Perfect Stranger

"Hi Mister. How are you?" A little voice said beside him. He looked up and saw a little girl stand in front of him. Her blond curls were pulled back into a pony tail. She couldn't have been much older than Penny. A smile appeared on his face.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good." She sat beside him quietly for a while. "We're going on the airplane."

"Oh yeah?" He said. "Where are you going?"

"To my grans. Mommy says we'll stay there for a while. But I don't like it there. It smells funny." He chuckled lightly.

"Cara, stop bothering the nice man." A young woman across from him said. She must have been the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"I'm sorry." She said looking at him. He noticed that she looked tired.

"I don't mind" he said. "I like the company." He smiled at her warmly.

"I'm Jasper by the way." He said extending his hand towards her.

"Kat." She said. "It's nice to meet you."

"I don't want this to sound weird but would you like to grab a cup of coffee with me?" He asked her.

"I don't think I can." She said twisting the ring on her left finger.

"Oh no." He said. "I don't mean it like that. It's just that I have to wait some more for my flight and I'd like to have some company. And I'm sure Cara would like to have some ice cream. Wouldn't you Cara?"

The little girls eyes lit up. "Oh yes mommy. Please."

She looked him in the eyes. " It looks like I don't have a choice." She slowly grabbed her bags and took Cara by the hand.

"Where to?" She asked.

"There is a little cafe over there." He said pointing.

They made their way over to the cafe and found a table. He ordered two coffees and an ice cream and watched her pour four packs of sugar and lots of cream in it.

"You like it sweet?" He said with a chuckle.

"I don't really like coffee. " She said blushing. She looked even more beautiful when she was blushing he realized.

"You should have said something." He said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Really." She said as she drank a little of her coffee. "Maybe it's about time that I start to like coffee." She smiled a little.

"So where are you headed Jasper?" She asked him.

"I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go right now."

"What about her?" She asked pointing to his ring.

He looked down and just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know right now."

"Bad fight?" She asked looking concerned.

"Yeah." He said. "I don't really want to talk about her though while I'm with such a pretty woman." She blushed again. "That husband of yours is a really lucky guy."

"Thank you. But I'm really the lucky one." She said with a small smile.

"How long have you been together?" He asked.

"11 years." She said. "We met when we were in high school."

She chuckled lightly. "I ran into him in the hallway. Knocked him right over. He told me that I owed him dinner. I told him I wasn't allowed to date yet. So he came over and had dinner with my family. We started dating that night."

"That's sweet" he said. "Have you been married long?"

"4 years." She said. We got married right after college. And then we had Cara right after."

She leaned over and wiped Cara's mouth.

"How about you and your wife?"

"We met at a fashion show her friend was modeling in. And we started dating soon after that. We got married right out of high school."

"Any kids?" She asked.

"Three, two boys and a girl." He said. "I think the girl is about her age." He pointed to Cara and then added "I miss them."

"Are you away from home often?" She asked.

"All the time. I travel a lot for work."

"That must be hard. This is the first time I'm ever away from my husband." Tears started to build in her eyes.

"It'll get easier." He said as he took her hand. "I promise."

"I sure hope so." She said as she wiped her eyes.

"How is your ice cream sweetie?" She turned to the little girl.

"It's delicious." Cara said. "Can I have more after this?"

"No sweetie. One is quite enough."

"No fair." The little girl pouted.

"Do you want another coffee?" Jasper asked as he waved the waitress over.

Kat shook her head.

"I'll have another coffee and another scoop of ice cream for the little one." Jasper ordered.

"Awe. You must be a really good girl for your daddy today." The waitress smiled at Cara.

"He's not my daddy. My daddy is dead." Cara said to waitress.

"Cara...." Kat said her voice sounding sad.

"I'm so sorry. Your order will be right over." The waitress rushed away.

Kat looked up at Jasper who was looking very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"It's okay." She said as she took his hand.

"How long ago?"

"Two weeks."

"How?"

"A car crash. They said he died right away. And that he didn't suffer."

"I'm sorry." He said again. "Is that why you're going to her grandmother's?"

"Yes. I just can't stand the house right now. And the people. Everyone keeps looking at me...well... the way you're looking at me now."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." She said with a little chuckle. "It's okay. I just couldn't stay there. Everyone knew and they all just started to distance themselves from us. They probably didn't know what to say. Heck I wouldn't know what to say." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You're going to wear a hole in the cup if you keep stirring it like that." She said. "It's okay Jasper. Really."

He looked up at her.

"I mean. It sucks and it hurts and I don't know how often I have cried the past few days but I have her. And I know that I have to go on for her. I know that I owe that much to him."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Jasper said.

"You wouldn't have said that if you had seen me this morning." She laughed again.

"So that wife of yours?" She said.

He nodded.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be with her?"

"Yes."

"What was the fight about?"

"I don't know."

"Go home Jasper. Go home to your family."

She got up and grabbed her things. Then she took her daughter's hand and walked away. Jasper smiled as he watched the little girl skip beside her.

He got up and put a twenty on the table. As he left the cafe he reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. He slowly dialed the number and pressed call.

"Alice?" He said. " I'm sorry. I love you. And I don't ever want to lose you."

"I love you too Jasper. Are you coming home now?"

"Yes I am." He said. Thanks to the perfect stranger.