She walked with me to the terminal, we said goodbye and it was over. There was no sunset to walk into nor did she come running back to me in tears realizing the mistake she had made as I boarded the plan. It wasn't like the break ups you see in the movies, it wasn't really like anything. As I took my seat I thought I saw her still standing in the terminal, but decided it was probably someone else. A few nights later after having told the story to my father he said one of the more profound things I remember him saying, "Son, life isn't a movie."

After the plane had taken off I stared out the window and politely asked for a gin and tonic as the flight attendant passed by offering drinks. I tried to read a magazine as I listened to Death Cab For Cutie, but I ended up falling asleep before my drink arrived. I think I had a dream about her, but when I woke I was too exhausted to remember. I had been on the plane for three hours, but when I arrived in DC the clocks seemed to think that only two had passed.

As I wondered around the terminal for the next four hours waiting for my connecting flight I had some really bad thai food and somehow managed to run down the batteries on both my iPod and cell phone.

Copywrite 2008 Zackery Taylor