Once the FaceTime video was turned off, I laid in bed for a few minutes attempting to process what I had just watched. There were so many feelings and emotions fighting within me that I didn’t even know what most of them were. It didn’t matter. The excitement was winning out over all of them.

There was no way I was going to be able to sleep for the rest of the night. Not after what had just happened. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my suitcase and started throwing things into it as fast as I could. It would have driven Kayla nuts to see how I was tossing things in there unfolded and in no particular order. Having things neat and orderly was one of her quirks, and I could almost hear her nagging at me for the way things looked in my bag.

I made one last sweep of the room and the bathroom to make sure I didn't forget anything before I wheeled my suitcase out of the room and down to the front desk.

“Could you call me a cab to the airport?” I asked, still wiping the sleep from my eyes.

“Absolutely, sir. If you would like some coffee, we have some in the lobby there.”

Typically, I needed coffee to wake myself up, but it wasn’t necessary that morning. The video call was plenty to get my blood pumping and have me ready to go.

I walked outside to wait for the cab and quickly remembered why they called Chicago the windy city. The air attempted to bite through me until I found a spot meant for smokers on the side of the front doors.

The medical conference that I was in town for quickly became an afterthought. I loved the conference, but I didn’t care about missing this one. I’d been a speaker during previous years, but not this one, so nobody was going to miss me. People may look for me, but with the sheer number of medical professionals that would be there, it’s impossible to meet up with everyone.

Another added plus was the fact that a recap is also posted on the internet so that doctors who weren’t able to make it can learn about anything important that happened. The recap always included new products, treatments, and medications so if there was something that interested me; I’d be able to reach out to the company directly.

I didn’t care about the conference; I didn’t care about the fact that I’d prepaid for my room, I didn’t care about anything other than getting home to my wife.

After what seemed like forever, the cab finally arrived to take me to the airport. I probably should have called the airport to see if there were any flights going out and if there were, if there was even a spot on one so I could get home.

As my luck would have it, there was traffic at 3:30 am. Apparently, the city had started work on a bridge and had the four-lane highway down to one in each direction. I was tempted to get out and walk to the airport, sure that it would be faster.

The cab finally pulled up to the airport just before 4:00 in the morning, and tossed the driver some cash, grabbed my suitcase and ran straight to the ticketing desk.

“Hi, do you have anything going to Kansas City?”

“Yes sir, we have a flight leaving in about 15 minutes. It’s all the way down at gate 19, so you’d have to hurry. We also have one leaving at 7:15 am. Which would you prefer?”

“I’ll take the one leaving in 15 minutes.”

I gave the ticketing agent all of my information, got my ticket and boarding pass and took off as fast as I could. I was fortunate that there wasn’t a line for security and they didn’t stop me for a random check. I was completely out of breath but made it to the terminal just as they were announcing the last call for passengers.

The plane was not overcrowded, which I was thankful for. On the flight to Chicago, we were pinned in like sardines, so it was nice to have the row of seats to myself.

Once I was on the flight, I was finally able to sit down and process everything that had happened. I was surprised by all of the emotions I was beginning to feel. They were all over the place, with lots of highs and lows.

The emotion that surprised me the most was the jealousy. I was very jealous that another man had just been with my wife. It was a jealousy that I could feel deep within the pit of my stomach. The funny thing about it was that it wasn’t the typical jealousy that someone would feel. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

I actually liked the jealous feeling that I had and know that I want the whole thing to happen again. The sense of jealousy and angst were like a drug, and I knew that all it took was one hit to become addicted.

The best part about the experience was the fact that it was unexpected. When Kayla was going out before, I knew there was a chance that something could happen. This experience came as a total surprise. The last I knew, she was done with the whole thing. Receiving that call from her was the last thing I ever would have expected. The surprise element was definitely what turned me on the most.

As I’m sitting in my seat, my cell phone begins to ring. It was Kayla. I had to fight with myself not to answer the call. I wanted to talk to her so bad so we could discuss what had happened. I also wanted to know how the experience was from her end. Regardless of how bad I wanted to answer the call, I allowed it to go to voicemail. I wanted the fact that I was on my way home to her to be a surprise.