Brenda reached for her phone. She picked it up and then stopped, a puzzled look on her face.
"Earth to Bren. Now that you've helped the cute guy out, do you think you could maybe do your job and help me?"
Brenda didn't acknowledge Susan. She simply bit her lower lip, lost in thought.
"Bren? What is it?"
"He said, he'd loved her, that she was the love of his life."
"Well, that is real sweet and I am terribly sorry for your loss. I know how much you two meant to each other," Susan said sarcastically. "But do you think you could put a Band-Aid on your broken heart and try to work?"
Brenda couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, just a second," she said as she dialed over to the American desk.
Twenty minutes later, when she'd dealt with the final passenger, her mind returned to Nathan. She wondered if he had made the flight, but even more she wondered what he'd meant. She heard his voice over and over in her mind and wondered if she had done the right thing.
CHAPTER FOUR
The flight to Chicago was a nightmare. Nathan made the flight with plenty of time to spare, as the pilot was running late. He was forced to take a middle seat towards the back of the plane. On his right side an overweight insurance salesman tried repeatedly to drop less than subtle hints about the great rates he could get Nathan. If he were interested of course. Too much insurance? No such thing! To his left was a shriveled, white haired grandmother who insisted that Nathan look at every picture of her seven grandchildren. Every time he looked at her he was reminded of the blue haired woman from the airport. To top it all off, behind him was a mother and her two kids who bickered back and forth nonstop, with the little boy thinking the back of Nathan's chair was his personal kick-drum. Had it been up to Nathan, the two kids would have completed their trip in the overhead compartment. The stewardess smiled apologetically every time she passed. He refused her numerous offers for a drink, though he was sorely tempted.
Nathan let out a sigh as the plane taxied toward their gate. He fought his desire to jump up and stretch his legs. He listened to one final appeal from the salesman, finally taking one of the man's business cards and promising that he would get in touch with him soon. He assisted the grandmother in getting her carry-on out of the luggage compartment and then he hurried off and away from the mother who was trying her best to corral her two bickering hellions.
As he exited out of the jetway and into the airport, Nathan moved off out of the flow of traffic. The salesman's business card quickly found its way into a garbage can. He walked slowly over and looked at the screen displaying flight information. He had been in this airport many times and after a quick scan of the screens he noted that his connector was on the opposite end of the airport. This did not surprise him in the least. He actually smiled. No matter how many times he flew into this airport and no matter where he was going, his connecting flights always seemed to be on the opposite side from his arrival gate. He checked his watch and saw he had plenty of time.
"What the hell am I doing?" he asked himself.
"Eh?"
Nathan looked over to see a man of about sixty in an ugly, rumpled brown suit looking at him.
"You say something? You talking to me? If so, you'll need to speak up. I'm deaf in one ear."
"No," Nathan said, raising his voice a little. "Just talking to myself, I guess."
"Oh," the man said with a nod. "Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. As long as you don't argue with yourself."
That had been exactly what he'd been doing, but he decided not to tell him that. Nathan waited for the man to walk away before resuming his discussion with himself.
"It can't be her, right? I mean, how the hell could it be?"
He'd asked himself the same questions dozens of times during the flight, but somehow it felt better to actually vocalize his doubts.
However, he couldn't deny what he'd seen. He had seen Paige. The woman he'd fallen completely in love with. The woman he'd wanted to bear his children. The woman he'd taken as his wife and pledged to love and cherish.
"'Til death do we part," he murmured
And that was exactly what had parted them. He'd buried her only a year ago.
"Paige," he whispered. "Please, please let it be you."
He wiped at his eyes, unsure if there were actual tears or only memories of countless ones he'd shed over the past year. He hefted his bag on his shoulder and started to move slowly down the concourse.
Nathan's stomach rumbled. Whether with excitement or apprehension he wasn't sure. He slipped into one of the stores along the concourse and grabbed a pack of Rolaids from the shelf and got in line. He peered into the display cases around the register as he waited. He was always amazed by the assorted collection of odds and ends that one could find in an airport shop. There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the available goods. In the far corner of the store was a collection of cheap stuffed animals sitting only a few feet from a display case with collections of fine hand crafted figurines. There was a rack of the obligatory t-shirts, the same as in any airport. The local sports franchises were always well represented within the mix. In fact it was local hero Michael Jordan that was center stage in the case directly in front of the register. He'd been retired for ages, yet his merchandise continued to be a big seller.