He walked around at the terminal for about an hour. He still had thirty minutes until boarding. He wasn't going to buy anything. But he finally caved. Coffee. He needed that. Well not really. But it would make this situation feel more fun. He hadn't told Jackie he was visiting yet. He was planning to wait until he was already on the plane. Before they told you to turn your phone to 

airplane mode

.

In his head this was just a vacation. This wasn't him having another panic attack. This wasn't more evidence of him not being a real adult. Nah. Instead he was going to see his sister in New York. What was wrong with that? Nothing.

With a black coffee in hand, he looked for a seat by the gate. He wanted his back to the wall. He found such a place by the corner. The windows were floor to ceiling. The light came in so bright it almost gave him a headache. He sipped the coffee wondering if it might prevent a real headache. His eyes squinted.

He barely had enough money to get to Jackie. But she would pay for everything as soon as she knew he was coming. Money wasn't a worry. What he worried about was her realizing why he had come.

It had been two years now since the last panic attack. He had them often in college. Finally dropped out. And things got better. His 

therapist

said, without blaming him, that he was imagining things during these episodes. Joey would think something happened, only to have it be falsified after. Like Tony coming over and telling him he was 

Batman

. Did Tony really come over? Was that part real? Was the Batman part the only thing Joey hallucinated? Or what about the man at the gas station who laughed maniaclly and ripped the dollar bill up into shreds.

Joey couldn't tell. And that's why he was on the run now. He felt safer in this terminal.

A familiar scent appeared. A well dressed girl sat beside him. It reminded him of the perfume that Jackie wore. Dolce and Gabbana blue.

"Heading to New York?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yup. That's where I live."

"I'm from around here."

She smiled. "I could tell."

"that obvious? No rizz?"

"Maybe." she giggled.

"What were you doing out here?"

"Visiting a friend. A very old old friend."

"Old like in age? Or like from your--"

"From a past life. Someone I haven't spoken with in ages."

Joey asked the girl how she got to talking with her old friend again. It was an interesting story.