Destiny

“But what you are saying,” said Jourdan, “it is very accurate indeed! You seem to understand the basic concepts of wine, and you know what makes a good wine good. This is a quality that many people do not have, indeed even people who have been drinking wine for a long period of time tend to miss out on things but you… you seem to have an innate ability. It is truly incredible.”

“You are too kind,” said Destiny. She was blushing, and she was immensely glad of her black skin because it meant that Jourdan would not be able to see the red in her skin.

“I am not,” said Jourdan. “I am actually quite arrogant, and I tend to say all of the things that people want to avoid saying. This is because I always speak the truth, and the exact same is true for right now. I am saying the truth and nothing more, this is what I value more than anything else in the world.”

“I suppose that is admirable,” said Destiny. “It makes your compliment more valid, that much is for certain.”

Jourdan poured himself a glass of wine as well and they drank their drinks.

“So tell me,” said Jourdan, “what is it that you do?”

“Well,” said Destiny, “I am a flight attendant.”

“Oh that is interesting,” said Jourdan, “you probably travel a lot and see a lot of the world.”

“I do!” said Destiny. “It is a wonderful job. The fact that I would be able to travel so much was the best part of becoming a flight attendant, and it was actually the single biggest reason that I became one in the first place.”

“I guessed as much,” said Jourdan. “Do you think you would like to do this for the rest of your life?”

“Well I do not think that I would be able to do this for the rest of my life,” said Destiny. “I am pretty sure that when I hit thirty three the airline is going to come up to me and tell me that I can’t do the job anymore. That is just how they do things. They want young and pretty flight attendants.”

“What are you going to do when this happens?”

“Nothing,” said Destiny. “It won’t be that big of an issue, I am just going to have to work at a desk job on the ground. I honestly do not mind having to do that, I think that it is going to be a nice way to earn a living at the end of the day, but I am going to miss flying.”

“Why do not you look into other things?” asked Jourdan. “I mean, there must be other fields that you can get into. I am sure that you have it in you to become a pilot or something similar to that. You could do well as a pilot I think.”

“I have thought about it,” said Destiny, “but it would take too much time and cost too much money and I do not have either of those. If I go to flying school I am going to have to stop working, and I will not be able to support myself while this is the case. I am going to have to sacrifice one thing or the other. No, I think the career path that has been set before me is fine. I do wish that I would be able to continue staying in the air, but if it is not meant to be it is not meant to be. What do you do?”

“I am a businessman,” said Jourdan. He did not elaborate, and Destiny was starting to get so drunk that she did not notice.

They drank several glasses of wine and then Destiny realized that she had no idea where Chantal was. She got up and started to dial frantically on her phone.

“What is wrong?” asked Jourdan.

“I do not know where my friend is,” said Destiny, “the friend that I came here with. I need to call her but I am so fu*king drunk, I do not think that I can do that. I do not know how I am going to get home. It is so late!”

Destiny noticed that things were starting to wind down in the club and she started to panic. It was four in the morning and she had no idea how she was going to get back to her hotel room. This was a very dangerous situation for her to be in. She needed to get a cab, but standing outside wearing clothes like this was not safe, not if she was alone. If she and Chantal had been together then it would have been a great deal safer, but this was not safe at all. She was also afraid of the fact that she might get ra*ed in the taxi. She had heard stories of women getting ra*ed late at night by the taxi drivers themselves. She was so drunk, how would she even know where she was going? What if the taxi driver took her somewhere else, somewhere dark and secluded where he could simply have his way with her? What would she do then?

“I need to get home,” she slurred, “I shouldn’t have gotten so drunk, I should have kept checking in with my friend.”

“Do not worry about it,” said Jourdan, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“What the fu*k are you talking about?” asked Destiny. “How can I not worry about it? I am stuck here without my friend, I have to get home and doing so is dangerous alone. I do not know what I am going to do.”

“Listen,” said Jourdan, “I can help you. It is not a hopeless situation, it is nothing to worry about in fact.”

“How are you going to help me?” asked Destiny.

“I am going to take you to your hotel,” said Jourdan. “I will make sure that you get their safe.”

Destiny thought about it. She barely knew this guy, she knew that it was not safe for her to get into a car with him. However, she did not really have a choice in the matter. She had to get home, and at the moment Jourdan seemed like her only hope.