A Chance Meeting by Eveiveneg
"…Thank you for joining us on American Airlines."
Irene jerked her eyes open. "Fell asleep, did we?" Brad asked kindly. She looked over at him. A shapely blonde was leaning her head on his shoulder, blinking sleepy eyes and yawning. Irene smiled to herself, happy that her airplane companion had found someone who seemed to appreciate him. Brad was a very nice man, and she hoped that the golden haired woman he sat next to liked him as much as he liked her.
"Excuse me." She tapped Brad on the shoulder. He looked around at her. "I don't mean to interrupt." She paused and smiled. "But could you tell me what time it is? I mean French time." Brad grinned and nodded. "It's…5 O'clock, PM." Irene winced, then thanked him. The airplane had landed an hour later than it was supposed to. She was late for her hotel reservations. She had another hour and a half in which to get to the hotel, or she was going to lose the reservations.
She gathered her belongings and stood up, waiting for a break in the line of people getting out of the plane. Soon she was out of the plane and hurrying down the stairs to get her baggage. As soon as she got them, she ran for the entrance of the airport. She bumped into people several times, causing rude remarks to come her way.
When she finally exited the building, she was suddenly dazzled by the view. The sky was an indigo color, tinged with delicate pink. All the trees' leaves were orange, red, and yellow, making it seem as if the entire street was on fire. Irene stood there, admiring the beautiful scene, and was unexpectedly struck by a high wind. Several more followed, until all of the branches on the trees were blown to one side. She started looking around for a taxi. Her hotel was 50 blocks away, and she had no desire to walk there, especially now that the fierce winds had started up. She began to wave for a taxi, and after a few desperate minutes, one pulled up a few feet away from her. She put her hand on her chest thankfully and hurried towards the cab. She reached for the handle, and was surprised to see another hand going for it as well.
She looked to her side, and saw a very tall man, his face tilted down and concealed by a shadow cast by a large hatsitting onhis head. He looked even worse then she felt, his worn coat being blown about in the wind. She felt an overwhelming pity for him, and decided to perform an act of kindness for him. "Please, sir." She yelled over the wind. "Take the taxi." She stepped out of the way. He looked over at her, his mouth open to respond, but suddenly stopped. He stared at her in a dazzled way, then shook his head, and shouted, "No. You need it more than I do. Please, take it." The wind was getting harsher by the second, and Irene made a fast decision. "How about we go together?" He looked thankful, and responded his agreement quickly. They piled their luggage in the trunk and got in, shutting the doors as fast as they could.
"Where to?" the driver asked in a heavy French accent. She told him the name of the hotel, and where it was, then the man recited his destination. Soon they were off, and Irene sighed and leaned back against the padded leather cushions of the cab. Now she was uncomfortable. She had asked the man to share the cab in a random act of kindness, and now she was stuck with a complete stranger.
"Well." The man's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced at him; worried he was going to try to talk to her. She was right to be. "Erm… thank you for sharing the taxi with me." He said hesitantly. "Oh, sure." She said quietly, looking away. She was embarrassed, as well as being uncomfortable him since she didn't know him, she was extremely unnerved by the fact that he was so handsome. He had very light blonde hair and clear, azure eyes. He had an English accent, something she had always liked.
They were silent for a while, then he said, "By the way, my name is Nathan, Nathan Morrell." She gave him a small smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Morrell." He held up his hands, pleading. "Please, don't call me that. Just Nathan." She gave a small "All right", then went quiet again. Nathan bit his lip nervously, looking around. After doing this for several minutes, he finally opened his mouth, about to try and start a conversation again, when the cab stopped and the driver said, "Your hotel, Mademoiselle."
Irene looked incredibly thankful when she said, "Thank you." She was very grateful. She was never very good in awkward situations like that. She got out quickly and gathered up her luggage from the trunk, and with a last wave and "Thank you", headed off towards the entrance.
Little did she know that as she did, Nathan leaned back in his seat and sighed, realizing how terribly their conversation had gone. "You know," the driver said. "That was the worst attempt at flirting I have ever seen or heard." Nathan sighed again. "I know." He ran his hands through his hair. "It's just, she was so beautiful, and sure of herself. I was tongue-tied." The driver shook his head. "You know, she seemed a bit shy to me. That might have contributed to the awkward silences." Nathan looked up hopefully. "You think so?" he asked. The driver shrugged. "It seemed so to me." "Then maybe there's some hope for me after all." Nathan said to himself.
They drove off, at the exact same time as Irene entered her hotel room, far up in the building. She set down her suitcases and sat down, pulling out a newspaper. As she began searching for auditions, she was thinking the same thing as Nathan, that perhaps there was some hope for her after all these years.
Ok, I'll try to put up the next bit of the story soon, for those of you who, for some reason or other, like these stories