Dani glances up, her smile changing to something unique to me, and my chest warms at the sight of her soft brown gaze, then gets all tight again when I think about what I have to tell her.
I slump into the seat next to her and she already knows, her lips turning into a pout.
“There are no more flights?”
“Not one.” I sigh, then hold up the piece of paper in my hand. “She’s given us a voucher for a room so we can get some sleep and shower.”
“Nice.” Dani smiles, taking the voucher to scan it. “At least we’re stuck in Singapore Airport, right? Of all the places to have to spend a few hours?—”
“Seven. Sever hours,” I grumble.
She laughs. “It’s a good place to be stuck is all I’m saying.”
“Yeah.” I scratch between my eyebrows, stretching out my legs and glaring at the ground.
“I’m sorry we’re going to be late.” Her hand skims down my arm before she curls her fingers around mine. “We’ll get there, though.” She turns my wrist so she can read the time on my watch. “We’re fifteen hours ahead here, so we’ve still got time.”
“We’re going to be late, baby.Reallylate. We’ll definitely miss Friday night and probably won’t end up getting there until late on Saturday.” My face bunches. “That’s half the weekend gone. We should have left a few days ago.”
“If this flight hadn’t been canceled, our timing would have been perfect. We could have landed, only had a one-hour layover, and then been on our connecting flight to Denver. It would have had us showing up right on time.”
I shake my head, knowing she’s right but too irritated with this whole situation to agree with her. We’re going to be late, which I hate. And not only that, we’ll be spending Valentine’sDay on airplanes and running through airports. How fucking romantic!
We seriously did not think this through. After this many years of traveling the globe, you’d think we’d know better.
But we were trying to stretch out our time here, knowing that once we flew home, we’d probably be back in the States for a while, visiting our families and friends until after my conference, which isn’t until May.
But it’s different now.
Turning to gaze at my baby boy, I can’t help wondering if we should be putting travel on hold for more than a few months. Maybe it’d be nice to settle down, find a home, have more kids. We could build a life for ourselves in one place.
Maybe I’m ready to work in the same time zone as my company and not be getting up at three in the morning for online meetings or client phone calls.
Maybe I’m ready to put myself in a position where I could get promoted.
The idea of having something stable and routine… it’s definitely starting to appeal to me more and more.
And it’s all because of the little guy in his mama’s arms.
He pulls away from her, and she moves the cover to watch him rub his nose against the side of her breast, then start to fuss and cry.
“It’s okay, baby,” Dani croons, pulling her bra back into place before shifting him into a burping position.
She lightly pats his back while he squirms and cries against her shoulder.
“Do you want me to take him?” I offer.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got him.” She keeps rubbing his back while he squawks in her ear, his little legs jerking.
Poor kid.
He’s overtired and restless.
Travel can be hard on anyone. Totally worth it, but still hard. And it’s not like he has any say in the matter.
Sure, he’s loved the sandy beaches and wildlife in Thailand, but he’s also too young to really comprehend it all. We were being way too ambitious with this trip, thinking we could maintain our lifestyle with a small baby. It’s been hard work, sleepless nights, hours of crying and fussing, broken up with moments of pure magic.
But maybe it’s time for something calm and peaceful.
