“I appreciate you saying that. Things are just weird right now. I mean, I know Micah very well and his fiancée Izzy, but they live here, so it’s easy. I’ve only met Luca in person once and the weekend was kind of stressful. Micah and Izzy wanted us to fly up with them. He owns his own plane. Isn’t that crazy? Anyway, I declined because I didn’t want to intrude. Good old economy class on a commercial airplane is just fine for me. Sorry I couldn’t cover your ticket. I’ll pay you back, I promise. It just may take me a couple weeks.”
“Don’t worry about it. I told you the day I booked the ticket that I don’t want your money. I can afford it and I wanted to be there for you. It’s not a big deal.”
“No, I won’t hear of it. I’ll pay you back and you will take my money,” she said with an edge to her voice. He didn’t want to argue with her about it and he had a feeling when they checked in, his little surprise for her may not go according to plan. As they pulled into the parking garage at the airport, he found a spot and parked. He got out and nearly ran around the car to open her door, but managed to just catch the handle as she was already getting out.
“Oh my gosh, I almost hit you.”
“You didn’t, I’m fine. Nothing is hurt but my ego. That’s what I get for trying to be a gentleman and coming around to open the door for you.”
A smile softened her look as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to people doing things like that for me.”
He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her into his body. “Maybe I can teach you.”
Ozzie kissed her again, this time with more force than before. The parking garage was crowded, and they were running late, but he wanted more than anything to push her down into the backseat and do everything he could to make her smile. Not just smile, but moan his name, as he showed her what it was like to have someone truly take care of her.
“Okay, here you go, Mr. Ashford. Two first-class tickets to JFK. You are on a direct flight and boarding will start in about thirty minutes. Please head to the Clear station and they will expedite your process through security. Have a great flight.”
Sofia was only half listening as Ozzie checked them in. She got another text from Izzy telling her she needed to change plans and fly out with them in the morning. As she was explaining to her future sister-in-law that they were already at the airport, she stopped mid-sentence as the gate agent said two first-class tickets. She looked up and saw Ozzie taking the tickets from the woman.
“No wait, that’s not us. Ma’am, there must be a mistake. We aren’t flying first class.”
“Yes, yes, you are. I have it right here in the computer. Two first-class tickets purchased... well, just three days ago for a Mr. Oscar Ashford and Sofia Corsetti. That’s the two of you, right?”
“Right but...”
Ozzie placed his hand on her lower back. “It’s us. I upgraded our tickets when I called to book.”
“That must have cost an arm and leg.”
He smiled at the gate attendant as he moved her away from the counter. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Remember, I said this weekend was for you, just go with it.”
“First-class tickets are insanely expensive.”
“Sofia, don’t worry about it. I used some travel points I had. I promise it was not that much,” he said as he leaned over and placed another kiss on her forehead, “Now come on, I don’t want us to be late.”
As they moved through security, Sofia was in awe. She had done her fair share of travel over the years, being bounced around between NYC, Miami and Italy, but traveling with Ozzie was a whole other experience. He had access to some system at the airport that let you jump to the front of the line. Apparently, he had called and set her up to so they could check in together. She had remembered seeing something like that years ago, but assumed it was just for business travelers. She was never in a rush to get anywhere, so it didn’t really apply to her. They made it through security in no time and boarding had already started, so they walked up to the gate and were immediately seated. Now she was sitting in first class with a glass of wine in her hand, watching the attendants load the luggage onto the plane. It seemed surreal.
“Ms. Corsetti, is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Ms. Corsetti?”
“Sofia, she’s talking to you.”
“Oh, right, I’m sorry. No, I don’t need anything.” The flight attendant gave her an overly friendly smile and turned to help the next guest.
“Are you okay?” Ozzie asked with concern on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just not used to the last name yet. Ms. Corsetti doesn’t seem like me. I changed it earlier in the year because I never really had a last name that was mine. It was Micah’s idea and I’m happy I did. It’s just taken some getting used to.”
“You said you grew up in the foster system, right? I’ve met a lot of kids in the system, but they are all older. I guess I never really considered who gave them their name.”
“My birth certificate had my birth mother’s last name. It was Russo, but I didn’t learn that until Dante found me. My last name growing up was Edwards, which was the name of my guardians. It never really fit, though. I think Corsetti fits better, but it’s all still kind of new.”
“Guardians like foster parents?”
“I guess you could call them that. There are still a lot of questions I need answered. It seems like they knew my father somehow, or my cousin Dante’s dad. Honestly, I think there is more that my cousin knows about me than he has shared, but when everything came out, I could only deal with so much at once. Someday when I have more time, I’ll go see him and ask.”
“Where is he?”