Airport

Airport
First appearance	Invitation, page 18 December 7, 2007
Related characters	Mike, Lucy, Paulo, Daisy, David, Sue, Abbey, Tess, Amaya, Alec McCain, Yashy, Chirpy, Lily, Blur, Zachary, Catherine

Airport is the small airfield the Roseville gang flies out of for their tropical vacation, chartered plane and all. It appears only in the arc running from Invitation to Return, and the main comic has not gone back to it since.

Description

The airfield is about as minimal as an airport can get. The comic shows it as open tarmac under a bright daytime sky, with no terminal building, no signage, and no crowds anywhere in sight. Boarding is handled with a wheeled staircase pushed up against the door of a small twin-propeller plane. Aside from the boarding stairs, there is little on the field except the enormous piles of luggage the cast brings with them. Nobody works here on panel, either. The authors’ commentary explains the emptiness: Tess arranged a private plane for the trip, which conveniently spared everyone any dealings with airport security “and all that junk.”

The plane itself is a small twin-prop with a single row of oval windows. Inside, the cabin has two-abreast seating, a curtain divider, and a restroom sign on the wall. An unnamed flight attendant works aboard, while the unseen captain is heard over the loudspeaker saying “Yo, this is the captain speaking”. The in-flight service somehow includes wine, which Tess takes full advantage of.

History

The rest of the group races to board once Daisy’s goodbye is settled.

In Invitation, the whole travel party assembles on the tarmac with a mountain of suitcases while Tess runs the loading effort like a foreman (“Move those lazy asses!”). Before anyone boards, the gang springs an early birthday surprise on Abbey, complete with a wagon full of gifts. Daisy announces that she is staying behind to keep her promise to Abbey. Sue hauls a protesting Alec McCain up the boarding stairs, and the plane takes off with Abbey and Daisy waving from the tarmac.

After the plane takes off, Daisy and Abbey are left alone on the empty field. Daisy asks Abbey to spend the week with her, starting with “Wanna go see a movie?” They take each other’s hand and run off together, and that quiet moment on the tarmac is where Abbey and Daisy’s relationship begins.

In Arrival, the group is already in the air. Paulo and David treat the cabin to a rendition of Queen’s “Bicycle Race” until Lucy silences them with a thrown Nintendo DS. The captain announces the descent as a crescent beach lined with luxury hotels comes into view.

The group uses a different airport at the tropical destination, with a terminal building and palm trees around the entrance. In Return, the group says its goodbyes there: Sue thanks Catherine, Zachary wishes Lucy luck, and once the kids have hauled the luggage inside, the two adults rekindle their old relationship just outside the terminal. Lucy watches the pair shrink below as the plane climbs away for home.

Back at the home field, the returning group walks off the tarmac with their bags and immediately spots Daisy and Abbey approaching hand in hand. Daisy panics over Mike’s head bandages, David cheerfully outs the “cute couple,” and Paulo erupts with “STICKING IT TO EACH OTHER?!” The two confirm they are dating, and everyone crowds in to hear the whole story while Paulo chases David around for having “brainwashed” him.

Trivia

• The comic never gives the airport a name. The scene transcripts refer to it only as “the tarmac” and “the airport.”
• The airport was mentioned well over a year before it was ever drawn. In Hot Pursuit, Mike’s mom reports that Sandy “was on the way back to the airport” after her missed visit.

See also

• Invitation
• Return
• Abbey
• Daisy