I believed in my gut this trip was going to change my life. But as I climbed aboard my flight at LAX I had no idea how different everything would be.

The trip hadn’t gone as planned. I was flying from LA to Nashville to play guitar on a major artist’s album (you know who she is). Instead, Southworst Airlines had experienced technical issues during the holidays, and my itinerary changed. Now I had a 4-hour layover in Denver.

When I climbed off the ramp after landing, I knew I was in for an ordeal. There were thousands of people waiting for flights. Some sat in chairs, others napped in the terminal halls, and the lines to talk to an agent stretched as far as I could see.

I was immediately overwhelmed.

I made my way to my gate hoping somehow, someway, a miracle would befall me. Instead, I sat and streamed Netflix for hours, waiting for anything to happen. My emotions bubbled up after seven hours, and I went to the gate attendant to get any answers.

“Sir, I am sorry,” a young, and clearly overwhelmed redhead said. “The pilot scheduled to fly this flight has reached his max hours for this 24-hour period, and the FAA wouldn’t issue an exception. I am trying to find a new pilot. I am hopeful we can get this bird off the ground today.”

I retunred to my seat, but a young mother and her child had filled my space. I fumbled around the terminal, bought a soda, and returned to my gate. A woman who looked very familiar to me lifted her bags so I could sit in the seat next to her.

She was wearing an N95 mask. I struggled to put a name to her face, but I was certain I knew her. Her eyes looked so familiar to me.

She stood, exasperated after another hour of waiting. She lifted her mask and whipped moisture from her face. She threw her arms in the air and walked to the gate agent. Her body language suggested she was letting them have it.

The woman came back and growled her frustration. She sat down and leaned into me, hiding her face from everyone else. She puffed on a vape a few times, then faced forward again.

The stranger looked at me and said, “I am sorry. I know I shouldn’t vape in here. Do you want a puff?”

Once I saw her face I was able to complete the puzzle.

I said back, “Serie! I knew I knew you. You were at graduation. I am your daughter’s friend. You look so much like Tia!”

Serie looked at me with a confused stare. Then she just blurted out, “Tim. Oh my god. It is so weird to bump into you here.”

“Yeah – are you trying to get to Nashville too?” I asked.

“Yes, I have some contracts that I am negotiating with a producer. I’m an entertainment, and they’re trying to rip off my client on royalties and copyrights.”

I felt a little intimidated.

“I guess I didn’t know you were a lawyer. Tia always said she grew up, um, well, not well off.”

“Yeah, I had Tia young. Her dad and I split before I was 20. I think he knew I was a lesbian before I could admit it to myself. I raised Tia alone. I made it through college and finished law school about the time she started high school. Tia knew the hard times before I found real success. I am a 42-year-old woman competing against lawyers 15 years younger for the same clients at the same point in our careers. But I am good at this shit, and my law firm rewards me well. With any luck, I’ll be my firm’s first black, female partner. Maybe in a year or so. But first I must get this fucking deal fixed and signed.”

From there we broke into some basic chit-chat. We both said we were excited about Tia’s wedding in June and connected over our frustration with Southworst’s service.

Finally, Serie turned the conversation to me.

“I want to thank you for tutoring Tia. She wouldn’t have gotten into med school without your help. She said you are crazy smart, a little nerdy, and very passionate. Who gets their PhD in molecular chemistry then turns down a crazy job offer from Dupont to pursue a music career?” Serie asked.

“Tia said I was nerdy?” I stuttered.

“She said you were crazy smart – and kind of cute. But you made a fucked-up decision skipping the hard-earned payday to be a session musician.”

“She said I was cute?” I stuttered again.

“Don’t get carried away. Tia is like her mom and into the ladies. You know Tia is marrying a woman named Molly, right?”

“Yeah, of course. It was never like that between me and Tia. She and I were great friends and had a lot of fun together, but nothing more,” I said blushing a little.

An announcement came over the intercom saying it would be at least four more hours before they could get a pilot for our flight. The voice assured us our flight wasn’t canceled. Now we had some time to kill.

Tia suggested we go find some food. We walked the terminal and grabbed some expensive airport food and a few beers. After 90 minutes of drinking and talking we were both a bit intoxicated. That was when Serie shocked me.

“What I really need is a god pussy licking. An orgasm would relieve so much of this stress,” Serie said

“Is that a joke,” I asked.

“No, I’m serious as a fucking heart attack. I wish I had packed my vibrator in my carryon,” she said, finishing her last gulp of beer.

Maybe it was the IPA’s talking but I blurted out, “I could help you with that.”

Her eyes locked mine.

“You know that I am not into your plumbing, right. Like, dick does nothing for me,” she said.

“I’m guessing my tongue could meet your needs,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

She looked me up and down then said, “You would have to shave first. I don’t want no bearded man scratching up my mound.”

I stood, walked across the hall to the newsstand, and bought an electric razor, then returned to Serie.

“You’re pretty bold. How do you think we can make this scheme of yours work in the airport? We aren’t exactly alone,” Serie said doubtfully.

I took her hand, and we scurried to a family bathroom.

“What’s your plan?” she asked.

I pulled a piece of paper, marker and band sticker from my backpack and wrote, “Closed for repairs.” I used the band sticker to affix the fake sign to the door.

“I’ll go in first. Give me five minutes to shave. Then you knock, and I will let you in. No one will know we are in there, and we can find a little relief from this shitty day.”

Serie stood quietly for a while.