At the Airport

A familiar back at the airport catches my eye. A shy person by nature, I inhale deeply as I think of what to say.

    “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

The back turns to face me and it takes a moment for his face to crinkle into the sweet smile I can recall in a heartbeat.

    “Shouldn’t you be...somewhere?” he replies. He shifts over in his seat to make room for me to sit down next to him. We exchange the routine greetings before he explains that he is returning from a trip home to visit family—he’s returning on a
weekday to get some more work done before his classes resume.

    “So what are you doing here?”

I in turn explain that I’ve been away, traveling alone in an attempt to find myself and enjoy what little time I have before officially joining the work force.

    “Alone?”

Yes. Voluntarily, yet dreadfully alone.

Our conversation turns to our current endeavours—his new courses, my new job. We speak easily of travel and literature as both of us are fond of those topics. Too soon is his boarding-call announced. We’re both traveling to the same destination, but on different flights. I dread the separation to come.

    “Well, that’s me.”
    “Yeah.”

While our opportunities to speak freely are few, I know that this chance meeting is something I cannot just let pass by. Once back at home, I will have no excuse to accidentally see him again, and knowing myself, I couldn’t muster the courage to purposefully find him.

    “You know, I know that there might have been some issues about us going out for a drink before, but now...now it’s different. I’m working now, it’s been a while...”
    “Yeah, it has been a little time since you were in my class. It seems like only yesterday—I remember a lot about you, you know.”

I smile nervously and cast my eyes downward as I feel the blush creep into my face.

    “Well, I was hoping that, you know, maybe we could, go out for a drink sometime after we both arrive back home?”

There is an excruciating pause as the boarding-call is announced again, and he waits for it to finish before turning back to answer me.

    “You know, I’d really like that.”

I feel a rush of air escape me and realize I’m a little lightheaded as I watch him walk towards his gate. Before disappearing down the corridor, he turns to smile at me, that warm, crinkly smile that I’ve clung to over too long a time. I believe I smile dazedly back, and then he’s gone. Gone but with the promise of returning to my life once more.

Back in the airport, I shake my head and snap to attention as the back that I thought was familiar turns around and I see is actually a stranger to me. I would never have been so brave anyway.