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Miss Overstreet stood up.
“There we go. All better.”
She had pulled out a heavy coat. It was about as opposite my own coat as you could get. It was thick, probably stuffed with down, and fluffy white fur adorned the cuffs and hood of the maroon coat. It must have filled at least half of the bag.
We made it to the rental car counter – I guess it was more of a single kiosk – a moment later and found that, despite there being only two cars to begin with, there was one we could borrow with snow tires ready to go.
“I guess it’s a good thing we also get snowstorms in Oklahoma?”
I nodded. “Not quite like this, though. . But the lady at the desk said there’s an inn only a few miles away. If we leave now, we should be able to get there before the roads become totally impassible.”
Miss Overstreet nodded, but I was trying not to look at her. My brain had decided she was cute in her giant puffy coat… and she was. But that didn’t feel very professional to think so I was doing my best to be annoyed at her for getting us in this mess by wanting to go to Corinth. Once we found the car, it didn’t take long for us to get the suitcase and duffel bags in the trunk. She got into the passenger seat as I got into the driver’s seat.
“Here it is,” she said, adjusting her phone’s brightness. “It’s a twenty-minute drive.” She turned her phone to show me the route.
“I don’t know how bad the roads are, so I’m going to need quiet other than the GPS.” It was true. Her voice was very distracting.
I started to drive us away from the airport, all the while thinking about flying out of the airport as soon as we could. The best thing about having a private plane was that we didn’t need to wait for the flights to start up again with the commercial airlines. As soon as the air traffic team deemed it safe, we could leave. I hoped it’d be soon.
We arrived at the hotel after a half hour. GPS had estimated twenty minutes, but the roads were treacherous and slick. Not many people were around, but I didn’t want to get into a wreck, regardless.
Miss Overstreet had been looking up facts about Dawn, Colorado, on her phone, but the most interesting one that I knew was that this was just across the highway from Aurora, Colorado. Dawn was just its smaller twin city.
After all, Dawn and Aurora were two words that had the exact same meaning.
“Here. Let’s get the luggage inside before the storm gets any worse,” I said. “Give me the bigger suitcase, and you take your duffel bag. I can carry my duffel and a second bag. Might be better for your camera for an experienced traveler to carry both.”
Mostly, I was worried she’d slip and fall on a patch of snow or ice, break the camera, and then this whole trip would really be a bust. I’d grown up doing snow sports with my brothers on winter vacations, and I hadn’t yet ever fallen on a patch of ice.
Though Miss Overstreet wasn’t too thrilled about the idea, she did give me the larger suitcase. I quickly threw my duffel bag over my shoulder and then picked her suitcase up by the side handle to carry it inside.
While Grace checked in, I found a place to sit and started to try calling clients again. This time, I was able to get through to some of them. When things like this happened, I offered two options: either they could rebook the same trip for a discounted rate, and I’d refund the difference; or they could take a total refund for the cancellation. Sometimes they’d try booking me again for a different trip. Sometimes they’d just go back to flying commercial as if those airlines didn’t also experience cancellations and delays.
Most that I was able to talk to were alright with the delay that would happen in making the new bookings and took the new booking at the discounted rate. I took notes on my phone to be sure I could make the changes. Only a couple of clients outright asked for a refund after I offered it. They had only been able to make specific dates work, and now that those weren’t options, it would be difficult to reschedule the entire trip.
The money would be better spent on commercial tickets now.
I entirely understood.
As I was finishing up confirming with one of my last clients that she wanted the rebooked trip for two and a half weeks after her original date, my phone dropped the call.
“Hello?”
I looked at my phone. It didn’t appear to have been a hangup on my end or hers. She had been in the middle of speaking to me, in fact, to confirm the change. Then, in the corner, I noticed that there was no signal.
“Great,” I sighed. “Just great.”
I walked over to the counter. A young man was working today, and he put the phone at the desk in its receiver as I went to ring the bell.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to check in. I’m not sure for how long.”
He nodded, and I handed over my card.
“Did the storm interrupt your plans, or did something else happen to get you here today?”
“A little bit of both, and in more ways than one,” I replied.
