Hi Aaron,

As I mentioned to Ann, the inspiration for this did come from a married couple...one living in Wisconsin and the other in Maryland, so your instincts were correct. It's funny, those two lines you mentioned, when I originally wrote this, I had used the word "their," but then I thought that it might get confusing, since I wasn't explaining the relationship. And then I thought that though they're married to each other, each one still does have a home in their city, so I made the switch at the last minute! I did think about the hotel versus home issue, too, but thought that many people live far away from an airport, and so, with a short amount of time, they might just stay at a nearby inn. Or, they might switch -- for longer flight, they'd go home, for shorter ones, stay near the airport. I think that Mackie brings in the "highschool sweetheart" element, which does suggest that they're married.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments....I'm still giving it more thought here!

Lisa