1

            “Yeah. Yeah, sounds good. Ok, see you soon then. Alright, bye, Frank!” said a melodious voice. I turned to see the freckled face of my girlfriend smiling warmly at me. “We’re all good to go!” she said.

            I held out my hand and she grasped it with a proud smirk on her face, her glasses shining back at me. “Our first trip alone as a couple!” I said excitedly.

            “Our first trip, after three freaking years,” she repeated. “And your first trip to Boston too.”

            I nodded, getting lost in her cute face for a bit. Keeping my hand in hers, I turned back toward the window to my right. The plane sat still at the boarding station, waiting patiently for its final checkups. Staring through the stationary view in front of me, my mind drifted to our upcoming trip to Boston. As a planner, I had made sure we had the whole trip booked. Besides our days dedicated to travelling, our week was packed full of activities that toured all kinds of places in Boston and the greater Boston area. It all started with an exciting trip to the Science Museum tomorrow. Not only was the museum itself incredibly entertaining, but I was about to meet Lizzie’s uncle Frank. He worked at the museum as one of the hosts of the electricity show they had. I’d never seen such a show, nor did I know anything about what it meant. Lizzie assured me that it was as cool as Fourth of July fireworks. Thanks to her, I was incredibly excited for the show. Especially since Frank apparently had “a surprise” for us when we got there.

            The rest of the week was about as packed as you could get. Shopping, a trip through Freedom Trail, walking along the harbor and park, several museums, and many restaurants we had starred through vigorous researching beforehand. The whole thing was set up to be a memorable week. And it was especially big because of the company I’d be sharing the experience with. I looked down at the hand grasping mine and smiled shyly. I had no idea how I had been lucky enough to land my girlfriend of almost three years now.

I met Lizzie LeClair at an introductory writing class. On day one we had sat near each other, and because college kids rarely broke from their day one seating, we sat next to each other the whole semester. The teacher kept having the class work in pairs, which naturally meant we kept reading each other’s work. It was there that I learned a lot about her. I had always thought she was cute, but through her work I could tell she was a giant nerd, just like me. She was a big fantasy nut, she admitted to me pretty quickly. A big fan of superheroes, mythology, and anything magic. It was very endearing to me, and my crush only grew throughout the year. It was only at the end of the semester that I found out she had been flirting with me for a long time, and I finally asked her out. We had been dating ever since.

With the plane still finishing its boarding, I took the opportunity before electronics would be urged to be turned off to pull out my laptop and start researching our trip in detail. Lizzie quietly watched me, a bored head leaning on my shoulder. I first checked our emails to make sure our hotel stay was confirmed and paid for. I then pulled up the Museum of Science and began browsing the exhibit listings. “Don’t spoil yourself!” Lizzie jokingly complained, and after a reassurance, I pulled up the page on the electricity show we were going to see. I scrolled through the screenshots and smiled. They were fascinating to look at. The coolest image was a picture of a man in what appeared to be a bird cage. He proudly posed, unphased, while bolts of electricity struck the cage all around him. I raised an eyebrow. If that was real, the man in the photo was very brave.

“What do you think the surprise is that Frank mentioned?” I asked.

“No clue,” she said. “I’ve seen it twice, and it was more or less the same show both times, so I don’t really know what could be different. Hey, by the way, Frank wanted to take us out to dinner after his shift ends that day, is that cool with you?”

“Cool by me,” I said, giving her a peck on the cheek, giving her a faint blush and a smile. “He’s on your mom’s side, right?”

“Yep,” she smiled. “He’s on the good side.”

I bit my tongue to avoid saying thank God. As much as I loved Lizzie, dealing with her dad and his side of his family was not something I ever wanted to worry about. As it was, Lizzie’s familial matters were ultimately none of my business. If she ever wanted to talk to me about them, she could. For now, she was still trying to decide how to feel about her parents’ current state of love. Without further comment, I nodded and turned back to the laptop to look up the Freedom Trail.

A ding sounded through the aircraft, and with it came the crackle of the plane’s overhead speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Flight 493 Delta Airlines from Chicago to Boston, we have just finished boarding and are expecting to take off in approximately fifteen minutes time. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Please turn off all personal electronic devices or turn on your device’s ‘airplane mode’. This flight does come with wi-fi, the information is listed in the pamphlet in the pocket located on the seat in front of you. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Thank you again for flying with Delta.”

A sigh escaped me, and I again held hands with my wonderful girlfriend. I rolled my head over to her direction and found her soft eyes already on me. “You look nervous,” she said.

“I’ve just never flown on my own before,” I admitted. “I’ve always had a parent with me. I bet Mom’s freaking out right about now.” Lizzie chuckled in response.

I loved my mom with all my heart, but it was hard to deny she was a big worrier and really felt the need to protect me and my siblings. When I told her that I was planning on going to Boston with Lizzie for spring vacation, she nearly had a fit. She fought me on it for nearly a month. I had to convince her that, yes, I was twenty-two, and therefore a full-grown adult who could manage a trip on his own. Dad helped calm her down, and she ultimately relented, begging me to keep her updated on anything and everything.

On cue, my phone starting ringing. “Speak of the devil,” I said to another Lizzie chuckle. I declined the call and gave her a text telling her that we were taking off now and that I’d call her when we landed. She responded with a “Have a safe flight,” and a couple heart emojis.

The plane finally started to move. Hands clasped together, I turned to look out the window for the long flight and Lizzie took out her headphones, put on a playlist, and closed her eyes.

            ___

The wind in Boston made the air feel far chillier than it was. We sat by a pick-up station waiting for our Uber to show up, cuddling for warmth. It wasn’t supposed to rain until tomorrow, according to many weather apps. In fact, it was supposed to storm tomorrow, but we’d be in the Science Museum by that point, safe from danger. Still, the windy air felt ominous, and it left a chill down my spine. Then again, I had just come off a phone call with my mother, who always found a way to scare me into overthinking and staying cautious. Lizzie was a cure to that. Her entire presence just melted my worries away.

            Frank had offered for us to stay with him, since his wife Marianne was out of town on business for the month, but we politely declined. We wanted a place to ourselves for the week for… obvious reasons. Not that we didn’t already get plenty of time alone while on campus at school, but it felt different when we were away on vacation. We wanted our first vacation together to be as special as possible. Besides, it doubled as good practice for our eventual life when we graduated from school and moved in somewhere together.

            I spent the entire Uber ride staring out the window at the city. In a way, it felt similar to Indianapolis simply because of the common city mainstays. The main difference was that Boston felt far more rooted in its history. I could tell from the way it was structured that it was proud of its upbringings. Lots of old buildings merged with the new, and it overall felt older. Indianapolis felt… neater? For lack of a better way of putting it. Still, I spend that time in the Uber taking in the sights and smiling up at the large historic buildings.

            Our hotel, situated a bit away from Boston’s downtown, still had a great view of Boston’s skyline from the room itself. Lizzie took care of getting our room keys, so it was my responsibility to carry most of the heavy lifting for our luggage. Our room wasn’t anything special, with only one queen-sized bed for us to share. I plopped the bags down and gave a hefty sigh. “Finally, the boredom is cured,” I said, referring to my many dead electronic devices.

            Lizzie went over to the room window and opened the curtain. “Welcome to Boston,” she said gesturing me over. I followed her to the impressive view of the city skyline, still in mid-afternoon form. The sight finally changed some of my nerves to excitement. We had made it through the flight and it was now full vacation time.

            “We still have some time before the end of the day,” I said, eyeing the cloudy skies and the foggy city. “Anything you want to do?”

            “Take a nap,” Lizzie said honestly. “Flying makes me sleepy but sleeping on the plane is so uncomfortable. I didn’t get any actual sleep.”

            “What, was my shoulder not enough?” I teased.

            “Your whole body is better,” she teased back, giving me a flirty look. “But I get if you’re not tired, I’ll probably just collapse anyways.”

            I yawned. “No, you’re right, I’m tired too. Let’s nap for a bit, have dinner at seven-ish, and figure it out from there?”

            “Sounds lazy,” Lizzie grinned. “I’m in.”