I gave it back to him just as the plane stopped. "Thank you so much."
He nodded.
“Are you sure I can’t have it cleaned for you?”
He looked at me like I had two heads. “I have people for that. No worries.”
I felt like I’d been dismissed, so I looked out the window, but, of course, this wasn't the same airport I was used to.
"Where are we?" I said. “It’s not Logan Airport.”
"It's a small landing area for private planes. It was easier to get a last-minute slot here."
"I haven’t been here before."
"There's no connection to commercial planes, so probably not."
The pilot opened the door a few moments later, helping me out first. Jake came down with our suitcases.
"Umm, I'm going to take an Uber," I said, hoping someone was available in the area. At Logan, there were taxis and other forms of ground transportation lined up to get travelers to their destinations.
"Nonsense. I've got the car waiting for me. I'll drop you off, and then I'll head to my grandparents' house."
He was tense again, like he was bracing himself for bad news.
"Thank you. That's very thoughtful." I made to take off the bracelet and give it back to him, but he shook his head.
"No, keep it. Who knows when you might need it?”
“True. Now that I know exactly how sick I can get, I'll take it with me on most of my plane rides. How much do I owe you?”
“Natalie.” The way he said my name made me squirm with delight. “Drop it. I mean it. It’s fine.”
“But—”
“I mean it.”
And I dropped it, because he had bigger things to worry about now.
He rolled both of our suitcases through the small building and then outside on the main sidewalk to wait for our car.
"If you want, we can go straight to your grandparents' house, and I can Uber from there. So you get to them quicker. I know you really want to see him.” I paused a moment, then said, “In fact, I have a better idea. As long as I'm not intruding, I could come with you and maybe tell Jeannie a bit about my ideas to distract her from everything that happened."
Jake turned to look at me abruptly. "You’d do that?"
"Yeah. Why not?"
"That would be a great idea. She's a basket case. When he had his heart attack, she was beside herself for weeks.”
“That's understandable. Oh, poor Jeannie and Abe.” My heart was hurting for both of them.
"How long are you going to stay?" I asked as the car drove in our direction, a black Lexus again. Did he have one on speed dial in every city?
“I don't know.”
"You don't like being here, do you?"
"No."