Read Sisterchicks on the Loose for Free Online

my tray table was in its upright and locked position. The seat beside me was empty, so I took the blanket and a pillow placed there. With my face to the window, I watched sheets of Oregon winter wetness smash against the tarmac. The plane backed away from the terminal. And then I cried.
    By the time the airplane’s wheels touched down in San Francisco, I had no tears left. I’d successfully completed the second airplane ride of my life all by myself. I was ready and steady. In a few moments I would see Penny. My Penny. My generous, outgoing, crazy friend who had selected
me
as her travel companion. Tears were not on the agenda from here on out.
    I stepped into the bustling terminal firmly gripping my shoulder bag while I scanned all the signs. I arrived in plenty of time and stood there, searching each face that passed, waiting for Penny. My anticipation rose and fell during those eternal fifteen minutes. I think it was the closest I’d ever come to a panic attack.
    What if Penny doesn’t come? What if she’s waiting for me somewhere else? What if the plane leaves without me? What if this was all a bad joke? What if …?
    I realized that for years I had reveled in the sparking wonder of Penny’s “what if” questions. The unknown elevated her. My “what if” questions were suffocating me with fear and pressing me deeper into myself.
    At just the right moment, I looked up, and rushing toward me came the one face in all the world I longed to see. Penny’s!
    With a bulging bag slung over each arm and tugging a wheeled suitcase behind, Penny came charging toward me in a straight line. Her smile was huge. Her cocoa brown hair bounced with carefully coiffured fullness while her reading glasses slid from their perch on top of her head. She wore wide-legged black pants, a fire engine red turtleneck sweater, and a sleek, black raincoat that flapped open with every long-legged stride she took. She looked as if she did this sort of thing every day.
    Dark-eyed Penny, with her gold hoop earrings and her wonderfully wild, sparkling eyes, grabbed me and planted her signature greeting kiss on my right cheekbone.
    “Look at you! You’re here! We’re here! Sharon, can you believe we’re doing this? You look great!”
    “So do you!” I hugged her again.
    “Your hair! I love your hair! You didn’t tell me it was down to your shoulders now. And the color is great! Not a hint of green anywhere,” she said with a wink. “It couldn’t have been as bad as you said. I love your coat. Is it new?”
    “No, this is the one you talked me into buying at an after-Christmas sale about six years ago. I just never wear it.”
    “It looks great! You look great! I can’t believe you’re here! Come on! We need to hurry. Our gate is this way.”
    And we were off. Penny blazed ahead. I trotted to keep up. The galaxy had fallen back into its proper alignment.
    “You would not believe the morning I’ve had!” Penny shouted over her shoulder. “I was running so late that I was afraid to check my baggage. I didn’t think they would get it on the plane in time. I’m so glad you checked your suitcase and only have one bag. Would you mind carrying on one of mine so they don’t tell me I have too many pieces?”
    With the overhead bin story in mind, I opted for the smaller shoulder bag and let Penny keep her wheeled suitcase and the gym bag.
    “How did you get everything in one suitcase?” Penny asked. “I kept thinking of more things to pack. I can see it already—I’m going to have to buy a bigger suitcase the first day there.”
    We were in line to check in at the gate and receive our seat assignments when Penny caught her breath. She looked at me,and I knew something was going on.
    “What?” I asked her.
    “What do you mean, ‘what’?”
    “You’re about to spring another surprise on me.”
    Penny looked crushed. “How did you know?”
    “Your left eyebrow. It goes up whenever you’re about to reveal a secret.”
    “Oh