The Curse of 1977 (Book 2)

Port Cypress Airport

As if she were ailing, Lynnette hurled into the toilet for the third time during her stay at the airport. When she had vomited enough she lifted her head up out of the bowl and rested her back against the closed door of the stall she was locked inside of.

The young woman sat for the longest time staring back at the toilet she had been praising for the past hour with sullen, red eyes. Lying on the floor beside her was her purse. She reached inside and rooted about before pulling out a bottle of pills. In a mad rush she opened the childproof cap before emptying out several pills into her shaking, waiting right hand.

Just before she could even raise her hand to her mouth she immediately stopped and stared hard at the pink tablets. Her sweaty palms could hardly maintain a grip on the pills that were slowly sliding off her hand. Before they could even fall to the floor she stretched out her arm and dropped them into the toilet, along with the rest of the bottle's contents.

Lynnette then got to her knees and grudgingly flushed the toilet before standing up and letting herself out of the stall.

"Wake up, girl." She groaned under her breath. "Wake up, already."

She was all alone inside the bathroom as the speaker above her head played 'Moon River.' With her purse in hand she stumbled straight ahead to the first sink that she saw and stood there staring at her own overwrought reflection in the mirror.

She appeared as if she hadn't slept in days. Her eyes were insipid while her hands trembled on the porcelain. The longer she studied herself the more she just wanted to turn away.

Lynnette then twisted on the cold water faucet and dipped her hands in before washing her entire face. When she was through she gave her reflection another gander, except by then her look was phony-determined. She accepted it nonetheless. She cut off the faucet before turning and scanning the entire bathroom once more.

She tucked her blue blouse into her bell-bottomed jeans, wrapped a blue scarf around her forehead and put on her pair of cat's eye sunglasses before strolling out of the bathroom and into the busy terminal where others were either rushing to their various planes or simply waiting by the windows that overlooked the parked aircrafts.

Making sure to keep her head pointed to the floor, Lynnette side-stepped one person after another on her way to a vacant seat near the window. The very second she sat down she exhaled as deep as she could before glancing out the window at one plane race down the runway and take off into the sky.

Suddenly, the nauseous sensation that she had carried with her to the airport resurfaced, and the bathroom was too far away for her to race to.

"You look like you've never flown before, honey."

Lynnette looked up and over to see an elderly black woman seated right next to her. The woman was wearing a black flower hat with plastic daisies sticking out in the front. Lynnette immediately pulled herself together right then.

I've flown before." She caught her breath. "I'm just really...nervous. That's why I was in the bathroom for so

remarked, "The last time I was stuck in the bathroom like that was on my wedding day way

said, "I could only wish it

"I'm going to see my grandson way out in

she laid eyes on the woman, and yet, inside an airport, she remembered her mother sitting in her rocking chair and talking to her while she lay in bed.

"Where in Colorado does your

Boulder." She said. "My son is paying for my ticket, so that makes it

Lynnette smiled at the lady before saying, "I sure hope

"You have a

ma'am," Lynnette proudly chimed in. "He'll

they get to be teenagers that

Lynnette laughed, but only for a glimpse

wonder what kind of man he'll grow up

boys have a hard childhood and end up becoming good men, while some have an easy one and grow up to be

to face the lady. She wanted to blurt out the very first thing that came into her head at that

The lady said. "If we parents can do our best to not only teach

son's father haven't been very good parents to our son." Her voice faltered. "I blame myself too, because...because I felt

with the kindest look in her brown eyes. Placing a hand on her knee, she said, "You still have time to set things straight. You see, my ten year old grandson was killed by

feel her heart inside her throat at that slow instant in time. She placed her shaking hand on the lady's and stuttered, "It was such a

The lady continued to smile

stood up and said, "Speaking

Lynnette took

How may I

"Yes, this is Lynn...Grier. I'm a reporter with the Cypress Guardian. I was calling to inquire why there was never a backup unit called for the