Something In The Air
Inspired by "The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight" by Jennifer E. Smith
Christmas, 2014
Amber Zoe
State of the art headphones purchased specifically for catching flights always saved me, and it was relieving to hear Tom Petty's occasionally twangy voice in my ears, instead of the baby next to me. "Call out the instigator, because there's something in the air..."
I had been, for the last few months, at school in London, where my dad lived. He also taught at the university I was attending, even though I never ran into him on campus. It was nice, because he could pull a few strings and get me one of the upperclass dorms freshmen weren't supposed to see, with only one roommate.
The lady next to me on the plane tapped on my shoulder. "Dear, could you tell me the time?" She held her baby close to her chest, attempting to make him sleep for the rest of the flight. "We've been in the air for an awful long time."
I checked the clock on my iPod. She was right, it had been several hours. I must have dozed off without realizing it, because I went through three albums. I showed her the clock. "We should be landing soon, it's a seven hour flight."
She smiled. "Thank goodness. Where are you off to? Home for the holidays?" She had a London accent, and long, caramel colored hair.
"Yeah. My mom and boyfriend are waiting for me to arrive tonight. They're probably at the airport already." I smiled back at her.
"Oh, good. I'm going to see my parents, because they have yet to meet my little boy." She rocked him a little. He wasn't complaining anymore, and his chest rose and fell rhythmically as he breathed. "How did you meet your boyfriend, if you don't mind me asking?"
I blushed a little, knowing she'd have a hard time believing me. "On a plane, actually. We were both on our way to London. It's funny, because I go to school there, and he goes to school in Connecticut..."
The lady furrowed her eyebrows, but nodded. "I see. Well, I'm glad you get to see him and your mom. I'm going to try and catch some sleep before we land, like little Marcus here." She nodded toward her baby, then leaned her head back against the seat pillow.
Despite being in love with London and all of the wonderful literature classes I could attend, I missed my boyfriend a lot. Roy, with his dark brown hair that falls over his eyes in just the right way, and the deep voice that loves to read me Edgar Allen Poe, even if he doesn't understand a word of it.
I nearly jumped out of my seat at the sound of the intercom announcing we would be landing shortly, but then quickly took a deep breath, preparing myself for the process that is getting off an airplane.
It went by so slowly, due to me being so excited to see my mother and Roy. I spoke too quickly for the flight attendant to understand me, and had to repeat myself twice to keep moving. My first stop, even before finding my mom and my luggage, was the bathroom.
I don't like plane bathrooms, so I avoided them at all costs. I emptied my beyond full bladder, and went to inspect myself in the mirror.
For seven hours on a plane, I didn't look half bad. I ran my miniature brush—kept in my purse for emergencies— through my light blonde hair and popped a mint before reapplying lipstick, red enough to leave a mark on Roy's pale cheek.
I found my mother first. Unlike me, she towered over the people looking for their relatives. She pulled me into a hug quickly. "Roy's looking for your luggage. Darling, it's so good to see you."
"You too, mom." I kissed her cheek, then quickly rubbed off the lipstick I left behind. "Oops," I laughed, and she laughed with me.
"It's fine," she said, looking behind me.
I turned around when she released me from her hug, to see Roy standing with my luggage bag in his hand. I lunged for him, kissing his cheek and leaving the lipstick mark there. "Annie!" He yelled happily, hugging me back, tighter. "It's been too long, love." Unlike me, who had grown up in Connecticut, Roy grew up in London, giving him his lovely accent that I had longed to hear for every month I was away.
"Roy!" I yelled back. My mother tapped on my shoulder, causing me to pull away from the embrace.
"We drove here in separate cars, because Roy wants to catch up with you a bit, before you come home." She gently squeezed my shoulder. "I'll see you tonight, honey. Have fun." She took my luggage back up in her hand, and her heels clicked as she walked away. My mom loved Roy like a son, and trusted him enough that she'd let us go anywhere together.
"Let's go." Roy said quietly, smiling at me. I already knew where we were headed, when we got into his car and found our way to the park downtown. There were only a few kids there, sledding down the little hill. It wasn't terribly cold, but there was snow covering the ground that crunched as we walked.
In the middle of the park was a small pond with four benches around it. The pond was frozen, sparkling in the sunlight. The benches were spread around the pond in the four directions, North, South, East and West. We sat sound at the bench marked East. London was East from Connecticut.
"I have missed you so much," Roy said as we sat down.
"I've missed you, too," I sat down next to him, and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Video chat just isn't the same." There wasn't a lot of catching up to do. We told each other about everything we did through Skype, email and phone calls. We just needed a moment alone, to really feel caught up.
"I know it's early, but I have something for you." Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out a box-shaped Christmas gift, with sparkly elf wrapping paper around it.
"You don't get to open any of my gifts until the twenty-fifth," I laughed, sitting up straight. I took the gift, and slowly ripped off the paper. Roy picked it up as it fell onto the ground and stuffed the paper into his pocket, telling me not to litter.
Inside the little cardboard box was a Christmas tree ornament, with words engraved onto it. It was a soft green, with the red words "Something In The Air", my favorite song, above our two names, Annie & Roy, 2014.
"I see why you gave it to me early," I said, breaking into a smile.
Roy nodded, a big grin already on his face. "Your mom took me to a store where they did ornament engraving, and that song came on as I got this one."
I leaned forward and kissed him, on the lips that time. "It's wonderful, thank you. I love you." I said.
"I love you, merry Christmas, Annie." He answered, and kissed me back.
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