The Billionaire's Kiss(10)

Three

Although flying had long since ceased to be a novelty for Callie, she was thrilled to step across the threshold onto the plane. Even the dry, cold air felt refreshing against her face. Amy had purchased her a business class ticket, and as she sank into the leather seat, Callie couldn't wait to put as much distance between herself and Washington as possible. As the plane started to fill, the seat next to Callie stayed empty. She looked across the aisle at the large man who spilled over his seat into the next. His head was titled back, and he was already snoring. Whoever had to sit with him was going to have quite the uncomfortable ride. Maybe they'd both luck out and the seats would remain empty.

Then Callie watched an old couple approach the row. The husband's shirt and shorts were perfectly ironed. Callie noticed that his legs were pale where his shorts cut off. An office worker, she thought. She looked at the wife, who had long silver hair, and eyes so blue they were almost purple. The husband had his free hand on her shoulder as they walked down the aisle. They looked like one of those couples that you read about in the paper, when one dies and the other dies of heartbreak the next day. They had most likely been married for longer than Callie had been alive.

As the wife turned to say something to her husband, Callie caught a glimpse of their luggage. It was brand new. Either this was an important occasion or it was their first vacation in a long time. The woman turned to her and asked, "Is this row four or five, dear?"

"Four," Callie said. "These are seats A and B."

"Ah, then this is it," the woman replied. "Henry, which seat am I in?"

Callie watched Henry fumble with the tickets as he looked for the seat number. "They have you in C, Honey." He looked over at the snoring man and quickly added, "But I think you should sit next to this young woman instead."#p#分页标题#e#

As the woman looked at her, Callie did some quick math in her head. The flight couldn't be longer than an hour and a half. Most of it would be take off and landing. Surely the two of them could sit across the aisle from each other for that long, but Callie knew she couldn't let them do that. Something deep inside compelled her to stand up. "I'm sorry," she said. "I think I'm in the wrong seat. May I see your tickets?" After Henry handed her the ticket, she read aloud, "Evelyn Rhodes, row four seat A." She winked at them and slid across the aisle and sat down next to the snoring man.

After Henry and Evelyn sat down, Evelyn held Henry's hand and leaned against his shoulder. They looked like they were built to fit together like that. Henry reached across the aisle and tapped Callie on the shoulder. "Thank you," he said, his voice barely rising above a whisper.

"No, thank you," Callie said. "Seeing the two of you made my day."

"Well, we've been waiting for this day for over thirty five years," Henry said, "so thank you for making it better."

"Is today your anniversary?"

Henry nodded. "Thirty five years ago we eloped at city hall, and for thirty five years, I've promised Eve that I'd give her the honeymoon she deserved. We had kids, and a mortgage, and, well, you know how things go. We took so many trips with each other and with our kids over the years, but none of them were that honeymoon I promised her. When I decided to retire this spring, I knew the time was right. Thirty five years later, and we're going on our honeymoon."

"Sometimes I can't believe I made him propose three times before I finally said yes."

Callie's eyes widened. "Really?" Maybe this couple was more interesting than she had guessed.

"Yeah, I was wild about him, but I wanted to know that he felt the same way about me. It took some time, but he eventually got it right. And now look at us, we're on a plane to Providence. Well, it’s not Florence, but it will do.”

"Well, I hope one day to have what you two have."

"You will. You'll meet a wonderful man and fall in love. For a while you'll wonder what all these strange emotions are. He'll drive you nuts, and then he'll drive you wild, but then one day it will click. And when it does, you'll wonder how you ever existed without him."

"I'll let you know when I find him," Callie said.

"Who knows, maybe you already have," Evelyn said, motioning toward the large man snoring next to Callie. The plane's engines kicked to life as it started to taxi onto the runway. Within a few minutes the plane lifted into the sky, and the large man shifted his weight, and leaned against Callie. No good deed goes unpunished, she thought. She looked back at the old couple as they held hands and talked quietly. It was like they were in their own little world, like everyone else on the plane was just background noise. She envied that.