This story takes place in the US. Just a few characters are from the UK, and those that are have mostly lived in the US for some time. Please forgive me for my poor abilities in writing natural UK speech. I hope they won't ruin the story for anyone!

Elsie Hughes stowed her small carry-on bag under the seat in front of her, but she didn't fasten her seatbelt. She was in the aisle seat and the passenger who would occupy the window seat had yet to appear. Very shortly, however, she was faced with a very tall man, politely excusing himself as he took his seat beside her. He grumbled quietly as he attempted to fold himself into the small space allotted him. Elsie hesitated only a few seconds before speaking to the man.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, tapping his shoulder. "Would you be more comfortable in the aisle seat? I would be happy to switch with you."

Charles Carson turned to speak to his neighbor. "Are you sure?" he asked her. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"A true English gentleman, I see," she commented. "Yes, I'm quite sure. I prefer the window seat myself."

Charles could hardly help smiling back at her as they traded seats. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You're from Scotland, I believe?" He had noticed her accent.

She nodded. "Yes."

"What brings you here? Are you visiting?"

"I've lived in the States for about three years, but I'm just now interviewing for a job in Shackleton."

"I wish you luck with your new adventure, then," Charles told her.

"Thank you."

Any conversation they might have had after this point would have been drowned out by the flight attendant giving his speech about safety and what to do in case of emergency landing. Elsie looked out the window, watching airline employees busily shunting luggage between airplanes and the airport. They grew smaller as the plane pulled away from the gate and taxied toward the runway. She loved flying - everything about it. As they took off, she closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the strange feeling of being pressed back into the seat and then the sensation of a second or two of weightlessness before they were well and truly in the air. Then she opened her eyes and looked out the window again at the city below as it was gradually obscured by clouds.

Charles tried to be unobtrusive in his observation of his companion. Shifting in his seat he had accidentally caught sight of her closing her eyes and smiling as they took off and he could not take his eyes off of her. When she opened them and leaned over to the window, she fortunately did not notice that he had been staring. He wouldn't have been able to explain, even to himself, why he found her fascinating.

When all she could see were clouds, Elsie sat back and was surprised to find her neighbor looking at her. His face went red and he quickly looked away. She wondered what kind of man he might be. He had been very polite and just now when she had caught him staring, he had at least had the grace to look embarrassed and quickly turn his attention elsewhere. Hopefully he wasn't the type of person who would pester a stranger. She glanced briefly at him and saw that he had taken his smart phone out and was playing a game. Elsie leaned just a little closer in an attempt to see what it was, but he noticed and turned to her.

Elsie blushed, embarrassed to be caught invading his privacy. "I just wondered what game you were playing," she explained.

Charles smiled and showed her the screen. "Bejeweled 2. It's rather mindless, but it passes the time."

Elsie took her own phone from her pocket and unlocked it. With a few touches to the screen, she opened something and held it up to show him. "It's one of my favorite games, too, for the same reason. What's your high score?"

He found his high score list and showed it to her.

Charles 3

Charles

Charles 2

Charles 4

Charles 5

"Very impressive! You're quite a bit ahead of me." She showed him her list.

Peter

Joe

Julian

Becky

Elsie

"I see you let your friends play," Charles commented. "I'm afraid I am not so generous."

"Then you are Charles?" Elsie asked.

"I am."

"Well, I don't let my friends play either, but I hate to use the same name more than once when I earn a high score. I'm Elsie and the rest are friends and family, but I'm the one who has earned all of those pathetic scores."

"It's nice to meet you, Elsie," Charles said.

"Likewise, Charles."

"And I wouldn't call those scores pathetic," he commented. "I'm sure with practice you'll overtake Peter, Joe, Julian, and Becky in the end."

"I hope you are right. I've been trying to get rid of Peter and Joe for months."

"Oh?" Charles was curious, but didn't want to pry. "Your estranged brother and your sister's ex-husband, perhaps?" he suggested, trying to sound lighthearted.

She shook her head. "No, but they are part of my past. I'm ready to move forward."

"You know you can clear the high score list and start fresh."

Elsie sighed. "I know. But for some reason I feel like I need to beat their scores rather than just getting rid of all of them."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you with all of these impertinent questions. You hardly know me, after all. I apologize, Elsie. We needn't talk about it anymore."

She shook her head. "It's all right. You haven't upset me. But I would rather talk about something else."

"Of course."

"I've told you that I might be moving to Shackleton, but you've not told me about yourself, Charles," she pointed out. "Are you a visitor?"

"No, I've lived in Shackleton for about eight years."

"And do you like it?" Elsie wanted to know.

"It suits me very well," Charles replied. "Not too big, not too small, and I like the people."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm afraid I don't know very much about my potential new hometown, but I expect I'll learn as I go along."

"I'm sure you'll find it a nice place," he assured her. "Although if you're used to the big city it may not suit you as well."

"I've lived in so many different-" Suddenly the plane hit a patch of turbulence and Elsie's phone flew out of her hand and into the aisle. "Damn!" She unfastened her seatbelt and was about to climb over Charles, but he was up before her. He got out of his seat and made a quick grab for the phone as it slid across the floor. Just as he grasped it, the plane hit a bump again and Charles lost his balance and fell. The "fasten seatbelts" sign lit up. Elsie hurried to help him up. "Oh, Charles, you didn't have to do that!"

As they both got situated and belted back into their seats, a flight attendant advised the passengers that they had encountered some turbulence. "As though we hadn't already noticed that," Charles grumbled.

"Really, Charles, that wasn't necessary," Elsie told him again.

"If I hadn't gotten to it right away, you would have been crawling around this airplane in search of it for Lord knows how long," he argued.

"I suppose you're right," she admitted. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry if you got hurt. Are you all right?"

Charles looked up at Elsie. He had noticed her lovely eyes already, but now that they were filled with concern for him, they quite took his breath away. "Yes, I'm perfectly all right," he assured her; it was mostly true. He thought he might have ended up with a bruised elbow, but it wasn't worth mentioning.

"I wondered if we would see some turbulence," Elsie commented. "The weather radar showed a bit of a storm in our flight path."

Charles raised his eyebrows. "You looked at the weather in our flight path? Does it make you nervous?" She seemed perfectly calm to him.

"Not at all," Elsie replied. "You'll think me strange, but I like turbulence."

Charles was flabbergasted. "You like it?"

She laughed. "Yes. To me it's sort of like riding a roller coaster, only it doesn't give me a sore neck."

"I can't say I'm too fond of roller coasters, either," he admitted.

She smiled. "Well, I suppose I should let you get back to your Bejeweled. It seems like that might be a good distraction if the bumpy ride makes you nervous."

Charles didn't really want to stop talking to her, but he thought perhaps he ought to take her advice, so he gave her a smile and a nod and took out his phone. He was far too attracted to her for his own good. For your own good? a voice in the back of his mind asked. What does that mean, exactly? Not every woman you meet is bent on breaking your heart. Charles played a number of games very badly as he contemplated the situation. He didn't believe at all in love at first sight. There could be attraction, even infatuation, at first sight, but not love. He could never love a person he did not really know.

Charles closed his eyes and tried to remember how it had been with Alice. He had thought her beautiful the first time he saw her, and after they met properly, he enjoyed her company more and more. She was lively and sweet, so different from Charles, but she had seemed to appreciate this contrast just as much as he did. He couldn't have said exactly when things went wrong - he never did find out just how long she had been carrying on with Grigg before the sudden and dramatic end of the relationship - but at some point she must have decided he wasn't enough to make her happy. He had taken a suitcase to an extended stay hotel for just long enough to arrange for all of his things to be packed and moved. It was a miracle that he found a job in Shackleton almost immediately, for he couldn't imagine staying any longer in a place that now held so many poisoned memories. After leaving Alice, when he looked back at times that had always seemed so pleasant, all he could see were little signs of her superficial nature and her impending faithlessness and feel what a fool he had been. Now, eight years later, his bitterness had long been dissolved and he was enjoying his new life, but he had never pursued a woman since, though not for lack of opportunities. He didn't like to consider himself a coward, but some small part of him knew that he was afraid it would happen again. He would prefer not to suffer that kind of pain again, and if he never made a commitment to another woman, his heart would not be at risk a second time.

Elsie was surprised that Charles fell asleep during the very bumpy ride to Shackleton. His brow was furrowed and he wore a ponderous frown; she wondered if he were dreaming. His phone was still in his hand and Elsie took it from him and slipped it into the front pocket of his shirt so it would not be lost. She sighed contentedly and sank back into her seat, drifting in and out of sleep for the rest of the flight. She awoke just in time for their landing and found Charles still asleep, quite deeply. All the noise of other passengers collecting their bags and flight attendants issuing instructions did not wake him. Elsie put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Charles," she said softly. "Charles, we've arrived." He smiled a little, and Elsie could not tell if he were still asleep or had awakened but not yet opened his eyes. "Charles," she repeated, a bit louder this time, and shook him by the shoulder again.

His eyes opened and he looked around, disoriented for a second or two. "Thank you, Elsie," he murmured sleepily. By this time, most of the passengers had disembarked, but they were among the few stragglers in the back of the plane. Charles got up and stood in the aisle, gesturing for Elsie to precede him. They made their way to baggage claim together without speaking.

Elsie's suitcase arrived first; she took it from the conveyor belt and pulled the handle up. She turned to Charles. "I must be going now. It was lovely to chat with you, Charles." She held out her hand and he shook it.

He smiled. "Good luck, Elsie."

She nodded her thanks and turned away. Charles watched her until he couldn't see her any longer. When he turned back to the baggage claim, he saw his own suitcase, just out of reach. He could try to catch up with it on the carousel, but he just sighed and waited for it to come around again.

To be continued…