a while, even though it was so close, and Christmas was kind of a big deal. She would feel guilty for not showing up.

Plus, she wanted to know what kind of presents she would get.

“Ma’am?” The Starbuck’s worker broke Alyssa out of her reverie. “Here’s your coffee.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said, grabbing her cup and leaving a small tip. Alyssa adjusted her purse on her shoulder and grabbed her bag before making her way back over to the boarding call area. She hated that because of airport security she had to be there for several hours before her flight, but she had a good magazine to read in her bag.

She sat down and placed her purse and coat on the seat to her right and her duffel on the chair to her left. She didn’t want any weirdos sitting next to her. There were two different flights in her section, but she didn’t know where the other one was headed.

Ten minutes into her magazine, she felt a tap on her shoulder form behind her. She jumped slightly, forgetting about the row of chairs behind her. The rows were set up back to back, so when she turned her head, she came face to face with the person who tapped her.

“Sorry to startle you,” he grinned. “I was just wondering if you were on the Chicago flight or the New York flight.”

“Chicago,” Alyssa said before turning back to her magazine.

“Damn. I can’t find anyone on the New York flight and I’m wondering if I have the wrong boarding number or something.”

“You should go up to the desk,” Alyssa said, still scanning her magazine.

“Wow, thanks for all your time,” the man said sarcastically, turning back around in his seat.

“Excuse me, but I don’t see how your incompetence is my problem,” Alyssa turned around, looking at the back of his head.

“Do you really think I don’t know where I’m supposed to be? It was an excuse to talk to you. Jesus,” the man muttered. Alyssa’s eyebrows rose slightly, and she suddenly realized how rude she had been.

“I’m sorry,” she instantly said. “I’m just, stressed out. I just want to get home.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” he nodded with a smile. “You live in Chicago?”

“Yeah. And I was supposed to already be at my parents house, but then my boss sent me here to close a business deal, and now I have to rush through everything when I get back to Chicago,” Alyssa replied.

“Your boss sent you on a business deal until Christmas Eve? What a douche,” the man muttered. Alyssa furrowed her eyebrows.

“It’s not like I didn’t have a choice. I could have said no,” she said, feeling the need to be defensive for some reason.

“So why didn’t you?”

“This deal was an opportunity to make a name for myself and prove myself to my boss, and I felt it was worth it,” she shrugged.

“But it’s Christmas,” the man countered.

“So?”

“So, if you have a chance to be with family, you should take it.”

“I can see my family any time,” Alyssa waved off.

“You seem pretty sure of yourself there,” the guy noted.

“I am sure of myself. I live in Chicago, they live in a suburb of Chicago. Not too difficult.”

“And when’s the last time you went to visit them?”

Alyssa remained silent, and the guy smirked.

“That’s what I thought,” he remarked, turning back around. Alyssa turned back around too, running a hand through her hair. “You know,” the guy said over his shoulder, causing Alyssa to turn her head slightly. “You shouldn’t just assume they’ll always be there.”

She saw him grab his bags and get up after that, moving across his aisle to the other row of chairs. Alyssa opened her magazine in a huff, but she found herself unable to focus on anything she read.

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but flight 307 to O’Hare has been delayed due to bad weather in Chicago. We will update you as soon as we get more information. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Alyssa groaned and got up, heading to the boarding call desk where the woman was just putting down the microphone to the intercom.

“Excuse me,” Alyssa said to her. “But how long is the delay going to be?”

“Well we don’t know for sure just yet, but according to O’Hare the storm is pretty bad. Minimum one hour, but it could definitely be longer than that,” the woman said. Alyssa rubbed her head and muttered a ‘thank you’ before trudging back over to her chair. Before she sat down she locked eyes with the guy from earlier, and he shot her a taunting smirk.

She narrowed her eyes and sat down, pulling her cell phone from her purse. She dialed the familiar number and waited for someone to pick up.

“Hello?” They answered.

“Hi mom,” Alyssa replied.

“Hi sweetheart! How is Canada?” She heard her mom’s amused tone, which set her at ease a little.

“I didn’t really get a chance to experience it, but the people are nice,” Alyssa said, wondering what to say next.

“Your flight got cancelled, didn’t it?”

“Delayed, actually,” Alyssa breathed out, thankful her mom brought it up first.

“Well, the weather here is absolutely ridiculous, and it’s not supposed to let up any time soon. Your flight is cancelled, honey,” her mom chuckled.

“Mom, I’m sorry, you know I had to take this trip, and I-”

“I know, I know. It’s fine. Just get here when you can. And as safe as you can. Alright?”

“Alright,” Alyssa sighed. “I’m going to wait here another hour or so and see if anything changes.”

“Okay honey. Keep me updated. Love you.”

“Okay. Love you too,” Alyssa hung up and sighed, running a hand through her hair once more.

She waited as long as she could, but it was evident that Alyssa was going to be stuck in Toronto another night at least. The storm was moving away from Chicago, but as her luck would have it, it was headed straight for Toronto.

Flight 262 to JFK International Airport is now going to begin boarding…

Alyssa tuned out quickly, not wanting to think about how she was going to be stuck here while these other people, including that one guy, got to go home.

“Hey,” Alyssa heard behind her. She knew it was that guy, and she was ready to kick him with her stiletto. She looked up slowly to where he stood in front of her. “Listen, I called my dad, and he called around, and he said there are still some flights in New York headed out to Chicago. So, if you wanted to go exchange your ticket, I’ll help you get-”

“Really?” Alyssa interrupted, causing the guy to nod. She began to grab her things before stopping and looking at the man cautiously. “…Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because it’s Christmas,” the guy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Alyssa blinked a few times before walking over to the counter, easily exchanging her ticket. “Excuse me,” the guy interrupted the transaction, causing the woman behind the counter to look over at him. “Is there a seat by mine available for her by any chance?” He asked, pulling out his boarding pass. The woman grabbed it and typed some things into her computer before nodding.

“Yes, there is a seat but-”

“I’ll take care of the cost,” the guy waved off.

“Cost? What cost?” Alyssa asked. The other two just ignored her, and before she could ask again the boarding pass was already printed and the guy had handed the woman his credit card. “Wait a second-”

“Enjoy your flight!” The woman said once everything was taken care of. The guy grabbed his bags and then picked up Alyssa’s duffel, leaving her with only her purse.

“Wait a second!” She called out, following his fast pace.

“They already called our row, we have to go,” he said over his shoulder. Alyssa followed him onto the plane, and stopped dead in her tracks when he turned left onto the plane instead of right.

Turning right meant coach, but turning left….left was first class. Alyssa had never ridden in first class.

“Wait a second!” She whispered at him. “You bought me a first class ticket?” The guy put their bags up in the storage area and turned to her.

“Window or aisle?” He asked, ignoring her question.

“What?”

“Window,” he said slowly, “Or aisle?” There were only two seats in every row, so she didn’t have to worry about being next to someone she didn’t know.

Not that she knew this guy that well, but it was better than someone she had never spoken to before.

“Um. Window,” she stated, walking past him and slipping into the window seat. He sat down next to her, adjusting the seat to get comfortable. “You didn’t have to do this, I would have been fine in-”

“Yeah yeah, you’re welcome,” he cut her off, closing his eyes.

“How much do I-”

“Nothing,” he waved off.

“No, no, I have to pay you back. How much do I-”

“Nothing,” the guy said again with a tone of finality. He had opened his eyes to look at her, and she finally nodded. He closed his eyes again and Alyssa looked out the window.

The flight took off soon after, and Alyssa inwardly groaned at the fact that she had to use the restroom. She turned to her left to tell the guy next to her, also groaning at the fact that she didn’t even know his name. He was dead asleep however, so she unbuckled her seatbelt (even though the fasten seatbelt sign had turned off ages ago) and softly shimmied her way past him.

Once she was done in the bathroom and was making her way back to her seat, the plane began to rumble slightly. It was just a little turbulence, and Alyssa wasn’t worried, but she still wanted to get back to her seat quickly. She found her row and the man who was still sleeping, and turned so that she could shimmy through again. The plane jolted again, causing Alyssa to stumble right into the man’s lap.

He woke up with a grunt and grabbed her hips instinctively, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, causing Alyssa to nod with a blush. “Do you need to get out?”

“No, I was coming back, actually,” she said softly. He nodded and let her go, allowing her to slide over into her seat. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he yawned, looking over at her for a moment. “I’m Mike, by the way.” He stuck out his hand, and she shook it with a smile.

“Alyssa,” she replied.

“So, Alyssa. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem like a big Christmas lover.”

“Oh. Well, I mean, it’s okay. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it,” she shrugged.

“I mean, you could be working on propelling your career instead of wasting time and money on a mandatory holiday, am I right?”

“Exactly! Oh God, it’s like, Christmas fell at exactly the worst time this year,” Alyssa agreed. Mike shook his head.

“I was being sarcastic,” he mumbled.

“Oh. Well…”

“And if you didn’t know, Christmas is the same day every year.”

“Yes, I knew that, I’m not stupid-”

“Well in that case, Christmas didn’t fall at the worst time. The rest of your life did.” Alyssa went to argue, but Mike put on the headphones to watch the in-flight movie. This guy was really starting to annoy the fuck out of her.

But deep down, she couldn’t help but feel like he was right.