Nathan took a seat. However, he was bursting with anticipation and soon found himself fidgeting, which started to draw strange looks from the people around him. He finally got up and began to walk around the surrounding gates to burn off his nervous energy.
Nathan had no idea how many times he had circled around the various gates, but the sound of the intercom snapped him back to reality.
"United flight two-thirteen, nonstop to San Diego, will begin regular boarding in a few minutes. Please have your boarding passes out and ready. We will begin boarding from the rear of the aircraft."
Nathan began moving back toward his gate. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He wiped his palms on his pants and tried to slow his breathing. His eyes roamed over the crowd and then the saw her and he felt his heart skip a beat. It really was Paige.
She was sitting at the end of a row of seats, maybe twenty feet away. She ran a hand through her shoulder length brunette hair. She was wearing a faded pair of blue jeans and a red sweatshirt. Even though from the angle she was sitting he could only see a gray "H", he knew it read Harvard. Her travel outfit.
If I am going to be sitting on a plane all day, I am going to be comfortable.
The funny thing is that her travel clothes were actually her everyday clothes. She had never been one that obsessed over the latest fashion. Her closet had always had plenty of extra room. She enjoyed looking nice, but had never equated that with dressing up. And Nathan had to agree, whether she was wearing a thousand dollar cocktail dress or a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, she always looked nice. If anything, he always thought she looked sexier when she was 'dressing down'. She had a natural beauty that didn't require makeup or fancy clothing.
He moved toward her, taking each step slowly as if he were approaching a wild animal that at the slightest hint of danger might up and run away.
He was almost on top of her when she looked up and smiled. And there it was. His heart melted. That smile. The smile that he had seen countless times during the two happiest years of his life. That perfect smile that he thought would have made even Helen of Troy jealous. It radiated a genuine warmth.
"Can I help you?" she asked when Nathan simply stood there staring. Her smile never wavered.
"P...Paige," he croaked.
Her smile transformed into a look of amused puzzlement.
"Yes. Have we met?"
The words had been spoken softly, sweetly, but they stabbed at Nathan.
"Are you okay?"
A look of concern crossed Paige's face. She stood and reached out, taking him by the arm. Nathan went lightheaded at her touch.
"Sit down, please."
"What?"
She guided him down into a chair.
"You just went pale all of a sudden. Are you okay?"
"I..."
"Breathe. Come on, slow and deep."
She took his hands in hers and gently rubbed them, sending Nathan's heart racing again.
"Do you need a doctor? I better get a doctor."
She began to rise, but he held tight to her, pulling her back to face him.
"No, Paige, no doctor. I'm...I'm okay."
She gave him a stern look, biting down on the corner of her mouth, debating his words.
"I'm fine, honest." He said the last word forcefully and watched as she nodded and then sat down in the seat next to him.
"Well," she started. "I guess you do have a little of your color back."
"Paige...I can't believe it. I mean I knew, was certain it was you, but..."
"I'm sorry. I mean, its obvious that you know who I am, but I am embarrassed to say I don't recognize you. And I am normally very good with names and faces."
"We would now like to invite families traveling with small children and those requiring extra assistance to board at this time," the voice over the intercom announced.
"Nathan. Nathan King," he said slowly.
Paige smiled, but shook her head.
"Sorry, that still doesn't ring a bell. Did we go to school together?"
"No, not school."
"I didn't think so," she said quickly, a smile playing on her lips. She enjoyed puzzles and his identity definitely seemed to be one. "I mean my school was fairly small, everyone seemed to know everyone else."
"Kline," Nathan said, a smile now on his lips as well.
"Yes! Kline elementary, Kline Junior, and finally Kline High."
"The few, the proud, the Marines. Kline, the few, the friendly, the bored," Nathan whispered.
He was rewarded with another huge smile from the woman next to him. Her hazel eyes sparkled with amusement.
"That's right. We all used to say that. But you said I don't know you from school. How did you know that?"
"I've heard you say that about a thousand times."