flight of the frazzle cord

stuffed in the middle seat,
[it's expected when you're towards the end
of the boarding line..]
to my right was a teen bopper,
shaggy boy hair cut
with bangs curtaining
her bright blueberry  eyes,
she had her earphones jammed in her ears
singing louder than
the socially acceptable norm.
she had her little treasures piled on the tray table
in front of her
a sketch pad with a half drawn picture
of a lanky girl with
legs and arms painfully disproportionate
to the pencil girl's body,
a vibrantly loud tablet cover
hugging her electronics.
she tapped me on the shoulder
as i awkwardly tried to keep my limbs
within my allotted space.
"you ever seen the show Supernatural?"
she asked as if we were best friends
and i should know what she's talking about.
i politely smiled and said no, but that i'd heard of it.
she went on to explain a scene to me
convincing me of its humor
and something about a guy losing a shoe..
i smiled again and resumed my
awkward reading while attempting
not to cross any metal lines
that stretched past my seat belt.
on my left
was a kind business guy named
kevin i would soon find out.
[we would form a bond due to the
excessive noise level that
blueberry teen ager would thrust upon us]
Kevin wore classy tan brown shoes
and a modest pair of dark pants
with a tucked in collared shirt
snug above his belt.
he kept his earphones in as well
trying to read
taking extra care to be respectful of
my space.
his skin was dark and his eyes black
behind his wirey glasses.
he pulled out his ear phones
looking around bewilderedly
and asked me why were still
sitting on the terminal
after 25 minutes of sitting idly with no take off
in sight.
i explained to him there was a maintenance problem
and some sort of door would not
manage to shut.
he was appreciative of the info.
we eventually took off after
they announced that the stubborn door
simply would not shut
so they would just have to duct tape it.
that made me feel safe and secure.
blueberry was still singing loudly,
it was cute at first,
but now it was making me cringe
as i was desperately trying to tune it out
and dive into my book,
she was making that very difficult.
i looked around
and Kevin and i shared a look
of common discomfort
and he reached into his bag
and pulled out a little orange cup
with
ear plugs.
he whispered to me,
"i was trying to read too, you know."
i kindly thanked him for
putting me out of my misery.
i gratefully continued reading in peace
getting immersed in my story
of rachel on the train
and megan who was married to scott
and all the intrigue and mystery
i could find.
time passed swiftly enough
and teeny bopping' blueberry
smelled of bubblegum
and middle school age BO
had set in.
Kevin and i made small talk
exchanging the basics, 
work, family, traveling plans..
and soon it was close to touchdown. 
i panicked a little bit
[ok a lot a bit]
since i knew i had missed my 
connecting flight 
because of the duct tape door debacle.
i am not this experienced 
suave traveler 
it takes a lot of assurance 
to just get me from point a to point b
let alone if something goes wrong. 
blue berry eyes had missed her flight too,
freaking out only slightly 
more than me
and kevin had to comfort both of us by 
becoming a dad and telling us what to do. 
i made it off the plane with Kevin 
graciously parenting me 
by grabbing my carryon for me 
and wishing me good luck. 
i made my way off the plane 
panic setting in again 
but putting on a brave face and whispering to myself 
"i am capable, i am capable."
Kevin was trailing ahead of me so i 
called out to him once more 
looking for affirmation that i was 
headed in the right direction-
he was my dad now, after all. 
he was so patient and pointed me where to go
repeating instructions once again. 

thanks Kevin. your kindness means more than i can say. 

i somehow made it to a desk, 
asking for another flight, 
in which i was eagerly helped 
and all was well. 

another opportunity for this 
30 year old to grow up...