End 3

Zöe closed her eyes and fell asleep.

There was a bump.  Zöe stirred.  Another bump.  Zöe rolled over.  Bump!  Zöe woke up.

She was on a plane, going somewhere but she couldn’t quite remember where.  Home?  No, not home.

She sensed someone next to her, turned and saw Ryan.  He was looking straight ahead, ignoring her.  Zöe felt like she had to get out of there but she said to Ryan, “We have to talk.”  She heard her own voice say back, “I know.”  Ryan turned and looked out of the window.

Zöe unbuckled her seat belt, got up and moved toward the aft of the plane.  Many people were crowding the aft galley.  She heard a loud voice demanding fresh coffee.

“I paid good money for this flight and the least you could do is provide fresh coffee!”  There was a hubbub of approval.

“I want coffee and I want it fresh and I want it now!”

Zöe made eye contact with the irate passenger.  It was Coffee Guy.  Zöe felt panic set in as he smiled at her and said, “Fresh coffee, is it too much to ask?”

Another bump.  Zöe steadied herself on the backrest of a seat.  Another bump.  And another.

Zöe opened her eyes.  Foxie was on the bed wagging her tail and looking at Zöe with that “Breakfast time!” look.

Drenched in sweat, Zöe got out of bed and said to Foxie, “In a minute, girl, Mommy’s got to take a cold shower, first.”