The tired pilot that went to the laundromat...

...had been flying a lot of hours this week. He'd been so busy working he barely had time to wash his own clothes, well, his underwear in particular. Sure, he could have just handed them over to the hotel when they picked up his uniform, but he had this thing about other people washing his underwear. It just didn't sit well with him. He knew it was completely ridiculous, but it was his thing. He didn't trust anyone else to wash his underwear.

As he dragged himself into the nearby laundromat, he looked around and realized he was so exhausted he couldn't even remember which city he was in at the moment. He really needed a full night's sleep before he boarded that plane tomorrow morning. He quickly threw his belongings into a washer then bought a small cup of coffee at the nearby Starbucks. He needed a small boost to keep him awake for the next hour, just long enough for him to get his laundry done.

He tried focusing on the newspaper he bought, but he found his mind wandering. Apparently watching other people seemed much more interesting to him than catching up on current events. The first thing he noticed was the mother in the corner trying to fold mountains of clothes while keeping her children in check. She looked even more exhausted than him. He decided she was a single mom, although he hadn't figured how she became one, trying to make ends meet by working two jobs. This was her only day off and she was spending it doing chores.

In another corner of the laundromat was a couple playfully flirting with each other as they waited for their clothes to dry. The guy was seated in one of the chairs with his arm draped over the back of the girl's chair. Her legs were draped across his as they swung back and forth. They were staring at each other with those goofy kids-in-love smiles while they talked. Every once in a while they would lean in for a kiss, but always broke it off before it got too hot and heavy. At least they were somewhat aware of their surroundings, he thought.

He glance outside and saw that it started to rain. He'd have to check the weather channel when he got back to his hotel room. He prayed the rain would go away before his flight tomorrow. Settling into his chair once again he tried to find a comfortable position and attempted to read his paper again. He looked down and noticed for the first time that it said The Dallas Morning News. Apparently he was in Dallas.