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Suggested prompt...
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We met, so to say, on the internet three months ago. Two weeks after that first email, he had given me his phone number. I had nervously made that first call. We emailed numerous times a day. All day long. We'd talk on the phone in the evenings. We'd exchange late night phone calls.
But we still hadn't actually met. We had each emailed one photo, but that was it for any visual reference.
We had agreed to meet and actually set the date one week after that first call, three weeks after the emailing began.
My nerves were at their highest alert level when I stepped off the plane. I made my way to the baggage claim. I kept looking for the face from the photo, hoping to catch a glimpse of him before he spotted me.
I made my way to the curb outside the baggage claim, where we had agreed to meet. Three months. I had waited for this for three months.
I heard my name and turned. There he was, the man I had known for three months, the man I had longed to kiss and hold. The man who was on his knee, ring box open, asking me to marry him.
My life of happiness, our life filled with love, began on that curb at the airport.
Faith
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We met, so to say, on the internet three months ago. Two weeks after that first email, he had given me his phone number. I had nervously made that first call. We emailed numerous times a day. All day long. We'd talk on the phone in the evenings. We'd exchange late night phone calls.
But we still hadn't actually met. We had each emailed one photo, but that was it for any visual reference.
We had agreed to meet and actually set the date one week after that first call, three weeks after the emailing began.
My nerves were at their highest alert level when I stepped off the plane. I made my way to the baggage claim. I kept looking for the face from the photo, hoping to catch a glimpse of him before he spotted me.
I made my way to the curb outside the baggage claim, where we had agreed to meet. Three months. I had waited for this for three months.
I heard my name and turned. There he was, the man I had known for three months, the man I had longed to kiss and hold. The man who was on his knee, ring box open, asking me to marry him.
My life of happiness, our life filled with love, began on that curb at the airport.
He couldn't wait to be gone. He pretended otherwise, or she would have made his life miserable, but really, he couldn't wait to be gone. She was beautiful, but insecure, and the children, well, he decided not to think about them.
Would this line of traffic never move? He could see his gate entrance to the airport up ahead, but people were unloading in no loading zones, a limousine was trying to claim the best spot, and a man in a wheelchair was painfully trying to cross the street just ahead of them. That man finally made it to the curb, but his wife didn't move the SUV.
"Honey, what's going on?" He turned to her in surprise. He sighed. Her eyes were filled with tears. She looked at him, her eyes shimmering. Why had he ever thought that an attractive look?
"Don't go, David. I can't bear it. The twins . . ." She trailed off as two tears ran down her cheeks. It was no longer adorable, guessing the end of each sentence.
Just a few more minutes, he told himself. He opened his mouth to respond, but the silence was filled with the sound of honking. The cars behind them could see the gap opened by the passage of the man in the wheelchair and were getting impatient. "Move the car, Janet. Just move the car." He knew he sounded bored and irritated, but he couldn't help it. She slid the car forward obediently, with a sidelong glance at him. He wondered what she was thinking. Probably how, exactly, she would punish him for telling her to move the car instead of answering her.
The gap that had opened during their brief conversation went all the way to his gate. He opened his door and leaned over to kiss her. "I'll see you in a week, Janet." He climbed out, grabbed his two small bags. then leaned back in as an after thought. He looked in the backseat and smiled at the twins. "Bye, kids. I'll see you later."
He didn't really expect a response, but first one, then the other, said, "Bye, Dada." He grinned at them and Janet. "First words ever and they're three years old. You guys are fantastic. See you next week." He really had to go now, but he just wanted to stay and celebrate. He backed out of the SUV, still grinning. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted to stay with his family instead of escaping as fast he could. He caught himself whistling as he hurried into the airport.
The cab dropped us off at the curb. Putting the car in park, he hurried and hefted our luggage out of his trunk.
Our fare paid, we bid him goodbye and hurried into the terminal at our small airport.
All of our worldly possessions, contained in two checked bags, two carry ons and a cat carrier. A new life awaited us.
Our flight to St. Louis was fraught with many challenges, all regarding the cat. It appeared that the carrier did not fit well under the seat (though its dimensions matched those on the airline Web site). And the cat did NOT like air travel...she had several nervous "accidents" in that carrier.
I was convinced that fellow passengers thought I was the one who smelled so bad.
After three connecting flights, we arrived safely in St. Louis...but our luggage did not. We had only our carry on bags, filled with personal items that could not be replaced...and the smelly cat carrier.
My future husband picked us up at the airport when we arrived in St. Louis. I was never so glad to see another human being in my life.
That was last June - we've been married almost a year. My son and the cat have adjusted well to our new surroundings.
We're now part of a much larger extended family, we've been welcomed warmly. I have new daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren.
Life is good.
And I'm sure the garbage man just loved that smelly cat carrier. Our cat will remain firmly on the ground from now on.
We’re trudging through life
All lined up with our baggage
Seeking peace each day.
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