Spiral Bound Journal

Fly Away Home

Despite having her seat set up for lying down, Dana found herself staring dead ahead while toying with the hem of her brand new Paris 2024 hoodie. She had been watching the plane tracker showing their journey across the Atlantic. Now she found herself unable to pay attention to that. Instead, she found herself thinking about how she ended up on this flight, a complete departure from her original plans to get back to Minnesota.

Once the lights dimmed on the Closing Ceremonies, Dana fought to get back to her room at the Olympic Village. Besides the abhorrent traffic surrounding the Stadie, she found herself accosted by reporters; a few athletes she hadn't met; and many spectators all wanting to talk to her about her appearance with the IOC president and the subsequent announcement made. She gave the same response every single time: "I'm as stunned as you are". To Dana, it rather sucked not having any privacy to process the announcement made: that she was the latest recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin medal. Even as she managed the crowds as best as she could, she could see the headlines in her mind's eye. At least the Parisian humidity gave her a handy excuse if anyone asked why she was sweating through her dark blue dress. It would take a couple hours before she could be alone and have a chance to contemplate what all of this would mean.

She got her answer when she woke up the next morning. After taking her Cortef, Dana turned on her phone to find her message apps cluttering the notification bar. Scores of congratulatory messages greeted her, and several people sent her links to articles covering the announcement. Her father asked about when she would get the medal. Dana realized that in all her contemplation she hadn't thought about this. Since the medals were not made in large quantities, none were available for her in Paris. While she knew there would be a separate ceremony held for presenting her medal, none of the details had been hammered out. Dana ended up spending much of the day alternating between packing and responding to her messages.

Toward the end of the day, Quinn asked if she wanted him to call her. Dana agreed, and she soon found herself video chatting with her husband. She started to cry when his face appeared on the screen.

"I can't wait to come home," she blubbered.

Quinn gave her a half smile. "I bet. You've had a long enough time out there even before the announcement."

"I honestly thought I was going to puke on stage in front of a billion people."

"Is that why you had your hands over your mouth?"

Dana nodded. "I managed to get my stomach under control, but that was a bit of a fight."

"Sure sounds like it. How have you been otherwise? Got all your pills? Drinking enough water?"

"Yes to both. I've been in my room here much of the day working to get packed. I almost want to pull an all nighter to make sure I get to de Gaule with enough time to make my flight."

"It must be really...de galling moving around there."

"It is," Dana replied with a chuckle. "It really is."

Dana ended up not pulling an all nighter as she threatened. Even so, she got little sleep before her flight the next day. This lack of sleep set her nerves on edge, especially as the website kept her from checking in online. She had not choice but to get in a check-in line that extended to Monaco, a task that would have been hard enough even without having her face broadcast on international TV.

To her surprise, though, her arrival at the airport had the appearance of being smooth. Aside from her fantastic luck in getting a seat on the train, she found lots of space for her to move through the terminal building without having to fight through throngs of travelers while juggling two suitcases. The real surprise, though, came at check-in. She moved to get to the back of the line (which somehow only extended to Versailles) when an airline employee tapped her on the shoulder. The next thing Dana knew, she was walking up to the Priority check-in desk. The agent there advised her that she had been upgraded and would have access to the lounge. Dana asked in French and English if this was a joke and heard answers of "Non" and "No". Dana decided to stop arguing the point and almost ran to the security checkpoint.

Dana ended up sitting in the lounge for two hours. Upon arrival, the employees told her to wait for someone to greet her before boarding her flight. She took advantage of the ridiculous number of croissants available so she could cushion the morning cognac she found herself craving before taking to the skies. After all she'd seen in Paris, having a free Remy or two was the least she deserved. That second Remy had to be gulped in a hurry, as the flight manager approached her while she was drinking. Once Dana finished her drink, she pulled up the hood and joined the manager in walking to the gate. Two security personnel joined them, obscuring Dana from view as much as possible. In that moment, Dana thanked providence for whoever pulled all the strings to keep her protected. She allowed the team to guide her to the gate, and she was able to board with the crew.

From there, the flight had managed to be quiet even if her nerves were not. Dana had taken full advantage of the privacy door and closed it before other passengers began boarding. After taking her second course of Cortef, she managed to have a snack of edamame dip and crackers, a much welcome reprieve from the parade of baked goods she'd faced while in France. Despite hearing the wifi on the plane was decent, Dana opted to not hop online in any capacity. Instead, she did take a couple hours to watch Turning Red a second time before switching to the flight monitoring screen. That screen stayed on through dinner and into the later hours of the flight. Dana no longer knew if she was awake in the evening or morning. Either way, she knew she'd likely fall asleep once she was in an Uber trekking the last few miles home.

Before she knew it, a soft ding interrupted her unfocused staring. She looked at the map and realized that the plane was now over Lake Superior. Smiling, she wished that they could drop her off in Duluth. She knew that was not going to happen. Instead, she answered the door as the flight attendants came around to help everyone set their seats up to the regular configuration for landing. Dana got up to let them complete their tasks. For her, it meant that the long journey home was almost done.