Chapter 7

Sophomore Kamryn Schultz, continues her serialized book titled Redemption. Chapters will be revealed every two weeks. Make sure to check back twice a month and leave comments on what you think about it. If you missed the sixth chapter, read Friendship.

It seems unusual, to wake up at two in the morning in the only house you’ve ever known, pack everything you own into tiny little suitcases and leave everything behind for something new. But that’s what I was doing.

The airport smelled like cheap takeout and bitter coffee, which made sense but was nevertheless displeasing to the nose. The familiar green suitcase lay beside my chair, resting from the long walk it was dragged on.

Kevin and Mom thought it would be a great idea to sell the car to our neighbors, since they didn’t want to bring it over to Dublin. They wanted a completely fresh start in the new country.

This resulted in boarding a bus to take us halfway to the airport, before one of the tires popped and the bus broke down. We were forced to walk a couple miles the rest of the way.

It was a good thing Kevin likes to be punctual, because we left two hours before the plane was supposed to take off. By the time we got there, we had half an hour before our flight left.

My legs ached in the chair as I waited for Mom and Kevin to check in for the flight. But so did my brain.

I didn’t think it would be hard to pack up and leave. I got out of bed that morning with no problem, eagerly dressing myself for the long flight ahead. Packing my bags to the brim with unnecessary things, and stuffing my purse with extra cash I had secretly stashed away for this moment, I thought everything seemed perfect.

Finally, after taking some time to close all my luggage with only the essentials, I felt ready to leave. I stepped into the bathroom, looking wide eyed in the mirror at a happier self.

This is it. This is your chance.

I know you were kind of wary about this, but it’s going to be fine.

Everything’s going to be fine, I told myself as I hauled the luggage into the living room.

Everything’s going to be fine, I reminded myself as I grabbed an early morning snack.

Everything’s going to be fine, I thought as I headed out our door behind Mom and Kevin.

But when I grasped that handle, and shut that door, and heard that click, everything went silent.

It was as if time stood still, if only for a moment, and now nothing in the world mattered more to me than my home.

All the memories, ideas, family and friends made in that little house on the hill had to stay there, and I could not bring them with me. I could do nothing but stand there, and let go of the past wrapped up in the door’s handle.

“Paige?”

My mom waited eagerly at the edge of our lawn, hand in hand with her future. She looked so happy.

I didn’t wanted to take away that joy I had longed to get from her all these years. So, with a heavy heart, but an open mind, I picked up the ugly green bag in my possession and ran alongside my mom, and we headed down the little hill together.

I wanted to look back one last time, but I didn’t, for fear of rethinking my decision. So I left without a proper goodbye.

It was the biggest mistake of my life.

When I envisioned what the airport would look like, the word “fancy” didn’t fit into my imagination.

The nearest airport to our house was Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, only half an hour away from the hill. Never being to one before, I didn’t think too much of an exquisite building awaiting my arrival.

But as I rounded the corner and it came into view, my vision of a small airport vanished as I gazed upon a huge building with glass windows and enormous parking lots and airplanes launching into the sky like space shuttles. Never in my life had I seen something like this, and I knew there was plenty more amazing sights to see than your usual airport.

“Flight 102 is ready to board. Flight 102, ready to board.”

“Piper?” Kevin shook Mom gently awake in the airport seats next to me. I grabbed my heavy baggage with a sigh and stood up to stretch.

We put our bags on the luggage cart, and watched them fade away to be put onto the airplane.

A swarm of people rushed over to the flight entrance, which told us we needed to do the same. Walking down the long walkway, I realized my eyes were getting watery and I started to sniffle.

This would be the last time I would walk side by side with my mom in the place I grew up in, and I still hadn’t entirely grasped the idea of it. I looked up at Mom.

Her eyes shined, from tears and from hope. She looked at me with a smile so big, I thought I might burst into tears. I gazed over at Kevin on the other side of Mom. He gave me a sweet half smile, with eyes the same as hers.

This is happening. This is actually happening.

The entrance to the flight stood right in front of us. We all looked back one last time at the place that held our memories. Then, with smiles and hope, held hands and walked in together as a family.

The plane was white with a black and red tail. It was a lot bigger than I expected.

I hadn’t thought about the fear of a flight experience until I took a step through the entrance. Then I started to panic.

The stairway up to the aircraft seemed like a three mile long race, and I couldn’t even take the first step.

“Miss?”

A flight attendant place a hand on my shoulder.

“Could you please keep moving? You’re holding up the line.”

I looked back at the row of frustrated passengers waiting to board. With a weak smile, I took up as much courage as I could muster and took another slow step upwards.

“A little faster, please.”

As if my brain told my heart to shut up, one foot followed the other up the steps and into the airplane.

The plane had two rows of seats lined up against the sides. The seats were red and black, and each one had a TV screen on the back.

I put my carry on in the space above the seats, and sat down in the aisle seat next to Mom. Suddenly, she switched seats with Kevin, saying that we should sit together and start a conversation.

As I looked over to talk with her about it, I saw she had put her earbuds in, and was no longer interested in our conversation.

I looked back at Kevin, who was looking back at me. We both gave each other half smiles, then turned away and faced downward.

I glanced back at Kevin, and saw him playing with him thumbs, just like Mom did. I smiled.

“So…”

He looked back at me, and I him.

“What kind of job did you get in Dublin? I never got around to asking you about all this, and seeing that we’re going through with it, it would be nice to know.” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh, your mom didn’t tell you?” He looked at me, puzzled.

“Um, no,” I said. “We got so involved in the moving part that I forgot to ask.”

“Oh. Well here,” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a piece of paper. Even before he handed it to me, I could tell he was very enthusiastic about this job.

The paper had lots of words and details, and the few words I did make out were ‘scientist’ and ‘Criminal Justice’.

“Wow,” I admired, even though I didn’t entirely understand what the job entitled. “What does all this mean?”

“I got invited to work as a scientist for this giant organization that helps out the Criminal Justice system. Basically, I would work with information from crime scenes and help provide evidence in criminal trials.” He looked at me with bright eyes and a smile, his shaggy hair still brushing against his forehead. “It’s an amazing opportunity for me, only a few amount of people get invited to do so, and I thought it would be amazing if you and your mom came to experience it with me.”

“Oh wow,” I stammered, trying to grasp this concept.

He saw my concerning face and added, “Dublin is a really great place. I went as a kid, and they have castles and and an old theatre and everything is green and nice and the people are very kind…”

He rambled on to try and ease my conscience. I finally looked up at him and stopped the endless words escaping his mouth.

“Kevin?”

“Um, yes?” He looked very happy but concerned that I would disapprove of this idea.

I smiled. “Is this what you really want to do?”

He grinned and scratched his head. “Ya, um, this is something I wanna pursue.”

I handed the paper back to him with both hands. “Then I am all for it.”

He looked overjoyed as he carefully placed the paper back in his bag. Suddenly, he whipped his head around to look at Mom.

“Piper?” He raised his voice a little. “Piper?”

She was sound asleep, listening to music.

He turned back to look at me.

“Paige, I need to ask you a very important question, and you cannot tell you mom about any of this. Do you understand?”

I stared at him, confused but willing.

“Sure, I guess so.”

He made sure Mom was really asleep, then dug deep into his bag. When his hand emerged, it held a tiny velvet box.

I gasped. He laughed at my reaction, then looked at me with the most serious face I had ever seen.

“Paige, I want to marry your mom. And I would like to ask for your permission.”

I hesitated for a moment. I had known Kevin for a while.

He was kind, shy, and secretly hilarious. He first started dating Mom a couple months after my dad left.

When I first met him, he was about the same height as Mom, and wore a shirt that bore a chemistry joke I was too young to understand.

My immediate reaction was to grab Mom by the arm and take her into the living room, where I basically told my opinion about Kevin to her in front of his face.

Mom told me I was overreacting and that I didn’t even know him yet. But I judged by appearance, and I knew everything I needed to know about this guy from his tacky clothes and long hair.

This entire time, Kevin didn’t speak. He half smiled at me and put his hands in his back pockets.

The next day, he asked to take me out to ice cream. I couldn’t decline, but at the same time there was no way I would go hang out with him by myself.

He eventually convinced me into going after offering to buy me lunch and ice cream afterwards.

I chose Benny’s Barbeque, the best place to get ribs. We ate there at one of the tables as Kevin sat there awkwardly and I had a plate full of ribs as my face in front of me. As I dug into my delicious meal of meat, Kevin asked, “So, do you like writing?”

I looked up at him, my mouth stuffed with ribs. “Hmm?”

“Do you like stories, um, like, writing and reading them?”

I stared at him. Quickly swallowing my giant chewed portion, I stammered, “Um, yes! I absolutely love writing. It’s one of my passions actually. I just feel so great writing my thoughts on paper. I think writing needs more appreciation than it gets…”

I rambled on about story writing and telling, and he showed his interest by just listening and admiring my passion.

By the time we finished, it was late, and neither of us felt like dessert. But that day, that day I knew he was the guy for Mom. His character and attitude around me made me feel safe and loved. And I hadn’t felt that in a while.

Kevin sat in the airplane seat, waiting for my answer. I finally grinned from ear to ear.

“Yes. You can absolutely marry my mom.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Paige.”

He placed the box carefully back in the bag, and we both laid back and relaxed, waiting for the plane to take off.

I peeked over to look at Kevin. His eyes were closed but a slight smile rested on his face, and I felt happy knowing that I helped my family form back together.

For the first chapter, read Confronting weaknesses. If you missed chapter two, read Is she OK?.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @schultz_kamryn and via email: Kamryn Schultz.