We pulled up to the long-term parking with only a half hour until our flight. I hauled out our suitcases while Zevi paid for the parking. We jumped on the shuttle bus, and I silently urged the driver to step on it. I almost wanted to nudge him aside and drive to the gate myself, knowing how close we were cutting it.

Before the shuttle even stopped, I grabbed my suitcase and hotfooted it off, with Zevi trailing my heels. Oh, my gosh, this was NOT happening. I came to an abrupt stop by the security check, which seemed to snake down for miles. I could barely make out those at the beginning of the line.

“It’s okay, Tamar. There’s nothing we could do. Let’s just hope our flight is delayed, right?” Zevi offered me a commiserative smile. I returned a weak smile, too out of breath and anxious for more. Thankfully, the line moved quickly. With just two minutes until our flight, we made it to the other side.

We started to run to our gate, Zevi holding onto his yarmulke while I clung to my suitcase. We jumped around mothers strolling with their children in carriages, tourists who were walking way too slowly for an airport, and nearly induced an elderly woman’s heart attack when I brushed against her.

There. Gate 16. But… why were all the seats empty? I glanced up at the monitor. Boldly stated in black and white: Flight 1296 to Cleveland: Departed.

My entire bodied slackened, letting go of my fear. We had missed our flight. New apprehension took hold as I turned to Zevi, who was gulping down some water.

“What do we do now, Zevi? I never missed a flight in my life.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask them to put us on the next one. There has to be another one soon.” Zevi closed his water bottle and strode over to the agent who was standing at the desk next to the gate. I flopped down on the nearest seat, watching Zevi negotiate with the agent.

All I saw was Zevi’s tall frame leaning over the desk, trying to explain our situation. The agent, salt-and-pepper hair neatly slicked back, barely glanced up from his computer screen while Zevi was talking, though he kept shaking his head. This could not be good.

A minute later, Zevi walked over, a significant slump to his shoulders. “He said that there are a couple other flights to Cleveland this afternoon and tonight, but they’re all booked. The best he could do is put us on standby and hope some passengers don’t show up.”

“Are you serious? What should we do? Should we just leave?”

“I’ll look into some other options of getting to Cleveland. In the meantime, why don’t you have some breakfast? I got you a blueberry muffin.” Zevi handed me the greasy paper bag from the bagel shop. The aroma of freshly baked goods wafted towards me, somewhat settling me. As I slowly munched on the muffin, I glanced around the gate area.

There were only two small kiosks that sold a few snack items, and several other gates. Having been in a number of other airports, I was surprised at how small and old this airport was. Where were the shops to peruse? The Starbucks? The long hallways to walk down?

A glance upward revealed a steady leak, which was slowly plinking, drop by drop, into a bucket someone had placed below. I rolled my eyes. Out of all airports to be stuck in, why did it have to be this one? I immediately felt trapped. Standing up, I easily spotted Zevi standing next to the sparsely stocked kiosk. Stepping around the drips coming from the ceiling, I walked over.

“So, what did you find out?”

“Well, I looked into taking the train to Cleveland, but that takes nearly the whole day, which doesn’t help. Unless you just want to leave and rent a car.” Zevi leveled his gaze at me. “But I think we should just wait it out. I really think we will get on a flight today.”

“You really think so? We can’t be sure of that.”

“I know. But I have a good feeling about this. I feel it’s the right decision. You’ll see.” I walked back over to the gate to sit down, while Zevi got out his tallis and tefillin to start davening. As I watched him wrap his tefillin around his arm, I was in awe of his self-assurance and calm. Well, if he was so sure, I guess I should be, too. I took one last bite of my muffin, then got out my own siddur to daven, too.

By afternoon, though, the serenity I had felt at Zevi’s assurance had long worn off. Two more flights to Cleveland had departed, all completely booked without any room for two desperate (okay, maybe only I was desperate) passengers who were getting sick of staring at the walls of LaGuardia airport.

“Another walk?” Zevi turned to me, noticing my restlessness.

I quickly got up, eager to pass the time. Breakfast had long since finished, and we’d been munching on candy and pretzels. Within a minute we had reached the end of the hallway, and turned around to make a loop back.

“This is so crazy!” I huffed as we passed by the ticketing desk, with the same agent whom Zevi had spoken to that morning, eyeing us wearily. Wearily, because we had been constantly harassing him about getting on the next flight.

Zevi chuckled. “That it is. But that makes it a good dating story, no?”

“How can you be so calm?” I marveled, catching Zevi’s eye. “Not once did I hear you complain! I’m going nuts here, and you’re the picture of serenity!”

Zevi let out a full-fledged guffaw. “Well, one of us has to be calm, right? We can’t both be going crazy from this!” I laughed, as again, Zevi calmed me down when I needed it.

For the rest of the afternoon, Zevi and I talked as we took turn after turn around the small airport hallway. And just when I was starting to get anxious, thinking we would never leave the airport, Zevi would manage to say just the right thing and calm me down again. But after 14 hours of passing by the same kiosk and ticketing agent who I knew was beyond annoyed with us, and sitting on those same uncomfortable chairs by the gate while staring at our names on the monitor, I knew I couldn’t take another minute. Another flight to Cleveland had started to board, and I would give absolutely anything to get on that flight.

“Wait, Tamar, I think the agent is calling us over! Hold on…” Zevi quickly turned, his tzitzis streaming behind him as he briskly walked over to the desk. I held my breath, trying to read the agent’s body language, which had been so hostile toward us all day. Please let us get on this flight, please, please….

Zevi beckoned me over, a triumphant look on his face. I grabbed the suitcases and edged around the other passengers boarding the flight as I pushed toward the desk.

“He said there may be two seats available! It looks like two passengers aren’t showing up, so we could get on! Good thing, too, because this is the last flight of the day.”

I straightened my shoulders, the anxiety and nerves from the day draining out of me, replaced by pure, unadulterated joy. I eagerly watched each passenger check in and disappear into the hallway leading to the plane. I had never before wanted to go through any hallway more than that one.

Finally, after the last person boarded, the agent typed into the computer. Silence reigned as I caught Zevi’s eye, his with a surefire twinkle. So sure, so confident, he knew we would get on the flight. Me, not so sure, until we’d be safely belted in our seats.

“Okay, you two. Get on. You’re finally going to Cleveland.”

I grinned from ear to ear as I watched the agent scan our tickets. After we’d safely settled in our seats a few minutes later, I finally breathed the sigh of relief that had been waiting to escape the entire day.

We landed in Cleveland after ten, reaching my parent’s house after eleven, where Zevi and I had the delicious meal my mother had been waiting to serve since noon. Then Zevi left to where he would be staying, and my father turned to me, a smile playing on his lips. “Well, after a day like today, after 16 hours, I’m pretty sure you know if you want to spend the rest of your lives together or not. Am I right?”

I gave a small smile in response, while knowing the answer in my heart. After a 16-hour ordeal in which any sane person would unravel, Zevi had remained calm and collected, insisting every time I voiced my frustrations that there was no point in worrying over something we had no control over. We had tried our best, and the rest was out of our hands.

Since then, we have yet to miss another flight together — although Zevi did miss the flight to Cleveland for our wedding a few months later. But that’s a story for another time.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 612)