File Under: Pathological Liar

My Dad and I had barely driven for a minute when my phone beeped indicating I had a new email. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and read the message. My Dallas bound flight from Atlanta had been cancelled. It was Tuesday and the weather was rather crisp despite warnings of an impending 'snow storm.' We turned around and headed back home to see if I could rebook my flight and still leave that evening. The lady I spoke to in the customer service department was uncertain that the evening flight would leave and gave me the option of calling at my convenience to rebook my flight. An hour after I hung up the phone, it started. The fluffy white stuff that would paralyze the city of Atlanta and result in harrowing 18-hour plus commutes came down and this time it stuck, all two inches of it came down hard and unforgiving. When I called to book my flight a few days later, I had to wait on the phone for over an hour and endure really poor customer service until I was finally scheduled to leave the city of Atlanta for Dallas on Friday.

This time, it was my Mom and I who headed out. She had a different flight to catch and I was Dallas bound. We left two hours early but then we got caught in bad traffic around the connector in the city known as Spaghetti Junction. I got to my gate at 11:19am, missing the gate closing by two minutes, after being held up by TSA. The next flight out of Atlanta for Dallas was scheduled to depart at 5:30pm. I called a friend of mine who lived nearby and she came and picked me up and treated me to lunch at Ruby Tuesday. She insisted on Ruby Tuesday because she swore they had some chocolate chip cookies that were irresistible. These cookies had to be baked for twenty five minutes and she placed the order after the check came. I was almost certain I might miss my flight again this time.

Finally the cookies came and we were on our way to the airport. When I got to the security line, one of my sisters called. I took the call and moved casually along the line because for the most part there were no travelers in sight. Finally when I got to the scanner, I nudged the phone between my ear and shoulder as I began taking off my boots, and then I looked behind me and there he was. He was very well dressed and also really good looking. I apologized to him and since there was no one else behind him, I told him he could go ahead of me so I wouldn't delay him. The young man whom I believe was in his early thirties told me to take my time and not worry about it. Not wanting to waste any more of his time, I told my sister I would call her back and hung up and struck up a conversation with the young man as we both waited our turn for the body scanner.

"So where are you headed?" I inquired.

"I'm going to Dallas." He replied.

"Oh cool, I'm going to Dallas as well."

"What airline are you flying?"

"Delta."

"I'm flying Spirit and you know I have stories for days."

"I don't mess with Spirit, I've had my fair share of bad experiences." He replied.

I ended my conversation with him as I was beckoned to come forward by the TSA agent. This time, I was lucky and managed to escape without being frisked or having my hair patted down. As I gathered my belongings, I noticed the young man was doing the same, so I thanked him again for being patient and wished him a safe trip and headed for the escalator going down to the train platform.

Shortly after I got on the train I noticed the young man get on as well. We made eye contact and he looked away as though he had never seen me before and I thought his behavior seemed rather strange. Thereafter, the train arrived at the D Terminal, where the same young man was apparently headed for as I was. As soon as the train came to a halt and the doors opened he bolted out and ran to get on the escalator. Again, I thought his behavior was rather odd and I began to feel sorry for him surmising that he was about to miss his flight and was panicking as a result. As I went up the escalator to my gate, I called my sister to resume our conversation. My gate was D9 and as I made my way to my gate, I passed the Delta gates where oddly enough, there was no boarding activity taking place. So, where was he running to? I walked from the D14 gate and finally arrived at D9 where boarding for my flight was in progress to find the young man standing in line to board the same Spirit Airline flight heading for Dallas that I was soon to be on.

Dear God in the heavens! Why did he lie to me?! Did he think he was too good looking or too nicely dressed for Spirit Airlines? Sure the flight cost all of $48.00 but shouldn't he have been proud that he was a savvy shopper and didn't pay more? What a devious soul! I got on the flight and didn't see him as I was seated on the eighth row and he was nestled somewhere in the back of the plane.

Normally, I sleep on flights, but I couldn't sleep this time. I sent my family members, which included my Dad, Mom, all my siblings and their spouses an account of what had just happened. I was really excited and wasn't about to let this guy off easily. So, once the plane landed, I got off quickly since I was seated close to the exit. Once I was outside the aircraft I waited for him to exit the plane and I believe he saw me once he deplaned but he kept on walking away. The walk from the gate to Baggage Claim is through a "tunnel" of sorts and there are no escape routes. I was right behind him and although he stole some glances over his shoulder he continued to advance steadily. Finally, I pulled out my phone called my Mom and put on the loudest, high-pitched Nigerian voice I could muster. At this point, I guess the shame was too much for him and the nearest exit was the ladies restroom. Now use your imagination and guess what he did. I am not making any of this stuff up. People are people and boy, what a piece of work that young man was!