The last flight left at dawn…

The last flight left at dawn but Jack wasn’t on it. He sat by the gate all through boarding and watched as his seat was given away to some girl in hot pink sweatpants and Hello Kitty slippers who dragged her pillow on the floor as she disappeared behind the last checkpoint. He watched the plane taxi down the runway and wondered whether he should regret not being on it. He finally walked away from the gate when the airline employees started to actually pay attention to him.
A while back on TV or radio someone said that not making a choice is still choosing and Jack couldn’t agree more. He didn’t look forward to calling Emily and telling her to not bother going to the airport to pick him up. He didn’t particularly look forward to calling Alice either, but deep down in his gut, underneath the brewing acid reflux he could almost taste already, he knew he made the right choice. He loved Emily, but sitting at that gate watching the display flash Delayed for an hour he realized that he loved Alice more. Not just more, he was in love with her. And if he was completely honest with himself he’d always known that Emily was an Anne Boleyn to his Katherine of Aragon of a wife. She was new, exciting and shiny, and she didn’t want to talk about refinancing the house or having her parents over for Thanksgiving. Or worse, his parents.
He could tell Alice didn’t buy his working late excuses but she didn’t make scenes or tell him he’d changed. One day she simply left a voicemail saying that she was going to visit her sister and wasn’t sure how long she’d be gone. Just like that he was free. At least as free as he could be while still being married. That was a month ago. They’d spoken twice since then. One of those times was when he burned the popcorn and couldn’t remember the code to give the alarm people when they told him they had to call the fire department if he didn’t know the code. He was nothing without her and she… she was everything. Smart, beautiful, funny. He was such an idiot.
He rode the escalator down to Departures where an airline agent with salt and pepper hair was trying to look busy.
“One ticket for the next flight to Denver, please.”
“Any luggage, sir?”
“No luggage, no.”
The agent looked him over, trying to decide if he was a security risk.
“It’s on it’s way to Orlando right now,” Jack mumbled. “My wife’s in Denver.”
The guy nodded, all business, and handed him the ticket.
“Have a good flight, sir. And good luck.”