Waiting for Nuria

Snow fell in the dark hours between Friday nightfall and Saturday dawn. This Saturday morning, the temperature was 21°F and snow covered the ground and the streets. My lady friend Nuria had already packed her bags for her trip back to Costa Rica, and I loaded them into my Jeep and we drove off to Richmond airport. The Interstate had been salted and was in good condition and we made good time. Nuria had to be at RIC three hours before her flight. The airport was relatively crowded but it didn't take long to get checked in.

Her flight was scheduled to depart at 1:22PM. I talked to her at 5:20PM, and she was in the JFK airport terminal in New York City. She said the airport was cold and she was cold. A bottle of water was five dollars. For comparison, a bottle of water from Walmart is 11 cents and a bottle from Sam's Club is 8 cents. You can expect to be gouged if you buy something at an airport. 

I texted with her on WhatsApp at 5:20PM but a few minutes later I lost contact—WhatsApp said my texts were not getting through to her. Perhaps she had already boarded her plane. While I was texting with her, she told me she had left something for me under my pillow. I checked and indeed, she had left something special. That was a nice surprise.

It will be late when she gets into Juan Santamaría International Airport. I told her to call me when she gets home, but she said it will be too late to call. She doesn't want to wake me up. But I won't be sleeping. 

I put the flight tracker on my computer and the NFC Divisional Playoff game between San Francisco and Green Bay on my TV and I watched the game and I checked the flight status from time to time. The game was incredible; San Francisco won with less than 4 seconds on the clock. (I also watched San Francisco beat Dallas last Sunday, 23 - 17. And that was a good game.)

Now the after-game commentary is playing on Fox, and Nuria's flight is three minutes ahead of schedule. Her flight should be landing in 45 minutes.

It's 18°F (-8°C) now, though no doubt it will be a few degrees colder before morning arrives.

Forty five minutes passes and Nuria's plane has landed at SJO. It's Sunday morning, barely. 

An hour passes.

It is 1:04AM. I receive a text from Nuria. She is home. I can go to sleep now.