At a conference

Ryan hadn’t seen Todd in two days and Laura had disappeared for nearly a week, ever since the last day of their interviews. Ryan spent the last full day in San Francisco by the pool, drinking beer and trying to beat his hangover he’d had since their second day in town, when he’d met up with his ex-girlfriend from the Peace Corps. Todd drank full-throttle with friends from Hawaii. Ryan took a taxi to the airport to catch their flight, assuming that Todd would find his own way. Laura showed up in a terrible state, coming down after two days of tripping on LSD. She nearly walked by Ryan in the boarding line, saw him and stumbled, then hung on to him while they waited to board. She and Ryan had exit row seats on the starboard side; Todd had seats two rows back but on the other side of the plane, a 747-400, a big one. Before take off the flight attendants checked that Ryan and Laura were comfortable “performing the duties” required of an exit row passenger. They nodded and JaLaura n fell asleep as soon as the attendant was gone. She slept all the way to Tokyo. Ten and a half hours, without a break. Ryan woke her up when they landed and asked if maybe she had anything with her, any drugs. She shook her head and staggered down the aisle of the plane but was steady and swagger-free going through customs and immigration.