Crossed Paths

"No, Tom. We can make this work. You'll see! I'll do anything to make it work so we can be together!"

"No, Hallie. You played that wicked game and you lost. I lost. We both lost."

She objected again, but I put up my hand and continued. "No, Hallie, it's not my choice, but you fixed it so it never was. Now, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can't fix it, and there's no happy ending to this for us. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this is goodbye."

Her eyes pleaded with me to reconsider, but they read the resolve in mine and she gave a slow nod of acceptance.

"I'm sorry, Tom, really sorry. I wish I'd been thinking straight and done the right thing."

I wasn't convinced that she hadn't been thinking straight, but I agreed on the last part and said, "Me, too, Hallie. Take care and have a good life."

Tears were streaming down Hallie's cheeks as I walked away with my tears hidden in my heart.

***

To my surprise, the plane had a lot of empty seats. Mine was toward the back, with no one in either the window or middle seat to my left. I paid little attention to the safety briefing—I'd ridden the 737 so many times, I could have given the briefing myself—and barely noticed the attendant who came by to make sure my belt was properly buckled, my personal item was stowed under the seat in front of me, my tray table was up, and my seat was in upright and locked position.

I closed my eyes during takeoff, trying to put Hallie out of my mind while visions of her seemed to swim around me like one of those practically naked girls in countless 007 opening sequences, enticing me to join her once more.

"Excuse me, sir?" said the attendant some minutes later after beverage service started. "Can I get you anything?"

"Water, please," I replied as I looked up at her. Blue eyes, a pretty smile, and a short bob of dark hair, she was beautiful and looked like a prototypical flight attendant in her uniform. I tried to smile.

"Nothing stronger? From your expression, I'd think you'd just lost your best friend."

"I did. I broke up with her."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

She handed me my water and moved on and I went back to my thoughts and frustrations.

"Hi, again," came a whisper. "Service is done for a few minutes if you'd like to talk about it. About what happened. Since I've already intruded and all?"

I couldn't help but give a little smile, a more genuine one this time. "Is the airline trying to give added value now by having in-flight psychologists as well as in-flight movies?"

She chuckled. "No, but you looked so sad and then what you said stung. I did that a while back when I realized he liked the status quo a lot better than he liked me. Five years, down the drain. Do you want to tell me about it? Or tell me to take a hike?"

"Thanks for being observant, and for asking. I don't think many people would in this day and age."

"Lesson one in recovery from a broken relationship. There are still some good people out there."

"Thanks. And, you know, despite some initial misgivings, I think I'm enjoying this value-added stuff."

She chuckled. "Good, I'm glad. If that's the case, do you want to tell me a little about your situation? You know, to see if I can give you any great new insights about what happened to get you that value for your money? If that's okay, I mean."

"Yeah, it's okay, thanks. My girlfriend and I have been apart for a while since I caught her in her lies. She's tried to fix things, but I—well, I just can't ever trust her as I'd need to in order to turn our relationship into anything permanent, particularly after going through a somewhat similar scenario with my ex. What's the saying, once bitten, twice shy?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I got bitten by my ex-husband, gave him another chance, and got bitten even worse when he cheated again. I learned the second time."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but that was twelve years ago. Somehow, I've been pretty lucky about it all. It wasn't intentional, but I've avoided him ever since."

"Darn, we're on a plane. There's no wood for you to knock on."

She shrugged. "I doubt that it would matter. I'm a little more mature and he's probably not so even if we run into each other again someday for some reason, I think I'll just hold my tongue and walk right on by. Oh, and I'll do the same with Benjamin, my status quo guy, too."

While she had to contend with her duties, that didn't take long since the plane was so empty. To my surprise, she came back again and we continued our talk through most of the rest of the flight, brightening my spirits a little, even lifting my heart.

After we landed and the people in front of me started deplaning, I thought about what was ahead of me and gave a sigh.

"None of that, now. It hurts but it's not the end of the world. You're going to do just fine."

I turned to see her standing there in the aisle just behind my row of seats.

I rose from my window seat and ducked under the overhead bins to stand upright right in front of her. "Thanks. And thanks for talking with me; you made what started as a miserable flight much better. My name's Tom, by the way."

She smiled and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Tom. And I'm—"

"Cindy," we said together, with me pointing to her nametag. She chuckled and pulled out a card.

"I never give these out, but something tells me you could use a friend. If you want to talk sometime, my cell number is on there."

I took the card and looked at it. "Thank you, Cindy. And thank you, Something. And you know, I just might do that."

We said goodbye and didn't see each other again after deplaning. I was making my way toward parking for my car when I pulled my little carryon bag to the side and pulled out my phone and Cindy's card.

I scanned it into contacts and then opened a message and started typing.

Hi, Cindy, it's Tom from the plane. This is my cell. It was very nice to speak with you. I hope our paths will cross again sometime.

I remembered Vincent Diprimo's final words to me and how ominous they sounded, but they felt right in this case. It was too soon and I was hurting too much to want to say more, but by sending a note, maybe she'd remember me if I ever decided to contact her for real. I put the phone back in my pocket and continued on, walking out of the terminal and into the sun.

As hot as it was, I started sweating at once and looked forward to getting inside in the air conditioning. However, I'd gone less than thirty feet when my phone buzzed, indicating an incoming text. I checked and read:

Cindy: Hi, Tom. Me too. 😀

Her short message warmed my heart more than the broiling Texas sun. Hallie was gone from my life, but perhaps I'd find new love sometime in the future, possibly with my new friend or maybe with someone else. I didn't have to be alone and lonely forever.

The summer heat almost forgotten and having a new spring in my step, I smiled and looked forward to the future.

***

35-Year Reunion, about nine years later

With tickets in hand, I went to the bar. The one closest to our table had a long line so I made my way to the next one, further around the ballroom.

As I walked, I thought of how much everyone had changed since our 25-year reunion. Many had gotten heavier, many had lost hair, and many of us had a lot more creases in our skin even if they weren't outright wrinkles. There was a lot more gray and few were actually white-headed, but some appeared to be fighting the aging process, however effectively, with hair coloring, hair transplants, and plastic surgery with varying degrees of success. With most of us in our graduating class now in our mid-to-late 50s, I was glad to see that most of those present were still in fairly decent shape overall and were enjoying themselves.

However, a few people looked, to be kind, old. Perhaps it was their genes or maybe it was too much hard living over the years, but time had taken its toll on their appearance and, in many cases, their health, making them practically unrecognizable from our time together all those years before.

In fact, other than a few close friends and those I'd stayed in touch with over the years, most of my classmates were now just distant memories, if they were recognizable at all.

Then there were those who were listed at the table in one corner of the ballroom adorned with, thanks to the fire marshal, a single battery-operated candle. "In Memoriam" it said, with the names of those who were no longer with us for one reason or another.

While it hadn't been a big surprise, Keith Schilling, always too heavy, was listed since his heart had finally given out, leaving sweet Gabby and their nearly adult kids alone. The ones that really hurt since it was so unexpected were Larry and Nina Kilgrove, who'd died in a plane crash when the engine in their four-seat Piper conked out and they couldn't find a safe spot to set down. Mark, Andy, and I had been three of the pall bearers at their funeral.

Reaching the next bar, I found just a few people in line so I stopped to wait my turn, observing people and faces, trying to recognize anyone I could before resorting to name tags for a reminder. I didn't see anyone familiar nearby so I turned back to the front as the line at the bar moved up a place.

The guy up front seemed to have had a bit too much to drink and started flirting with the female bartender, a pretty young lady who appeared to be several years younger than my Suzie, who now had two little ones of her own and a third, and supposedly final one, on the way.

With a drink in each hand, the guy turned and I got a good look. He was definitely familiar but I couldn't place him until I glanced at his nametag and saw his name and "Guest" written below.

"Mr. Jarrett, I was wondering if our paths would cross here."

"Ah, Mr. Diprimo. I'm surprised to see you here."

He smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? After all, even though she graduated a semester late, my wife was one of your classmates. Remember?"

My heart jumped at the thought. Hallie was divorcing him when we parted; had something happened to keep them together? Or had they reunited after a time?

Turning, Diprimo bellowed, "Hallie! Get over here! Come see your old squeeze."

No, I hadn't heard anything of Hallie since I'd walked out of that little restaurant in New Jersey over nine years before, but there she was, walking toward me. Her smile, that had always been ready at a moment's notice, didn't appear as she approached.

She glanced at Vince Diprimo, who nodded, before she turned to me. "Hi, Tom. I was wondering if you'd be here."

"Hi, Hallie. I didn't see your name on the list of attendees so I wasn't expecting you. How've you been?"

"Tell you what, you two have a nice little chat. I'll be over here at our table. Watching." Diprimo nodded to me as if he was king of the world and gave a glance to Hallie that conveyed some message I didn't quite get before he went over to their table, just two or three tables back from the bar. Glancing his way, I saw him staring at me as if through a telescope.

Hallie looked at me and hesitated. "I know what you're thinking. Why?"

I nodded.

"I wanted to leave him, but when you told me, well, goodbye, I had to make a hard choice. It was easier to stay and be comfortable by putting up with his little affairs than trying to start over on my own. He treats me well most—"

A hand touched my elbow, drawing my attention.

"Hi, Tom, I was wondering where you were so I came looking," said Gabby. "Oh, hi, Hallie, I'm Gabby, from our class," she said. Noticing Hallie looking at her nametag, she slid her hand down my forearm into mine and added, "And Tom's wife, of course."

Hallie's look at Gabby and then at me was priceless, surprise mixed with denial. She said hello and then made an excuse to be on her way. I watched her go, wondering for a moment what might have been before focusing on what really was.

And, I thought, what was so much better.

As we ordered our drinks, I looked at Gabby and thought of how lucky I was and of all that had happened.

Sometime after we met on the flight, Cindy and I had dated for a while and proven that there really are some good people out there but they're not necessarily right for each other. That helped me get on with my life.

When Keith keeled over about a year later, I'd stepped up and helped a heart-broken Gabby with some of the arrangements and had spoken at Keith's funeral. We'd stayed in touch periodically as friends in the time that followed, with me checking in on her from time to time to offer encouragement and sometimes be someone to whom she could vent. However, it wasn't until Larry and Nina's funeral, nearly three years later and after Gabby's grieving was long over, that we really talked and finally connected.

Hitting it off unexpectedly, we married a little over a year later.

On our way back to our table with our friends, Gabby said, "Hallie doesn't look happy, does she?"

"No. No, I don't think so," I agreed. "She played a wicked game and she lost, so now she's serving her time until one or the other of them dies or throws their hands up in the air and says "Fuck this shit" and moves on. Since I don't think the latter will ever happen, I suspect they'll probably both live to be in their 90s, just for spite and to keep the other one from having fun with whatever's left between them."

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes," quoted Gabby with a chuckle. "Or, wicked games, like you said, in this case. Say, speaking of games, want to take a break for a little while? I've got an idea for a game that we can play upstairs that might take your mind off her and all that."

We dropped Mark and Jane's drinks off at the table and told them we were going for a walk, though from the look they gave each other, I knew they didn't believe it for a moment. As we walked away, Gabby leaned in and whispered, "We've given them an idea. They'll be right behind us, five minutes tops."

Chuckling, I agreed, saying, "Let's speed up then so they don't catch us."

Backtracking from the conference center to the hotel, we barely had the door to our room closed when Gabby was on me, showing me that she loved me and that thoughts of the past were a waste of time. Our clothes were off in moments, removed between kisses and gentle touches, and then we were in bed, hungry for each other.

Gabby climbed atop me, pressing herself down and against me as she rode and I was soon thrusting up into her. With sweet kisses, my Gabby helped bring us even closer, focusing on just the two of us and nothing and no one else in the world. Together, we went over the edge, Gabby giving a wonderful moan, me giving a protracted, gruntlike groan, and both of us giving our all to each other before she settled in softly on me with my arms around her holding her close.

"I love you, Tom," she whispered breathlessly.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

We lay there resting for a few minutes before I asked about heading back to our class party.

Gabby shook her head. "I'd be willing to stay right here all night if you're interested. You know, rather than going back down to the party? We'll see everyone in our group again at breakfast tomorrow anyway."

"Hmm. I think you're right." Thinking of Vincent Diprimo, I added, "Yeah, we've probably crossed paths with enough people for today. The only person I want to see again tonight is you. Now, if you're ready, let's see about uncrossing these."

Gabby giggled and smiled and I smiled too.

To be honest, I'm not sure which of us was wearing the bigger smile, but I decided then and there to keep going all night if needed until I found out.

The End

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