2.
Terry Gerin was on the plane from Japan to New York, sitting in the window seat and drumming his fingers impatiently on the little tray in front of him. Beside him Chris Irvine and Chris Benoit, who were also being allowed to go home having finished their promotions ahead of schedule, exchanged a look and smiled.
"Hey, Terry, you might wanna knock that off. You're starting to make people nervous." pointed out Benoit.
"Yeah, man. Unless you wanna head out there and try flapping your arms, you ain't gonna make this baby go any faster so you might as well try to relax." said Irvine with a grin.
"If I miss my connecting flight, I'm not going to get home in time for Valentine's Day," he stressed, "And I promised I'd be there. I can't let Tammy down."
"Plus, you just want to see her again." added Irvine.
"Plus, I just REALLY want to see her again." nodded Terry in agreement, suddenly noticing the glances his two friends were exchanging, "Guess I've mentioned that once or twice, huh?"
"Only about twenty or thirty times." shrugged Benoit casually.
"Yeah, and that's just on this flight!" laughed Irvine.
Terry smiled in spite of himself and then sighed, "I can't believe how much I've missed her ....."
"Neither can we!" chorused his friends and they all laughed.
Terry took the advice of his friends and tried to relax, finding his mind wandering back to when he first laid eyes on Tammy. He and some of the guys, his current fellow travellers included, had been out one night and ended up in a busy little bar and as soon as Terry had walked through the door, she had been directly in his line of vision. Wearing a simple strappy green dress which fell to just above her knees and, he had noticed later, matched exactly the striking colour of her eyes, she had been perched on a tall bar stool, talking animatedly with a friend whom Terry had barely noticed. About the object of his attention however, he noted every detail - the almost musical sound of her laughter, the way she absently toyed with her glass as she listened to her friend, the long lustrous red curls that toppled over her shoulders and fell halfway down her back, the sparkle of her eyes; everything.
It was Scott Levy who had noticed him watching her and came to sit beside him at a table opposite the bar.
"She's pretty." he had commented casually after a pause, waving in her general direction with his pint glass.
"Pretty!" Terry had wanted to yell, "No, she's not; she's way beyond pretty - she's beautiful, stunning, not just PRETTY!" However, he merely nodded.
"Why don't you go talk to her?" Scott had asked simply.
Terry remembered looking at him like he had suddenly sprouted another head and laughing in disbelief, "Me? I wouldn't know what to say ....."
"Most people find 'Hello' makes a good starting point."
Following much advice and downright bullying from Scott, Terry had finally gathered enough courage to approach the girl. He had offered to buy her a drink and, much to his amazment, she had accepted. They had ended up talking for hours and just as her friends were getting ready to go, he had made a decision.
"What would you say if ..... um, if I asked you to dinner?" he had asked hesitantly, suddenly becoming strangely interested in the floor.
"ARE you asking me?" she had replied, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"Uh ..... yeah, I'm asking." he had nodded nervously.
"Then I'm saying ..... yes!" she had smiled in return.
Watching clouds pass by from the window seat of the plane, Terry had to smile at the memory. He didn't think he had ever been so relieved; though if anyone had suggested then that he and Tammy would still be together two years later, he would just have laughed out loud. And yet, they were, and nothing had changed. Of course Tammy's curls were gone as she had straightened her hair and it was now much shorter, hanging just past her shoulders, but she was as beautiful as ever and he, well, he was just Terry, but she didn't seem to have any complaints. Just thinking about her made Terry long to see her again and his mind drifted for a second time, this time to the last day he had seen her.
Waking up warm and comfortable, just a few days after the New Year, with Tammy snuggled deep in his arms, Terry had never felt less like going to work. It was always hard to leave her, but knowing he would be away for practically two months made it even harder than usual. She had looked so peaceful, but having been warned that he was not under any circumstances to let her sleep in, Terry had reluctantly woken her with a kiss.
"Morning, baby." he had whispered.
"Can't be. Not already." she had mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes, merely wrapping her arms tight around his waist.
"You could always give the airport a miss?" he had suggested, casually running a finger down her spine; his touch as light as a feather on her bare skin. She had shivered in response and pressed even closer to him, making him smile and relish the feel of her arms around him and her head resting on his chest.
She had sat up and wrapped herself in the sheets as his words sank in. "No chance!" she had said suddenly, but then she had stopped, pressing a hand to her head.
"Tammy?" he had said in concern, sitting up himself, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine - just a little lightheaded. Guess I sat up too quickly. Honest, Terry, it's nothing; don't worry."
Terry frowned at the memory; it had not been the first time something like that had happened, but she had insisted she was fine and had shown no further signs of illness that morning, laughing when he had suggested going to the doctor, although she had agreed to go if it continued. He supposed there was no point in worrying now - it had probably been nothing and anyway, he would soon be home to look after her. Even at that moment, the plane was beginning its descent into JFK airport.
*****