An Unexpected Love

Chapter 17: Surprise!!!

I walk over to the McDonalds and set my suitcase and carry-on by a table so I can order. I am standing in line thinking about how it was such a good idea to not check my suitcase so I don't have to worry about it getting lost. I walk up to the cashier and order and a double cheeseburger and pay with a twenty and take my change. The cashier gives me a number that they will call when my burger and fries are ready. Itake the cup that he hands me and start to fill it with Pepsi. My phone starts to ring as I am opening a straw and sticking it through the little hole in the lid. I flip open my phone without glancing at the number.

"Turn around," the voice on the other end says. I recognize who is talking immediatly. I smile and turn around like he ordered. I scan the airport and the people around me and a smile spreads across my face. I quickly set my drink down at the table with my luggage and run towards him as he walks toward me.

"I've missed you so much!" I yell. Ithrow my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. Ican feel people starring at me but I could care less. He laughs and hugs me back.

"I've missed you too!" he exclaims. He moves his hands and puts them on both sides of my face and lifts it so he can kiss me. I kiss him back enthusiastically. I pull away and stare at his face.

"Ty, what are you doing here?"

"What are you not happy to see me?" Ty teases. I hit him playfully on the arm.

"Of course I'm happy to see you! But you are supposed to be in New York!"

"Well, I wanted to be at the airport when you got there so I was giong to fly there and meet you there to pick you up. But then I decided that I would just come here so I can fly home with you. I know that you didn't want to fly by yourself and Ithought that this would be a good surprise. When I was on the phone with you last night I was actually getting on a plane to fly here. I stayed in a hotel last night and have been waiting here for about an hour."

"How did you know what time my plane got in and what terminal it landed at?" I ask. Ihave my suspicions.

"Well, I talked to Amy after you went to sleep last night. Itold her my plan and she thought it was great so she asked her parents about when you got here," he explains. He is smiling excidetly, obviously proud of his plan.

"You mean Amy and her parents new about this the whole time?" I ask. He nods. "How could she not tell me?!?"

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise,"he answers. I shake my head.

"Order 203! 203! 203, your order is up!" the McDonalds person is calling. I see him staring at me and look at my number.

"Oops, that's me. Come on, Ty." He takes my hand and we grab my burger. I take a couple drinks of my soda and then give Ty the rest. He finishes it off and throws it in the garbage as we walk by.

"I can by you something better than a burger if you want. I have plenty of money,"Ty offers as we walk into a Chinese food place.

"I'll just eat this." He shrugs and orders. He gives the cashier money and his food is ready immediatly. Ty thanks her and we walk towards our plane. We set our food on a seat by the entrance and Ty holds my bags along with his while I give the lady our plane tickets and dirver's licensess. She tells use to have a good flight and I grab the food and Ty follows behind me with our bags.

Ty stores the bags in the overhead compartments and we settle down into our seats. I fasten my seat belt and pull it tight. I prepare myself for the horrible takeoff. I hate the part when a plane lands or takes off. I hate that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomache and the sound of the wheels touching the runway. I always start to think of what would happen if we didn't take off and ran into another plane or if a plane didn't see us on the runway and landed on top of us. We would all be squashed like a pancake or like the kill that my uncle loves to eat for some reason.

Ty touches my arm, interupting my frightening and death filled thoughts. "You alright?" I nod. "Stop thinking about taking off. It'll be fine." He knows that I think of the same thing every plane flight. I smile and sink into my seat to try and relax. The flight attendents tell the pilot that the bins are alll locked up and we can take off. He announces that everyone needs to turn off their cell phone and fasten their seat belts until he says we are aloud to move around. The engine roars to live and I shuder. Ty slids his arm behind me and puts it around my shoulder. I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes.

I try and block the sound of the plane gaining speed and eventually lifting off. My stomach drops and and I moan. Finally, the plane levels out and I feel alright. After a few minutes the pilot says that we have reached our destined hight and we are free to move about the cabin.

"You still okay?" Ty asks in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I am now."

"Okay, do you want to eat then? The smell of the food is making me starving. It was a good idea to get it and bring it on the plane."

"Yeah, let's eat." I open my eyes and sit up. Ty hands me my burger and he opens his to-go container of Chinese food. A flight attendent is walking down the aisle offering everyone soda or water, peanuts, and a pillow or blanket. She gets to Ty and I and we each ask for just a Coke for now. She fills two cups and we hold them in the hand that we aren't holding our food with. We eat our food in silence.

When I am done eating, I sigh heavily. Now that my stomache is full, I feel extremely tired. I glance at Ty's face and see that he is tired and full too. He leans his head back on the headrest and closes his eyes. I scoot closer to him and rest my head on his chest. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes. He puts his hand on the small of my back and rubs it gently. After a few minutes of listening to his steady breathing, I feel myself startign to drift off to sleep.

Ty suddenly sits up, startling me awake. He looks uncomfortable and his usually tan face is pale. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be right back," he mumbles. He stands up and I turn to watch him walk down the aisle way. He turns to the right and knocks on the bathroom door. When no one answers he opens it and goes inside. I keep looking behind me to see if he is coming back. Finally, I hear footsteps walking toward me. I look up and see Ty standing over me. I pull back my legs so he can get to his seat. His face is pale and has a sickly look to it.

"Ty? Are you okay?" I ask in a concerned voice. He leans his head back and closes his eyes.

"No. I think I got food poising from that Chinese food," he mumbles. I rub his arm, trying to comfort him. He moans quietly in pain.

"Aww, I'm sorry Ty. I wish you felt better. Is there anything you want?"

"Yeah, me too. And no," he mutters. I reach across him and put the back of my hand on his forehead.

"You're kinda warm, Ty."

"So much for making this a good plane ride for you. Sorry."

"Ty, don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you are here," I assure him. He is about to say something but his eyes snap open and he jumps out of his seat. I pull my legs up under me and let him past. I settle back in my seat to wait for him. I wait for about five minutes. When he doesn't come back, I start to worry. I see someone walk towards the bathroom and knock on the door. Ty mumbles something to the man and the man sighs and sinks back into his seat. I stand up and knock on the bathroom door.

"Just a minute," Ty answers.

"Ty. Sweetie, it's me. Are you okay?" He doesn't respond and I start to get worried. After a minute I hear the tolit flush and and he opens the door. He smiles faintly at me but I can still see the pain in his eyes and he still has a sickly look on his face. He ignores my question and takes my hand in his. We walk back down to our seats. We sit down and he sighs heavily as he closes his eyes. "Are you alright?" I repeat.

"I'll be okay. I think that sleep will help," he whispers.

"Yeah, probably. I'm tired too so that sounds good." He nods and I wave a flight attendent over. She pushes her cart to our row and asks what we need. I ask for a pillow and a blanket and she pulls them out of her cart and hands them to me. I catch her glancing at Ty's pale face. She raises her eyebrows questionly at me and I just shake my head, telling her not to worry about it. She nods and I thank her. I tear the package of the pillow and blanket and the trash in the pouch on the back of the seat in front of me.

"Ty?"

"Hmm?" he mummbles without opening his eyes.

"Here, use this." He opens his eyes slowly and takes the pillow and blanket from me. He puts the pillow under his head and leans back on it. He lifts up his arm and I cuddle up against him. Ty pulls the blanket over both of us and then wraps his arms around me. I snuggle into his chest and he sighs contently. We both relax and I smile to myself.

Although it does suck that Ty isn't feeling that great, it is wonderful that he is here with me and I wrapped up in his arms. My eyelids are getting heavy and I feel myself drifting off to sleep.