So, I Met This Boy

I'm headed home after a wonderful weekend in DC with a great friend I would have never made if I wasn't getting a divorce. There's a reason for everything, right? Or, maybe, some good can be found in everything.

As I walked to my gate at the airport, I spied a red haired guy sitting in the crowded waiting area. I laughed to myself because my friend had told me a few days ago that gingers will steal your soul. I must take a pic and send it to her, I thought. I sat across from him and then he glanced up. Hmmm, I think he looks familiar. I quickly looked down and then snuck another look. He was eating a sandwich and his face was half covered but the other half was REALLY familiar. He looked up all of a sudden and our eyes met. Did he think I was staring at him? I looked down again and then I gave myself a kick. I'm 39 years old, I'm a mom of two, I'm getting a divorce. I AM not the shy 15 year old girl anymore. So I raised my eyes and found he was still gazing at me.

Was he a boy that had gone to my high school? Could I have run into someone from my small New England town in the big city of Washington?

I smiled hesitantly and he smiled back. Was it him? Maybe, maybe not, I'm not sure. It's been twenty years since I've seen him. I averted my eyes and prepared to wait for the plane to board, losing myself in my thoughts. 

'Hi,' I heard him say. Startled I looked up and for some reason I felt a flush rise in my face. 'Hi,' I replied and then looked back down. I'm not sure I want to engage in a conversation with someone that I might have said four words to in high school. 'Where are you flying?', he asked. I told him and he nodded and said he was going there as well. I am not going to ask him if he went to my high school, I tried to convince myself. I looked at my phone and pretended to be typing on it. 'Why are you in DC,' he asked. 'I'm visiting a friend,' I said. Doesn't he understand the international language of 'I'm on my phone, do not disturb'. Then, to not appear rude, 'How about you?' rolled off my tongue. Damn it, shut up, you don't need to be talking to a guy. He said he was there on business and he was anxious to get home to his dog. His dog?! I love dogs. I asked him what kind it was and we talked about the perils of having large dogs and how great they are even when they are not the best behaved. 

We boarded the plane and we ended up being seated next to each other. Both of us on the aisles of opposing rows. We chatted and compared notes about what we saw in DC and how we would both like to come back and spend some more time there. Then he asked me, 'What high school did you go to?' I told him and he said he did as well. He looked familiar for a reason! What a small world, we agreed. We talked about people that we knew in high school and who we still kept in touch with. Nobody for me, I have a whole new group of friends now. He still keeps in contact with many of his old buddies. As the plane descended he asked if I had children and I thought, here it is, the awkward questions. Yes, I have two kids and I'm separated from my husband and we're getting a divorce. He said that he never had gotten married, he had come close a few times but it never worked out. 

As the plane taxied to the gate, I prepared for the encounter to be over. Then he asked for my phone number and I felt my face flush again. I told him and watched as he entered it into his phone. Do I ask for his phone number? I haven't done this since 1995, how the hell do I know? No, I'm not going to ask for it. Would I want to go out and grab coffee sometime?, he asked. I don't drink coffee, I said. Then I thought duh, coffee doesn't need to be coffee so I said maybe, give me a call. 

"BOARDING FLIGHT NUMBER 5729', the intercom announced, interrupting my fantasy. I shook myself and glanced at Ginger. Nope, he didn't look familiar now that the sandwich was removed from his mouth. He looked like a 40 year old business man with thinning hair. No connection there. I rose from my seat and walked by him. Fairy tales would have to wait for another day.