Maybe Another Time, Post-Meridian, When you got no place to go...

There are two things that I had a problem with while writing this story. Coming up with a title, and deciding on the name of the main character. Maybe Another Time is just as much a place holder as Post-Meridian and When you got no place to go... were. It's odd because I usually have no problem titling my stories. All I can think of is that this is a more realistic story than I usually write so an obvious title doesn't jump out at me like it usually would.

Naming the main character was/is even more difficult. I can't put my finger on why, but no name really seems to work. Darren is my fifth or so choice after Kelly (original, I know), Steve, Alden, and David. I'm willing to concede that the character is a lot like me, and that's why I can't choose a name that I feel "fits."

As for the story, I wrote it for my Creative Writing class earlier this year. The criteria called for a story broken into three parts, and the people in my group were having a hard time figuring out how to do that. So being the helpful person I am, I gave a very brief example of a brother picking his sister up from the airport. Obviously I expanded on the idea as I was talking to them and turned it into the story below.

I'm proud of what I wrote, though as I was reading it over to put it on here I changed a few things. I feel there's still more I can do with it, so this should be considered the most current iteration. Well, I hope people like it.

Maybe Another Time Pt. 1

_____“Your sister’s flight is going to land-“
_____“I know!” Darren cut his mom off, irritated at the apparent lack of trust. He was just about to close his laptop, get his jacket and leave for the airport when she called up to him. The laptop stayed open however. “At gate B16, 9:43 post meridian, our adventurous Caitlin will finally be home. Goody.” The last part he muttered under his breath. His mom seemed to hear it however.
_____“I don’t want that attitude Darren. Just, please, get off of your computer and go pick up your sister.”
_____Darren complied. He didn’t want to upset his mom any more than the current situation already had, and her voice was beginning to show signs of strain. He closed the laptop and dropped it onto his bed. Looking outside only served to make things worse. The window was spattered with rain drops, and each one had a dull yellow glow from the corner streetlight.

_____It was an especially chilly November, and he could hear the wind rushing steadily against the house. This made the job of picking up his younger sister from the airport even less appealing. Why she can't just get a damn cab. Darren picked up his jacket and went downstairs, certain he had a brooding look on his face. He got to the bottom of the stairs and was turning into the living room when his mom called from the kitchen.

_____“Darren.” His mom’s voice was calm, but tired. He hesitated for a moment, not sure what she was planning to say to him. Probably more excuses for his sister, but he went to the kitchen anyway; he didn’t want to upset her. She was sitting at the small round breakfast table, dressed in her nightgown and leaning over slightly with her hands trying to keep themselves occupied. He went over to her and sat down. For a few seconds there was only silence. Feeling just a little awkward, he looked past his mother and into the back yard. The sliding glass door was bone dry, but he could see the kitchen lights shudder every time a strong gust of wind hit the house. His mom broke the silence.

_____“I don’t want you to say anything to your sister about her trip when you pick her up. She’s had a hard enough time without her brother piling it on. Just pick her up, and bring her home.” Darren was still looking outside, watching the tree in their backyard lean in the wind. “Darren?” His eyes left the tree and met his mother’s.
_____“Yeah.” He knew he sounded non-committal, but he talked through it. “I won’t say anything to her. I don’t even want to talk to her right now if that helps.”
_____“Darren, please. It’s not your sister’s fault. She thought she was ready for school, but it just didn’t work out.” The tiredness in her voice became more apparent, but it held no remorse, and that’s what finally served to set him off as he stood up from the table.
_____“Of course it just didn’t work out. She’d only been there a few months, and I doubt she even tried while she was there. Now because of that wasted effort, there’s a bill sitting around waiting to be paid and you don’t even care!” Darren heard the words he was only thinking come out of his mouth, and he would have regretted them if they weren’t true. He only regretted that his mother was the only one to hear them.
_____“It wasn’t a waste, Darren.” Her voice wasn’t like he thought it would be after saying what he did however; there was only more exhaustion in it. “Caitlin did what she thought was best, and I’d rather have you kids do that than do nothing. Just because you got through college in one go doesn’t mean that’s how everybody should do it.” Darren wanted to argue, but his mother stood up from the table and flattened her nightgown. He stood taller than she did, but the height made very little difference. “Darren, please just go pick up your sister. Okay sweetie?”
_____Darren sighed in mild defeat, though still upset with his sister and seemingly shrank a few inches. “Okay Mom.” She hugged and wished him goodnight, went to her room, and closed the door. The light from underneath met momentarily with the fluorescent light of the kitchen, but it blinked out and broke the connection. Darren looked at the clock on the wall, and headed for the door.

Maybe Another Time Pt. 2

_____It was easy for Darren to get out of the neighborhood as it was usually quiet at that time of night, but just as he suspected, the way to the airport would not be so simple. It had stopped raining, but the streets were so pitch black that they soaked up any and all light. All that could be seen were the intense headlights and the dim, then suddenly bright tail lights of the other cars on the road. Darren loved to drive, but this love was always hampered by the fact that everybody else loved to drive as well.

_____It didn’t help that most of them were terrible at it. Why are you following so close, you jackass? was a constantly recurring thought. Yeah, see? And then that happens. Idiot. Naturally, he always put the blame on the other motorists, because that’s where it usually belonged. Darren knew wasn’t a perfect driver, and was well aware that such a thing didn’t exist. He felt that George Carlin had put it best: Have you ever noticed how anyone going slower than you is an idiot, and anybody going faster than you is a maniac?
_____
_____But Darren wasn’t getting annoyed at the idiots and maniacs. Having to slow down yet again because drivers aren’t patient made him think of his sister, and how it was her fault he had to deal with the huddled masses. He knew he shouldn’t say anything to her, but he was thinking up some mean remarks regardless of the promise he made.
_____“Come on short stack, your loser drop out chariot awaits.”
_____“Hurry up. People with lives have better things to do tonight.”
_____“One of those suitcases is going to have to go on the roof.”

_____The brake lights of the car in front flashed on and bounced as the car practically ground to a halt, catching Darren by surprise. He slammed on his brakes and slid to the right, bumping the empty curb before slotting back into the slow procession of cars. “Sonuva bitch! Pay the fuck attention!” This was directed more to the car ahead of him, as there was still plenty of space between them, but barely any between that car and the one in front of it. He knew he deserved some of the scolding though. From what he could tell, there was no damage, and he felt no difference when he drove away. It was little consolation however, as he still had to put up with these idiots for another seven miles at least.

_____Why she couldn't have gotten a cab.

_____He knew exactly why. Though their parents paid for her to go to college, she was the one who paid for the flight back home. She really pushed for it; she scrounged up what money she had, desperate to prove that she was capable of being independent on at least some level. Even so, He was still the one that had to go and pick her up. He had to watch it all unfold on the sidelines, and keep his mouth shut even if he was trying to be helpful. She refused to talk to him when the trouble started, and that’s what hurt him the most. Now that it was all over, he had to play the nice brother.

_____The scattered cars before him weren’t a bother like they were a few minutes ago. They were all on the freeway now, and everybody liked their space when going 65 miles per hour. But Darren was sick of looking at a sea of idle tail lights, and became a slight maniac to those he was now passing. He officially didn’t care anymore. He didn’t even want to say something nasty to his sister when he got to what would surely be a crowded airport. Maybe he did, but he felt an annoyed silent treatment might be the better choice.

Maybe Another Time Conclusion

_____Thankfully, mid-November turned out to be a not so busy time for air travel. Getting into the airport was a bit of a hassle, having to wait for the cars ahead of him to stop at the parking booth to get their ticket. A lot of them turned out to only be dropping off instead of picking up. Darren watched them stop along the terminal entrances, letting passengers out to make their late flights. Some goodbyes were more sentimental than others, with the driver getting out as well.

_____Darren was grateful to find a parking spot close to the terminal. He knew he’d have to carry some of his sister’s baggage back to the car, and he wanted as little responsibility as possible. She didn’t want his help while she was at school, so she shouldn’t need it now. He looked at the clock on his car stereo and was surprised to see it was already 9:58.

_____“Crap. With my luck she’s probably already off the plane and waiting for me. She better not have called Mom.” Darren turned off his car and got out, locking the door as he did. He avoided puddles on his way to the terminal entrance, but stepped in what was likely the last and deepest one. He swore as his shoe and pants leg dripped, and left a single, wet foot print on the white tile floor of the terminal as he walked. He went to the directory, listening to the ‘squeak-step, squeak-step’ of his feet as he went.

_____It wasn’t that big of an airport, so the baggage claim where Caitlin would be was fairly close by. He got himself pointed in the right direction and briskly walked to the baggage claim, the ‘squeak-step, squeak-step’ slowly fading away as the bottom of his shoe dried. He was not happy, to say the least. He wanted out of that airport, done with the traffic and back home in his bed where he could pretend his sister was somewhere else.

_____He rounded the corner and saw the baggage claim, and the people huddled around it occasionally stepping forward to grab their luggage. A portly older gentleman leaned forward and grabbed a carry on that seemed much too small to handle everything he would need for a trip. The man walked away from the crowd, peeking into his bag as if to make sure nothing was missing. When Darren looked back at the waiting crowd, he saw Caitlin. He was about to call something rude out to her when somebody stepped up and bumped her out of place. She didn’t fall, but she didn’t step back to where she had been.

_____Darren watched his sister just stand there, dejected. She wore a simple jacket, t-shirt and jeans, that all hung limply on her. Her hair wasn’t even the usual raven colored sleek it had always been. Instead it was slightly tussled, with errant strands sticking out. But that was nothing compared to the look on her face. There was a miserable sadness that he’d only seen once before; when she was seven and her favorite toy bear had gone missing. Her lips were tight, holding back a desperate need to break down. From the corner of her eye to the bottom of her chin was a thin, faded grey trail where her tears streamed silently.

_____In that moment, Darren forgot everything about the mean things he was thinking and thought he wanted to say to his sister, who had only wanted to prove her worth and independence. He walked up to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

_____“Hey, Caity.” He said as warmly as he possibly could.
_____She looked at him, the corner of her mouth lifting a tiny amount, and spoke a softly audible “Hi.” Darren felt genuinely surprised that she could manage that much. She was so unlike herself at that moment. Darren put his arm around his sister’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Thanks for picking me up Darren.” She snuffed her nose, still trying to keep herself somewhat composed.
_____Darren snuffed his nose too, fighting the urge to cry. “Any time.”


The End