Flights Delayed

 

Well, here we are in the holiday season again! One of the best things about writing is that you can create scenarios that you do not actually experience. I think the holiday season is cozy and romantic. I write a lot of romance during the holiday season because it is the season of love and I am inspired when I see the happiness of love around me. Anna walked quickly towards the gates, her dark eyes darting to the increasing crowds. She was lucky that she even made it to the airport. The storm came in overnight and the roads were hazardous. Her Uber driver had trouble on the icy roads even with a Range Rover. When the flights were canceled, she decided to wait at the airport because nobody could tell her when they would resume. She had plenty of work to do and she focused on her laptop as she sipped her coffee.

Jason's boots thumped against the airport tile as he hurried to the gate. The lines for security were ridiculous and the gate lines were even worse. He had a terrible drive to the airport and the day wasn't getting much better. He looked at the available seats and saw one next to a woman working on her laptop. Correction, a hot woman working on her laptop. The day slightly improved. He worked his way through the crowd to the open seat.

"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked.

She didn't look up and muttered a quiet, "no."

He sat down and grabbed his laptop. He might as well get some work done. This was probably going to be a long wait. His battery was low and she was using the plug. She looked at him and smiled.

"Do you need to charge?"

He nodded and she unplugged. The crowds in the area started to fade from view as he focused on the woman next to him. It was very sweet of her to give up the plug so that he could charge. Her smile was amazing. She had long, dark hair. His type.

Anna was checking out the guy next to her, although she hoped she wasn't being obvious about it. He had light brown hair which was a little spiked on top. He had a short beard and deep blue eyes. He was dressed for camping, but he was working on his laptop. She couldn't guess where he was headed.

He coughed nervously as he finally decided to talk to her. "Where are you headed?"

"I have a conference in Chicago," she replied, hoping that he wasn't sick as he coughed on her.

"Oh yeah? What is the conference topic?"

"It's for data science. I'm presenting on big data in education."

"Nice. I'm visiting my folks in Chicago."

She went back to typing on her laptop. He obviously didn't engage her as much as he had wanted to. This called for a change of strategy.

"Did you want to practice your presentation with me?"

That was cute. He obviously wanted to talk to her. Anna closed her laptop and looked directly into his pretty blue eyes. "Nah, I'm good. I talk about data a lot. Why don't you tell me about your family in Chicago?"

He told her about growing up in Chicago. He told her stories about his three brothers and all the trouble they got into. Anna laughed as she listened to Jason talk about his family. Time passed, yet it only felt like a few minutes.

"Hey, you want some more coffee? I'll go get us some. How do you like it?"

"With stories about you getting in trouble," she smiled as he got up to get coffee. "Just black," she said.

She watched as he walked away. Nice butt. He was definitely cute.

When he returned with the coffees he also had a box of chocolates with him. He handed her the box. Chocolate was always the sign of a true romantic. They started talking again when the announcements started. Anna's name was called and she would be able to get on the next flight out. Jason wouldn't be so lucky. She grabbed her stuff and started to walk away.

"Hey, can I get your number?"

Anna didn't have a pen. She gave Jason her number and he typed it into his phone. She smiled as she rushed to the gate, "Jason, it was so nice to meet you."

While he was in Chicago, Jason thought of Anna. She was smart, she was nice, and she was gorgeous. The odds of randomly meeting someone like her again were slim. He'd be forced to use the stupid dating apps, which inevitably led to disappointment. He decided to call her.

"Hello?" The voice sounded off.

"Anna?"

"No, sorry wrong number." The call ended and Jason felt stupid. She either gave him the wrong number, or he typed it in wrong.

The next day he had brunch with his folks. "Honey, you seem distracted. What's going on?" his mom asked.

Jason explained how he met Anna when he was stuck at the airport.

"Why don't you go to the data conference and see if you can find her?" his mom suggested.

"That seems pretty stalker-y mom."

"If you really like her, you have to be willing to take a chance."

An hour later, he pulled up to the hotel in his mom's oddly well-preserved station wagon from the 1980s. There were so many people in the lot, and likely more inside. This was a ridiculous idea, but he got out of the car. He saw a sea of people inside and headed towards the monitors that were displaying the schedules. He didn't even know Anna's last name. He searched the workshops and finally spotted one titled "Big Data in Education" presented by Anna Edwards and David Nguyen. The conference was a cool $500, which he paid as he shook his head, wondering at the crazy level he had reached. He headed to the conference room, but part of him wanted to head right back outside.

He entered the workshop. She was at the front of the room, her presentation in progress. He felt butterflies in his stomach. Manly butterflies. Did she look across the room and see him, love in her eyes? No. He listened to her presentation, which was really interesting. After the workshop ended there was a meet and greet. He nervously walked up to her.

"Oh my gosh, Jason, why didn't you call?" Anna had hoped he'd call her when he got in town, but he never did. She just assumed that she had misread his interest level.

This was not a promising start to the conversation. "I know this sounds lame, but I typed it in wrong."

She paused for a minute, then laughed, "I've done that. I'm so glad you decided to check out the data conference." She wasn't sure if he was telling her the truth, but sometimes you just had to trust.

"I'm definitely here for the data." He took her hand and they walked out of the room together.

Anna turned her back to Jason, "Can you zip me up?"

"Aw, do I have to?"

She winked at him "Well, in ten years you haven't missed one of my data conferences. I think they prefer me to present with my dress zipped."

He smiled, zipped her dress, held her hand, and accompanied her to the conference hall.