"Hello?" Tamara said as she balanced the phone on her shoulder as she turned on the oven. "Hey Tam. It's Stacey," Stacey, Tamara's 19-year-old cousin, said. "Hi! What's up?" Tam questioned. "What are you doing next week?" Stacey asked. "Hang on. Let me check," Tam said. She put the phone down and looked at her calendar. It was all clear except for a 3:00 staff meeting on the 15th but she could reschedule that. Picking the phone back up she said, "It looks good. Why?" "I was hoping you could come spend the week with me," Stacey said. "I'd love to!" Tamara exclaimed.
Later that evening, Tamara called her travel agent to book a flight to New Jersey. "Travis Endburg speaking," her travel agent said. "Hi Travis. It's Tamara Reiker," Tam said into the phone. "Hello Tam. What can I do for you?" he asked. "I need a flight out to New Jersey for the 11th," Tam said. "You going to see your cousin again?" Travis asked with a laugh. "Yes," Tamara responded. Most of the people in her life knew that she was very close to Stacey and that since her parents had died eight years ago of a heart attack and stoke, Stacey was really the only family Tamara had. "Here's one. Flight 93 flying United Airlines," Travis said, reading off of his computer screen. "Leaves at 7:55 AM," he continued. "Sounds good to me," Tamara said. "Ok. You're on. I'll fax you the ticket tomorrow morning," Travis added. "Ok. Thanks Travis. Bye," Tam said as she hung up the phone. Next she rescheduled her staff meeting for the 22nd. The last thing she had to do was get the week off from work. She dialed her boss's number. "Chris. Hi it's Tamara," she said as her boss picked up on the other line. "Hey Tam. What can I do for you?" Chris Allens asked. "Can I have next week off for family time?" she asked hopefully. "Stacey called didn't she," Chris said. "Yes. You know how she is," Tamara replied. "Sure you can go," Chris said. "Have fun," he added. "Oh, if Mrs. Kingsten has her triplets call me right away," Tamara instructed. "I will," Chris reassured her. They hung up.
><><><><><
As Tamara got her suitcase out of her closet, she began to think of everything she needed for her trip. She collected her toiletries and put them in. She opened her oak paneled closet and stood there, staring at the rows and rows of clothing. 'How will I ever figure out what to take!' she thought to herself in distress. She knew that Stacey would want to go out to dinner at least one night and they always went to the fanciest restaurant in town, El Magn�fico Caf�. "Well Tam. Pick something," she mumbled to herself in disgust. Packing wasn't meant to be difficult. She finally settled on her silk floral print blouse and black leather pants for their night out. She carefully laid them in her suitcase, being extra careful not to crumple them.
She decided to hold off on the clothing aspect of packing and move on to the simpler items such as makeup and jewelry. She threw her cosmetics bag in with her toiletries. Next she carefully placed her diamond-studded choker with matching earrings in their case and put them in a small compartment on the left side of the black interior of her bag. "Ok. I guess I need to get clothes in order," she said to the empty air. Returning to her closet she glanced at her watch. It was almost midnight and she had to be at the airport by six. Yawning she grabbed five pairs of jeans and an assortment of shirts and tossed them haphazardly into the bag. She put her sandals and dress shoes in next. Finally she threw in a few nightgowns. "Done," she said. She quickly she got ready for bed and climbed in. She set her alarm for 4:45 and turned her light off. She sighed and rolled over. Sleeping on planes was not one of her favorite things to do so she knew she had better get at least a few hours sleep.
><><><><><
Tamara awoke to the sound beeping. She rolled over and hit her alarm. She slowly climbed out of bed, rubbing her eyes in the early morning haze. She entered her half bath and turned on the shower. She climbed in and took a quick shower. Once she finished, she made her bed and trudged downstairs to start the coffee. She couldn't get through the day without her morning coffee fix. As the coffee maker came to life, she realized that she probably wasn't getting breakfast on the flight and made herself on omelet with cheese, bacon and ham. She poured her coffee and sat down at the table. Slowly she began to eat. She wasn't used to eating so early and her body wasn't sure what to do. She finished her omelet and drank the last few dregs of her coffee.
She put them in the dishwasher and looked at the clock. It read 5:54. "I'm late!" Tam said startled. She grabbed her purse and keys and headed for the door when the crushing realization of no ticket hit her. She ran down the hallway into her study. In the fax tray was her ticket. 'Thank God,' she thought as she grabbed it. Hurdling back the way she had come, she bolted out of the front door and jumped into the driver's side of her 2000 Honda Accord. She put the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse. As she backed out onto the road she glanced at the clock. It was past 6:00 so she had to hurry. She sped down the highway doing 65 in a 40-mile per hour zone. Unfortunately, a cop pulled her over. "Ma'am, do you know how fast you were just going?" the officer asked. "I'm sorry officer but I'm late. I have a plane to catch," Tam said hurriedly. "I'm going to have to give you a ticket. I need your license and car registration," he said, ignoring her comment. With a sigh of annoyance she handed him her license and registration. He looked at what she had given him and quickly wrote a ticket up. "Here you go Miss Reiker," he said handing her the ticket. "Can I go now?" she asked angrily. He nodded. She put the car in gear and continued down the highway. Surprisingly, there was a lot of traffic going towards the airport. When she finally reached it, it was 7:15. Groaning she parked her car and ran into the building. She checked her baggage and ran down the stairs towards security.
When she finally got through she realized that she had to be at the other end of terminal. She looked at her watch and broke into a sprint. It was 7:35 and she was panting as she reached her boarding area out of breath. Just as she sat down, she heard "Last call for Flight 93 flying United Airlines to New Jersey." She got up and gave the woman at the counter her ticket. She jogged down the connector and grabbed the only available seat left on the plane. With a sigh of relief, she buckled up and prepared for the 3 and a half hour flight.
Return to History Chapter Two
