After Olivia

12

A vast empty hall with off white tile floors and sandstone-coloured walls remained void of detail for a moment. With time fixtures and furnishings took shape and a small active crowd formed and milled about. The mechanical hum and clatter of a conveyer system accompanied random flight announcements that echoed in the air above and around Bill, while the arrivals area took shape.

He stood at the baggage carrousel and waited for his luggage and Olivia. The scene was ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious. After several minutes of fruitless waiting, he contemplated scaling back the effort if it meant she would arrive sooner. A luggage cart with a single bag took the place of the apparatus and the hall became silent despites the lingering crowd.

"This is nice, have you been waiting long?" Olivia asked as she approached. "I always loved travelling."

"Do you recognize the place?" he asked.

Olivia scanned the area for clues, but Bill hid all details that might make the task a little too easy. It all seemed familiar, but it wasn't until she had zeroed in on a woman in a red vest and a white cowboy hat that she could answer the challenge. A wide grin traced over her face.

"White hat volunteer! We're at the Calgary airport," she said. "Wow, you are getting really good at this!"

"Thank you."

"I know you are trying to make these realistic but skipping the airport arrival and putting us out on the ski hill might be more impressive."

"Skies! I should probably conjure up some of those," Bill said.

"Okay, that's a good idea. While you take care of that, I'm going to ask the white hat lady for directions."

Bill watched Olivia skip away and stop to chat with the airport volunteer. Another page from their past played out in his dream and he couldn't help but smile. He watched her snap a selfie with the woman just as she had done on their last visit to the city four years earlier. She returned to his side a minute later, just as he placed the ski equipment on the luggage cart.

"Let's get going," Bill said as he pushed the cart towards the exit.

A rental car waited just outside the terminal door under the warm summer sun. Olivia looked to the sky then turned to Bill and prepared to speak until he beat her to it.

"I know. It's summer and we brought skies. Don't worry, I'll make it nice and snowy on the hill, but we don't need heavy jackets. We get the best of all the seasons!"

"I was going to ask if we were in the middle of a Chinook, but I like your explanation better. Are we staying at Uncle Tom's place?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, he graciously offered us his place, once again."

"Nice! Oh, what's happening with Emily and Roger?"

"Well, it looks like he is finally ready to set a date. And he promised to talk to his parents about... all the problems."

"Finally!" Olivia said as Bill secured the skies on the car's roof rack.

The wait at the baggage claim and the exit from the airport came to an end and with the time saving ease found only in movies and dreams. The drive to the cottage in the Eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies to the West of Calgary could have passed in the blink of an eye, but a stop at one of the city landmarks for lunch was a detail Bill couldn't help but add to the dream.

"How about a burger and onion rings from Peters' before we head out to Canmore?" he asked as he maneuvered the car into the drive-thru lane.

"Don't forget a strawberry shake for me," Oliva replied with a giddy smile.