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"RED EYED FLIGHTS" (standard:romance, 2812 words) | |||
Author: denis holzhauser | Added: Jul 28 2001 | Views/Reads: 3608/2558 | Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes) |
A CHANCE MEETING BY TWO STRANGERS MAY BE THE START OF A LONG ROMANCE. | |||
page1... Supper was almost over,they had eaten and were drinking their coffee and brandy.He checked his watch.It was ten minutes to eleven.He calculated that it would take no more then forty minutes to finish.For them to pay the bill and leave the restaurant,stand on the sidewalk and say their good-byes.Wait while he hailed a cab and loaded his one suitcase and his briefcase into the taxi,then shook hands.Altogether forty minutes seemed right,about eleven thirty.The drive to the airport would be at least fifty minutes,even at this time of night,check his bags,confirm the flight,about another fifteen or twenty minutes,have another cup of coffee,whie reading the early edition,about twenty minutes,all done,it should be close to one a.m.,he would have two hours and forty five minutes to wait. "Paul,Paul wake up,are you ready to leave?" He realized one of his dinner companions was speaking to him."yes,sorry,was working out the logistics for the trip home." "Have you everything ready,do you have to stop for anything?"It was Art Marcol,the Senior Partner of the organization that had invited Paul to New York.While it had been informal,Paul knew and they knew he knew, it was the primary step for a job offer.What he did not know was whether he was going to accept the offer he felt sure would come with an invitaton for a return visit,that he estimated would come in about thirty to forty five days from now,after the investigations that they would run were completed. He shook his head and said "no,I've everything right here,I think I should get the show on the road.If we're finished,then let's get me a cab and we'll say our goodbyes." page2... Marcol smiled,"Not goodby..just so long,we've enjoyed having you here and hope we can get to see you again soon.As we told you,perhaps we can work together on some projects in the future. The waiter had returned with the credit card receipt and the card,one of the junior guys signed and the group rose and began their way to the front of the restaurant and exited,congregating in a small circle as the same junior attempted to wave down a cab.After short handshakes and goodbyes,he found hisself relaxing in the cab as the driver headed towards the airport.He checked his watch and sighed,his timing was right on schedule,"how much time to get to the airport,driver?" "About thirty minutes should do it,will that get you there in time?" "Yes,fine." Less than a hour later he was he was paying his coffee bill,by his watch it was twelve fifty five.He was five minutes to the good.When the cashier gave him his change,he asked her,"could you tell me if there is any out of the way spot in the airport that I might be able sit down and relax with a little privacy? I have about three hours before I take off and it would be nice to be able to close my eyes for a while." The cashier smiled,"I know a spot,I use it on my breaks,go to the rotunda,you'll see the big four way clock hanging down from the ceiling and on each side a circular stairway,go up there,you'll find a bacony which has easy chairs and a large sofa,its usually deserted.You can kick your shoes off and close your eyes,I think you'll like it." He walked as she had directed,surprised that it was as far as it was,but spotted the large clock easily.It had four large faces,each with Roman numeral dials.He smiled,he had long ago recognized his obsession with counting each minute of his day,running some private competition with himself,always striving to finish on schedule,even though he rarely had time constraints to deal with.He seemed to have to finish everything not early,but earlier than the times he had estimated as being necessary to finish the projects.The only result of this most times is he would find hisself as he did now,with time he didn't need and that he had not planned to use. He climbed the stairway on the right and found the little alcove with Click here to read the rest of this story (241 more lines)
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