Fear

"Are you flying alone?" J asked. 

"Yes."

"You seem nervous. Fear of flying?"

"No, more of fear of what's waiting for me when I land."

"What's waiting for you on the other side?"

H quickly came to her senses, having realized what she just let slip - and to a stranger, no less! 

"Oh I'm sorry," J interrupted her thoughts. "Didn't mean to intrude."

Introductions

H chuckled.

"I'm J by the way." the grandson introduced himself. "You are?"

"H," she replied.

Quite Charming He Thinks

"Sorry about that, he keeps approaching strangers and telling them really weird stories. He scared a kid with one of his stories once, she cried for a day," he explained.

H smiled, she quite enjoyed the story.

"She's not afraid of me," the old man quickly interjected. "I was quite charming, really."

Eyes That Smile

H would have drifted into her own thoughts if not for the sudden nervous call for a certain grandpa.
"Grandpa! There you are! You're not telling the fart story are you? Please not the fart story," he begged. He was a man in his 20s, with the same eyes that smiled like the old man's.
"Oh that story!" the old man exclaimed excitedly. "Once there was a..."
"Grandpa, maybe next time!"
H watched the two, a little amused by how both their eyes smiled.

The Girl Who Chased After Bubbles

"Do you want to hear a story?" he asked.

No. Of course not. But before she could reply, he proceeded.

"Once there lived a girl who loved bubbles and because she did, she would often chase them. Little did she know, the more she chased, the more they disappeared. She chased and she chased, until the bubbles were all gone. Then she realised she should have just sat back and enjoyed the view instead."

H thought for a moment before she asked, "What's the point? Even if she sits back and watch the bubbles float about, they'd still disappear."

"I suppose she realised that she could only make the best of it's ephemeral presence by enjoying the view. After all, some things are meant to disappear," the old man replied. "Foolish, don't you think, how people waste their breaths chasing them anyway, thinking they could hold on to them?"

Awkward

H felt awkward. The only thing that could make waiting worse was making conversation with a stranger. Most would find it a kind distraction, but not H. Making conversation with a stranger had the special effect of lengthening time.

Caught

"You're counting."
Caught. H turned to face the man who had caught her in her helplessness. He was a scrawny old man with silvery hair and eyes that smiled so wide they looked like they were shut.
"18," H said.
"That's a lot of bulbs."