Ben made sure to slow down his car well before approaching the passenger pick-up area. Several cop-cars were stationed nearby, surely ready to issue tickets to anyone even thinking about speeding. If they happened to have actual cops inside. Where was his cousin's new boyfriend? Ben's gaze was caught by a young man, about his age, waving his hands in the air. "Are you Doug?" Ben yelled as he rolled down the window. "Yeah, it's me!" Ben unlocked the doors to let Doug inside. Now they only needed to wade through the throng of cars ahead.Ben found himself in an awkward situation. His cousin had acquired a reputation for engaging in short relationships in rapid succession. She was also very...talkative, sending texts at all random hours of the night. Ben thought he might have heard the sound as he approached the airport. Anyway, he was trying to concentrate on making conversation. Was Doug the writer, or the sales clerk? As Ben racked his brain, he could at least take solace in the fact that Doug looked uncomfortable too. It seemed as though Doug wanted to break the ice, but couldn't think of what to say."I know this might have seemed a bit odd," Ben offered. "so let me shake your hand." With that he reached out his right hand to Doug. "I'm Ben." He could have kicked himself, of course Doug knew that already."Doug. Nice to meet you!" Doug seemed eager to make a good impression. Ben felt a bit sorry for him, thinking back to the time he had taken a ride with his soon-to-be father-in-law. So he decided to lead the conversation."So I hear you're quite the writer.""Well, that's just what they say." Doug still seemed nervous. Maybe he had been afraid of flying.Finally they reached the other side of the pick-up area. Several cop-cars had their lights on. Good thing Ben had slowed down early, they must have been giving out lots of tickets tonight. The airport slowly faded in the rear-view mirror as they passed by the mental hospital. Hmmm, probably not a good idea to have it next to the airport.Damn, he had forgotten to pull up the directions on his phone, as the main highway leading into town was under construction and the side-streets would be faster. Ben slowed down momentarily to retrieve the device, at which point he was greeted with another unnecessary text message from his cousin. Apparently she hadn't trusted Ben to be able to find Doug. Okay, so he had needed to look out for a man in a red T-shirt and cargo pants.His passenger's T-shirt was blue.