Page 38 of Midnight Ink

His jaw pops, then he finally nods.

“I need my bag. It wasn’t on the belt,” he says to her. “How do we find our luggage?”

The agent types again. “Checked bags are currently being held. Once flights are cancelled, bags are either rerouted or sent to the baggage office for claim⁠—”

“No, you don’t understand,” Ian snaps. “I need that bag.”

“Sir—”

“Wait,” I say gently, stepping between them. “Go walk it off. Take a breath. I’ve got this.”

Ian hesitates, then nods and turns away, pacing with his hands tangled in his hair. “I’m sorry,” I say to her. “I know he’s being a lot.”

“I understand.” She lowers her voice. “This is incredibly frustrating.”

“It’s not just that.” I admit, glancing back at Ian. “His boyfriend’s ashes are in that bag.”

Her eyes widen and I watch in real time how they shift from customer service mode to human. “This trip, we were supposed to spread them in Puerto Rico. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, I just want you to know he’s not usually like this. If that bag is missing⁠—”

She nods slowly. “I understand. I can flag the bag as priority if I can have his ticket? I can’t guarantee anything, but I would say it’s certainly not lost permanently. Things are just crazy right now. It’s most likely just been sent to the wrong airport because of the sudden shutdown.”

“So it will be found?” I need something concrete here. Even if it’s just words.

“I guarantee it will,” she says firmly. “It may take a few days, but it will be located.”

She writes something down and slides a sticky note toward me. “This is the airport number and my personal extension. My name is Mina. I’ll personally keep checking. Call me with where you’re staying, and I can have it sent straight to you. I promise.”

“Thank you,” I say, tucking the sticky note in my pocket. “Really, thank you.”

“I’m also going to be honest with you,” she adds gently. “Finding a place to stay will be hard. Most travelers won’t stay in the airport. I’d start looking right away.”

“That bad?”

She nods. “I’d be surprised if you find a room now. This storm came on fast out of nowhere, and it’s already heading up the coast of Florida with the chance of another one right behind it.”

I thank her again and walk to Ian. “Well?”

“She’s going to personally keep checking,” I say. “She says the bag is probably on the wrong flight, and with the sudden shutdown shit is just a mess right now. It will be found. It will be fine.”

“We can’t go back home without that bag.” He exhales shakily, sinking down into a chair, clasping his hands on the back of his head, and curling forward. “I shouldn’t have checked it.”

I sink down onto the chair beside him and rub his back. “I know this isn’t what we planned, but let’s focus on what we can deal with. One thing at a time.”

He unfolds himself, nodding, his eyes vacant. “I don’t have a death wish, or I’d send Anna a middle finger emoji.”

“My phone’s dead, but if you want I can train a raven to send her a message.”

His eyes pinch. “I’m not even going to ask.”

“I could do it. I’ve had training.”

“You are so weird, Jules.” He smiles weakly. “Come on.” He stands with his hand outstretched. “Let’s go find a place to sleep tonight.”

Rain hammers down around the cab. We’ve been driving around for ten minutes now, and I know our driver is getting annoyed. We have no idea where we are or what we’re going to do. All the hotels near the airport are booked.

“I’ll have to let you out soon,” the driver says apologetically. “Traffic’s getting bad and the storm is only getting heavier.”

“Sorry,” I say to him and watch Ian nervously look through his phone.