Then I turned and walked away, pulling my suitcase behind me. My back was straight, my chin up, the same posture I used when walking into hospital board meetings, malpractice depositions, and ethics committee hearings.
Behind me, I heard Jessica say to Kevin, half-laughing, “See? She’s fine with it. Let’s go check in.”
But I wasn’t fine.
I was finished.
I was done.Air Travel
I walked to a quiet corner of the terminal near a bank of tall windows overlooking the tarmac. Planes trundled across the concrete in the blue pre-dawn light, tails painted with the logos of airlines from all over the country.
I set my suitcase beside a row of empty seats, took a deep breath, and pulled out my
phone.
First call.
I scrolled to a number labeled Elite Travel Services, the high-end agency I’d used for complicated conferences and once-in-a-lifetime trips during my working years.
The line rang twice before a calm, professional voice answered.
“Elite Travel Services, this is Amanda speaking. How may I help you?”
“This is Dr. Margaret Hayes,” I said. “I have a reservation—confirmation number HW2847. I need to make an immediate cancellation.”
I heard typing.
“One moment, Dr. Hayes…” Another pause. “All right, I see your reservation here. This is a comprehensive booking—flights, hotel, activities—for five passengers.” She hesitated. “I should inform you this is a non-refundable package. If you cancel now, you’ll lose the entire amount of forty-seven thousand dollars. Are you sure you want to proceed?”
“I’m aware,” I said. “Cancel everything. All five passengers. All rooms. All activities. Everything.”
“But ma’am, you’ll lose—”
“Cancel it,” I repeated. “Now. I’ll hold
while you process it.”
There was another pause. More typing.Track Flights
“Dr. Hayes, are you certain? Once I process this, it cannot be undone.”
I watched a Hawaiian Airlines plane taxi toward the runway.
“I’m absolutely certain,” I said. “Cancel it all.”
More typing. A few clicks.
“All right. Processing cancellation now,” she said. “This will take approximately two minutes.”
Two minutes to erase six months of planning and forty-seven thousand dollars.Book Flights
I stood by the window, watching the planes. I thought about how excited I’d been that morning, how I’d barely slept the night before, how I’d imagined Tyler’s face when he saw his first sea turtle.
