The Fishing Trip

Short story

Brandon leaned back in his seat, now in the upright position, touching his beard with one hand, his other thumb caressing a notebook on his lap. Deep in thought about the past year's events, he blocked out his surroundings until he felt a light touch on his right shoulder. He looked up into the eyes of the uniformed woman he had been flirting with most of the three-hour flight.

“Sir, you have to fasten your seatbelt. We’re about to descend,” she said.

Her smile was warm like she had enjoyed their short interlude at forty-thousand feet, but her official mannerism made his stomach lurch. It was a reminder that he was heading back into real life. He supposed holidays did that to everyone; well, “holiday” wasn’t the right word for this trip — it had more of a quest. He looked down at the black leather notebook that had been his guide for the past six months. Running his thumb over the embossed yellow business logo on the spine, he looped the black elastic over his forefinger and stretched it over the cover.

When the notebook had first come into his possession, he didn’t understand why his dad had chosen this style for Brandon to write his deepest thoughts in. He still couldn’t look at the engraving on the front and not cringe a little: Travel Journal in bright yellow, blocky font. It fits dad’s generation, he guessed.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying…”

Brandon tuned out the captain’s final address to the passengers. He wanted a few more minutes of life away from Toronto. The cabin buzzed with voices on cue when the landing gear contacted the tarmac. The pretty attendant, Julie, watched over her charge to make sure no one stood up before the plane came to a complete stop. Every few minutes, she would glance in Brandon’s direction, a smile curling the corners of her mouth each time they managed eye contact. He waited until the plane had nearly emptied before leaving his own seat. He wanted to get her number. By the time he was the last one to exit, she had already disappeared elsewhere on the aircraft.

There were other reasons he wasn’t in a hurry.

One, he didn’t want to be in the boarding bridge with lots of people. Somehow after having flown in two-seater supply planes and landing in open…

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