Chapter 2: Gate E12

Evelyn has the bottle made and was feeding her baby before the electric cart arrived to take her to her gate. Once there the cart driver, who was a friendly older gentleman, helped her load everything on the electric cart. He even helped her collapse the stroller caddy and load it, before having her climb in the passenger seat and handed the carseat in to her. As he walked around to the drivers seat and climbed in, he asked, "Which gate are you going to?"

Evelyn pulled the tickets out of her purse to check and make sure she had the right gate.

"Ummm, gate E12."

"You flying United Airline?" ,He asked.

"Yes." She responded, happy that he knew where they were going.

"It's not to far from here but it would definitely be hard for you to try and get all your stuff their by yourself." He stated as he looked both ways before turning the cart around and heading to the E branch of the airport. "If I remember correctly, gate 12 is an international gate for United. You going over seas to see family?" He asked

"Ummm, no." Evelyn answered not really sure what to tell him. To be honest she had not even thought about a cover story for herself. But then she also didn't know if she would make it this far.

"Oh." He said then, "Wait, are you a military family moving overseas?"

"No." She stated plainly as she tried to think up a plausible excuse.

"Oh." He said again as he tried to figure it out. "Then are you just going for a vacation?"

His persists to guess made her smile as she knew he would never guess the truth. And as much as she would like to just say yes. She knew that it would just lead to more questions. "No." She responded as he pulled up in front of gate E12.

"Really?" , he asked as he climbed out of the cart and started unloading her things.

Laughing out loud for the first time in a long time she responded, "Yes."

"Don't tell me your going to meet someone from online dating. " he questioned suspiciously.

Laughing out loud for the second time Evelyn shook her head with a smile while thinking that this man has been watching way too much TV. "Nope. Not even close." She said.

Together they unloaded all her luggage from the electric cart. He even unfolded the stroller so she could attach the car seat to it.

"I didn't think so. Not with this precious bundle of joy around. But, then again, you never know in this day and age. I mean, I have carted all kinds of people around here and you would not believe some of the stories."

Realizing that she would fit in the category of "unbelievable stories" she could only awkwardly smile and nod her head. Thinking about her situation she figured that the simplest answer was the best. Besides research has proven that if you're going to lie, first keep it simple and second stick as close to the truth as possible, for the best possible outcome.

"Well, I guess you're set. Hope you have a good time in..." ,he glanced up at the flight board to see the destination, "Tokyo, Japan?"

"Actually that's just where we're flying in to. We're heading to another city for a job." Evelyn said.

"Oh, that makes sense." ,He said as he climbed into the cart. "Well, good luck and have a safe trip."

"Thank you. Good luck to you too." ,Evelyn said as she waved goodbye and watched him pull away.

What she had said was mostly true, they were going to another city. It just so happened to be a suburb of Tokyo but another city nonetheless. As for the job... well, she was definitely going to need a job. However prospective jobs were few especially with her being a single parent. She was hoping to teach ESL (English as a Second Language)but she didn't have anything lined up. She had thought about online tutoring so she could work from home and pick her own hours but she still had not signed up for any of the Online English Tutoring websites.

Turning around Evelyn looked at the departure screen. Their flight was scheduled to depart on time at 6:15pm and boarding would start in 20 minutes. Spotting a empty seat with enough room around it for their stuff Evelyn decided to go for it. Putting the diaper bag in the bottom of the stroller, grabbed the handles for the two carry-on bags and the stroller handle, she began her pulling and pushing toward the vacant seat.

Once there Evelyn realized that from this seat she could keep an eye on the departure time screen. Plus, it was close to the service counter, and had easy access to the boarding line. Normally airlines allowed passengers with small children and passengers requiring special assistance to board first as they need more time to get situated. That would mean that they would be some of the first people to board the plane.

Happy with her seat choice, Evelyn sat down and focused on her, not so little any more, bundle of joy. She had finished the bottle and was now sitting contently in her carseat. Reaching into the carseat Evelyn picked up her daughter and placed her on her lap before digging into the diaper bag for a burp cloth. With cloth in hand Evelyn began to pat her back and work the air bubbles out of her little tummy. She did not know what an air bubble might do during a flight, due to the altitude, but she could only guess that it would not be pleasant. After a few minutes of patting she burped. Once she had burped Evelyn put her back in the carseat were she was content to play with the batting toys hanging from the car seat handle.

While she was busy playing Evelyn took the moment to drink some water and eat a snack that she had packed. She found that breastfeeding took a lot out of her and she needed to refuel constantly. She finished the small snack and water before looking about for the nearest garbage can. Getting up and heading to it Evelyn threw away her trash, before returning to her seat. Evelyn noticed that there was still 11 minutes before boarding the plane yet there was a lot of activity behind the gate counter. Two of the United Airline employees moved to the front of the gate while another employee picked up the speaker phone to make an announcement.

"Good afternoon passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for United Airlines flight 134 to Tokyo. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. That is passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you."

Quickly gathering her things Evelyn headed to the gate with the tickets and ID shoved down the side of the carseat, for quick access, since she did not have a free hand to hold them in. Reaching the line Evelyn took a deep breath as she almost burst into tears at the realization that on the other side of this gate, gate E12, was her new future. Her free future. Her daughter's future.