Chapter 2

The lights came on promptly at 7:00 the next morning. Another foot of snow had fallen overnight. Melanie and a thousand of our closest friends stirred as the airport came to life. The status boards were all flashing "cancelled" for every flight.

We stretched and took turns going to the restrooms. There was a line in the women's room and she took a little longer than me.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" I asked as she came out. Even though we had spent the night basically sitting up, she still looked beautiful. At least to me.

"Can't I get a cup of coffee first?"

"There's a line for that, too."

Melanie rolled her pretty brown eyes. "Give me the bad news first."

"The earliest we're gonna get out of here is tomorrow." I picked up my laptop bag and backpack. She pulled on the handle of her carry-on suitcase and rolled it along as we headed back to the main part of the concourse.

"Dammit!" she kindly refrained from using some of the many choice words I knew she wanted to blurt out. From what I remembered about Melanie, despite her appearance as a petite, well-mannered young woman, her favourite curse word was twelve letters long, started with M and ended in R. "I thought it was supposed to clear up today."

"It is supposed to clear up later today, but that's not the problem," I pointed to the TV that was showing a radar map on The Weather Channel. "See all that white? From Bismark to Pittsburgh? That's the problem. The plane sitting outside our gate isn't ours. That one's going to San Diego. Our plane is stuck in Minneapolis and won't get in until late tonight at the earliest."

She let out another exasperated sigh. "What's the good news?"

"I think I scored us a hotel room." I smiled.

"How'd you manage that?" she asked.

"Connections," I replied cryptically. "It won't be ready until about noon, but I've got enough Marriott points to get bumped to the top of the list for the hotel here."

"I don't suppose you want to try and drive home?" Melanie asked, her voice hopeful.

"Not really," I frowned. "They're not used to getting so much snow this far south. It's six hours home under sunny conditions. Never mind this mess. I'd rather take my chances on a plane than on a road full of morons who only see snow once every five years. And there's no telling if they have the plows and salt trucks necessary to clear the roads."

"I suppose you're right," she sounded dejected.

"Let's go get something to eat," I suggested, trying to change the subject.

We made our way to the food court. There were only a couple of places open for breakfast; we picked the one that served cafeteria-style.

Filling our trays, we went to check out. She reached for her billfold, but I got my debit card out first.

"I'd also like to pay for the people behind us, too," I said stepping up to the register. Melanie, the cashier and the family of five that was next in line stared at me in disbelief. I pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Thank you," the father said as everyone carted their breakfast away. I smiled and wished them happy travels to wherever it was they were going.

Melanie and I went to sit down at a table.

"Do you always do stuff like that?" she asked.

"Like what?"

"Like buy meals for complete strangers."

"I've been both fortunate and lucky in my lifetime. Sometimes, I've been helped out by folks I didn't know and given opportunities clear out of the blue," I told her. "I just try to pay it forward when I can."

"It seems that someone could take advantage of you."

"I guess." I only shrugged. "Usually, I don't tell anyone in advance. Like that family; they looked tired and hungry. Based on the way they're dressed and the stuff they're carrying, I'd guess they're on their way home from Disney World and probably didn't build another day's worth of meals into their budget. I do well enough and can afford an extra forty bucks to make someone's day. Besides, I never know when I'm going to need some karma."

"Some what?"

"Karma, you know, 'what goes around, comes around'," I smiled. "Don't you watch My Name is Earl?"