He turned to go, and she stepped back into the apartment quickly, feeling as though she might faint.
She closed the door, and then locked it. Though there were still a few items left for sale, she had zero energy left for strangers. It was not yet dinner time, but she was as exhausted as if it was midnight.
She felt a tear slip down her cheek.
What have I done? she thought, surveying her empty apartment.
*****
tapped her foot nervously against the navy blue carpeting at the Delta gate. Her suitcase was in front of her, and a carry on bag was in the empty seat to her right. She’d purchased an iced coffee on her way to the gate, but she held it, untouched in her hands. The melting ice made the plastic cup sweat with condensation.
She eyed the sign above the gate.
“Flight 1455 to London, Departing at 2:20.”
Immediately below the departure notice was the current time: 2:05.
Her foot tapped faster.
We’re going to start boarding soon, she thought.
Though she’d always wanted to live in London, she’d never imagined what it would feel like to sit at the gate, getting ready for the transatlantic flight.
This isn’t what I would have imagined, she thought to herself. I daydreamed about a sense of excitement. Freedom. Happiness. Joy.
Instead I feel…all wrong. A feeling of…
She struggled to put her finger on her emotion, and then located the sensation in her body, in the pit of her stomach. It was like a rock had settled there. Loss, she thought suddenly. I feel a sense of loss… like I’m grieving the loss of something.
Or someone.
There was a commotion in the corridor, and she looked up, just as an announcement came over the loudspeaker. She saw people moving out of the way of something farther down the corridor.
“Flight 1455 To London will now begin boarding,” the voice over the announcement said. looked away from the commotion and leaned down to set her coffee at her feet. Then she lifted her purse into her lap. She’d tucked her boarding pass inside the front pocket, and she wanted to take it out to remind herself what section she was in.
“We would like to invite all of our first class passengers, elite travelers, and Delta VIP members at this time,” The voice said.
“!” A second voice called out.
A man’s voice.
Martin.
She lifted her head quickly, scanning the crowd. She saw him running, raising his arm to get her attention. People in the aisle were darting out of his way, afraid he’d run them over if they didn’t move. Which, by the looks of his speed, he might have.
was mesmerized as she watched him approach. She stood, still clutching her purse. People in the seats next to her started looking at her, curious to see what the yelling was about.
“,” Martin called again. He reached the gate and slowed as he crossed it.
“Martin?” she asked.
He was breathless as he stopped, but he attempted to speak anyways. His words came out in bursts of sound. “I caught you,” he said. “I caught you.”
You caught me, she thought.
Maybe this isn’t catch and release after all.
She felt his hands reach for hers. She allowed him to scoop her hands up, and hold them tightly.
“I thought about what you said,” he said. “And I want you to know, I could never get bored with you, . You make me feel alive. You make me feel, I don’t know how to explain it, like I found a piece of myself that was missing. You’re the reason I’m in . You’re the reason I bought your building. Hell, you might even be the reason I was born with a disease that only your employer knows how to cure. Our paths were destined to cross, . I know that. I was meant to find you.”
She felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Her lip trembled.
He continued. “I know that the timing was bad. I know that the situation isn’t the best. But I’m glad for it, because it allowed me to get to know you. And I want you to know, if you want to keep your apartment, you can. I won’t tear the building down.”
His offer astounded her. She felt a swelling relief in her, and a lightness began to fill the heavy rock in the pit of her stomach. As it disappeared, she began to feel giddy.
“There are streaks on the doorframe,” she said illogically, without thinking. It was as if her mind could not think straight. The giddiness was filling her up, making her feel like she was drunk.
She started to laugh, and then tears slipped over her eyelids and on to her cheeks.
“We can paint over those,” Martin said, just as illogically.
Her face crumpled with emotion as she held his eyes, which were sparking with hope.
She shook her head. “I needed to leave that apartment,” she said. “It was keeping me safe, but holding me back at the same time. It’s time for a change.”
“Can I be… a part of that change?” Martin asked.
The voice over the intercom floated over the gate. “We would now like to welcome our passengers seated in section A. Section A passengers may now board flight 1455 to London.”