All went well as I flew out of Dallas. I landed in Newark, NJ with 30 minutes to speedwalk to the opposite end of concourse C to hop on the plane that would take me to Ithaca by 10:30pm - where Nate would be waiting to drive me the one hour home to my own bed.
I finally found my gate. It was tucked in the corner and only had three chairs for those of us anxiously waiting to fly. Then it all began. 15 minute delay. Okay, nothing to worry about - probably just need to get the plane over the our gate. Then 30 minutes flashed up on the screen. I sent Nate a text saying I would be late.
We were all chatting by our gate when I noticed the screen - CANCELED! Ugh. Now what? There was no one at the gate to tell us what to do, when finally a guy from outside came and said we all had to head to gate 90 to figure out our new plan. I sent Nate a text to say my flight was canceled, and I'd keep him posted.
We all dashed over to the other gate, eager to find out what was going on. I was fifth in line, but it wasn't looking hopeful for another flight out that night. I could go anywhere - Syracuse, Scranton - anywhere closer to Binghamton, but it was already pretty late and no flights were taking off. Instead I received some meal vouchers, a hotel voucher, and a boarding pass for 8am the next morning to Ithaca. Lovely.
I gave Nate a call to share my latest news. He was already on his way to Ithaca! He hadn't seen my text about the cancellation. He pulled over, and we talked about some options. "How far is Newark from Binghamton?" Nate fiddled with the GPS and realized it was about a 3 hour drive. He could be at the airport around 1:30 in the morning. I wouldn't have to spend the night in the hotel by myself, but would have a few hours of sleep in my own bed before going to work the next morning. Instead of flying into Ithaca, having someone pick me up mid-morning, and waltzing straight into work, I would have some time to settle in back at home.
Would Nate be up for driving a total of 6 hours through the night to come rescue me?
He sure was! And he showed up at the airport just before 1:30. As I was waiting for him, I figured I might as well use my meals vouchers. The only place open was McDonald's, so I stocked up on snack wraps, yogurt parfaits, caffeine, and chocolate milk for our drive home!
It was pretty comical trying to find each other in concourse C of this huge international airport, but I was so glad to finally spot my knight in shining armor! We loaded up the car and were on our way by 2am. We'd recently been saying that we wanted to take more long car trips together, so here was our chance! I stayed awake to help keep Nate alert, and we talked about my trip and how his weekend was while I was away. It was fun to have that time to reconnect after a few days apart.
We rolled into my driveway at 5am - 6 hours before I would have been home had I stayed and taken the morning flight out. I got 4 hours of sleep in my own bed, and headed to work around 11:00.
Nate was my hero that night! But that is not the first time he has made sacrifices for me. He is always giving and generous, and I am so spoiled.
He even brought me flowers in the middle of the night and a welcome home sign! And it was good to be home!
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