Take a Chance

Wow. I've been writing like crazy, but it's been a while since I've actually published anything. Well, dry-spell is now broken.

Nothing too serious here. Just a bit of romance.

This is a post-COVID story.

I need to thank my prereaders for suffering through my early drafts and keeping me from looking like a bigger fool. Their help in bringing forward something better to read is greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Chapter 1

Annie Walker was slowly making her way towards her gate through Changi airport in Singapore. Her ten-day trip to Vietnam had gone well, and she was eager to get back to Melbourne, though she had no real reason to hurry home to her husband.

Her new, small, rolling case, which was purchased just for this trip was being pulled easily behind her. She was still wearing her nice work suit since she hadn't had a chance to change prior to leaving the company site that morning. It fit her well, though she wished there was a way for it to minimize her arse, which had grown over the last few years. Sigh. Her comfortable low heels clicked away as she walked along.

She had finished her dinner and now had to wait several more hours for her late-night, seven-hour flight home to Melbourne. She had always wanted to travel. She wasn't exactly enjoying it at the moment.

As many had advised her, she made sure she ate dinner before the restaurants and cafes began closing for the evening. Now, with that activity out of the way, she had several hours in front of her before she could board her plane, take her sleeping pills, and try to get some sleep.

On her way to her gate, she could hear someone skillfully playing the public piano which she had noticed sitting unattended on her outbound trip. As she approached, she immediately picked up the Christmas tune Carol of the Bells and was impressed to hear it being adeptly played. Almost three weeks from Christmas, it was appropriately timed.

As she approached, she saw a man that looked to be in his forties in a nice dress shirt and khakis looking very relaxed but sad as his fingers, one of which wore a wedding band, pranced across the ivories. There was an audience of maybe seven or eight that clapped when he finished the song. He nodded his thanks and began Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, while some of the audience moved on and new travelers arrived.

Annie saw that he had a tablet on the piano displaying the sheet music, which he only appeared to reference occasionally. She knew that she should move on to her gate and read for a few hours to try and wind down before attempting to sleep, but she stayed to watch a little longer, feeling the need to let the music get her into more of a Christmas spirit.

When he started playing the next song, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, she was moved. One of her favorite songs and in a place where nobody knew her, she took a few steps forward and began...

"O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem

O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels"

The gentleman playing jerked when she began, but only missed a note or two before he settled back in, smiling at the keyboard. As she sang, the relaxed demeanor of his playing changed. There was less prancing of his fingers, and a much more impassioned playing followed. Within a few bars, what had been background music, quickly became a performance.

With Annie's singing, the audience grew and by the end of the song, what had been seven or eight became fifteen to twenty. When they finished, he turned to her, still smiling, and said, "thank you. You sing wonderfully. Please sing another?" She just nodded.

"You pick."

She asked, "Can you play The Christmas Song?"

A few taps on his tablet and he began the first note. Annie sang beautifully and soulfully. Suddenly she was in the Christmas mood and pulled from her memories of good Christmases to fuel her performance. He was enthralled and could hear a longing in her voice, wondering about this stranger that was revealing a small portion of herself in front of the crowd.

Few words were spoken in between songs and for the next half hour, they continued to treat the small crowd that had now assembled. A few phones were recording, but most observers simply stood, smiled, and occasionally clapped. When a little girl and her brother approached them and asked if they could play Frosty the Snowman, the spell was broken. The girl and her brother joined in the singing, and soon the whole crowd had joined in. A few more playful carols and the pianist stood to wrap up for the evening.

Almost immediately the little girl jumped onto the bench and began pecking out a few notes.

Annie asked, "Can I buy you a drink, or do you have to go to your gate?"

He put on his blazer, and with an expression she couldn't quite read, he replied, "I'd like that."

It was very late, and all the nearby restaurants and bars were closed. They found a convenience stand that sold sodas, water, and snacks, but not much else.

He asked, "How long until your flight?"

She replied, "Almost three hours."

"I know a place around the corner still open." He held out his arm, and she accepted wondering where they were going but was willing to go along knowing she could always back out if she changed her mind.

A minute later they were entering an airline airport lounge. It was very swanky, very nice, and relatively empty. He showed them his ID and after verifying his flight, he and his guest were allowed inside. At the bar, they ordered their drinks and found a couple of comfortable chairs to relax.

She said, "Thank you. I'm kind of embarrassed to go from almost buying you a water to falling into this place."

"Don't be. Before and after COVID, I average almost 5,000 miles per week, so this airline loves me. It's one of the few perks I consider worthwhile."

"American?"

He nodded, and asked, "Australian?"

She smiled, "Good guess. Ever been to Australia?"

"I got lost in Sydney once. And you? Do you travel often?"

"No. This is my first trip out of the country. I've always wanted to travel but never had the chance. The only reason I was on this trip was because nobody else in my company wanted to go to middle-of-nowhere Vietnam for just over a week. They needed help setting up their new accounting system, so I volunteered. My name is Annie. And you are...?"

"Gerald, but my friends call me Jerry."

She gave him a sly smile and presumed to say, "Nice to meet you, Jerry."

He smiled in return, "You sing beautifully. I wondered if you perform for a living."

She let out an unladylike snort and said, "Don't be daft...but thank you. I'm just an accountant. I don't have the opportunity to perform very often...usually just with family or as a dare at a bar. That was very nice. I enjoyed getting to do that."

"You should do it more often. It was wonderful."

"Thanks again. How about you? It was like you shifted gears when I started singing."

He gave her a bittersweet smile and replied, "You inspired me."

"So you don't play piano for a living?"

It was his turn to scoff. "No. I'm an engineer. I implement robotic automation systems. I was in Malaysia for a couple of weeks, but I'm going home a few days early. This is my daughter's last year of high school, and I want to hear her perform in her school's Christmas concert. She's one of the lead singers."

It was his turn to notice a sad smile on her face, and he asked her, "How about you? I see rings. Married? Children?"

"Married, yes. Children, no."

He nodded. Trying to lighten the mood he said, "Even though I'm married to a blonde, I love your red hair. I've always thought redheads were special."

He had hoped to get a smile from the compliment, but he didn't. "Thank you for that. My husband used to feel the same way, but not lately. He's started calling me his 'ranga'. He tries to say it in a teasing way, but I know it's meant derogatory. It's short for orangutang since they usually have an orange tint. In Australia, it can be used positively or negatively. He thinks he's being witty. I think he's being an arse."

He, too, thought her husband must be an ass, because he thought she was quite pleasant to look at, guessing that she was around thirty years old. He said, "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I think it's beautiful."

Slightly uncomfortable with the compliments, the subject was changed yet again. She asked, "Do you get tired of the travel? I'd like to travel more, but it sounds like you do a lot of it."

Another melancholy look crossed his face. "There is a happy medium somewhere, but I never found it. It has worn on me and my family. Some of that was my choosing and some was not. I'm well paid for what I do and have done well over the years, but the cost has been very high. I've stuck with it for the money, but I'm ready to take a break for a while -- recharge my batteries."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Do you and your husband have any big plans for Christmas? I confess that I have no idea what an Aussie Christmas would be like. My visit to Sydney was during your fall, sorry, your autumn."

"Probably only a little different from yours. It will probably be warm and sunny, and we'll have a big dinner with our families. In Melbourne, a big cricket tournament, the Boxing Day Test, kicks off, and my husband will disappear with a bunch of his mates for that. I'll go shopping on Boxing Day with my mum. So not too different. I've always wanted to see a white Christmas. Have you ever experienced one?"

"I live in Austin, so, no. Never. Certain parts of Texas can get a lot of snow, but usually not at Christmas, and never in Austin at Christmas. Maybe one day I'll travel somewhere to see one. Who knows? I'm not sure what life will bring once my little lady goes off to college."

Jerry always marveled at his willingness to open up to strangers in airports and their willingness to reciprocate. There must be something about the anonymity and the extremely small chance of ever running into the other again that allowed for an unusual amount of sharing. Or maybe it was because there was so little intimacy in his own life that he needed to feel that connection with someone, anyone, even a stranger.

She said, "There are a couple of places in south New Zealand up in the mountains that get the rare white Christmas. Maybe I'll go there one day." She paused only a moment before continuing, "I envy you. We couldn't have children."

"I'm sorry." He was about to question her further but decided not to get too personal, though, with Annie, that seemed like it would be easy. A small bond had been built between them during their performing together. He guessed it was one more bond that would be broken or melt away over time. Sigh.

They continued to chat and got to know each other a little better. By the end of their discussion, they could each tell that the other was hurting.

After a while, she said, "My flight begins boarding in half an hour. I should probably start working my way towards the gate."

He asked, "If the piano is available, would you sing one more song for me?"

The piano was on the way, so she nodded and gave him a warm smile. She would sing for him, someone that enjoyed her singing.

As they walked back to the piano, she thought he was a handsome man. Not gorgeous like a model nor an actor but distinguished looking with mostly dark hair and a few stray greys mixed in near his ears. For someone who travels a lot, he was trim. He had a few lines around his grey eyes, which had conveyed many emotions to her, most with a little sadness mixed in or maybe it was weariness.

The piano was empty when they arrived, so there was no one around. He quickly pulled his tablet from his messenger bag and asked, "Any preference?"

Having just shared some of their pains with each other, she asked, "I'm taking a chance here, but have you ever heard of My Immortal by Evanescence?"

He knew it all too well.

She said, "I usually only sing it in my car. I'm too afraid that if anyone ever heard me sing it, they'd know...well, they'd know too much."

He replied, "Believe it or not, on my longer trips, I will often pack a rollable keyboard because playing relaxes me. I've played that song many times."

Jerry played the song very well, but it was Annie that poured herself into the performance. It was easy for him to see the pain on her face, especially as she sang...

"When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along"

It was how Jerry had felt for years. It nearly broke his heart to hear that Annie was in that much pain.

All through the song, they performed for each other. It was a heartfelt and soulful display, conveying pain, loss, and loneliness. Jerry thought that their bond grew much stronger during that performance. He had enjoyed performing with her. Or more accurately, he had enjoyed her performing while he played.

For Annie, she felt a little spark that she hadn't felt in some time. She wondered where Jerry had been all of her life. Even though he was taken, it made her wonder why she was still married. As he poured himself into the song, she suspected that if he was this familiar with it, he'd known many difficulties in his married life also.

When they finished, the small audience that had gathered was surprised by the performance. There was vigorous applause from those that had watched the show.

He asked, "Can I walk you to your gate?"

Though tempted, she shook her head. "It's going to be difficult enough walking away as is."

He understood because he felt the same way.

As she prepared to turn towards her gate and he towards his, she grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Though surprised, he did not resist. It was probably a curious sight to those that were still around after watching them perform together. It was a soulful kiss, full of passion and desire. For the briefest of moments, the airport and the onlookers melted away leaving just two souls sharing their pain.

After she broke away, she said, "I'll remember you." Then she quickly turned and began to stride away.

Three seconds later, she heard him call out, "Annie!"

When she turned, she heard him say, "You're beautiful."

She allowed one of her rare smiles to escape onto her lips, and she turned to go to her gate with a confidence she didn't usually feel. She allowed the extra kilos that she hated carrying on her bum to swish just a bit more than she normally would. Instead of feeling like she needed to get away, now she felt...good...for a change.

"Thank you, God," she thought, "for allowing me to stumble across Jerry." It was the biggest boost to her confidence she had felt in a long time.

As he watched that beautiful red hair and marvelous ass swish out of sight, he would remember her too.

* * * * *

At her gate, she was overflowing with conflicting emotions -- guilt barely raised its hand. It made her want to reexamine her life and where she was in it. At thirty-three and a Certified Practicing Accountant, similar to an American CPA, she was doing well, though not great, professionally.

Personally? Sigh. "Don't go there, Annie," she told herself. "Only heartache will be found underneath those rocks." At least she didn't feel completely unattractive for a change. There was at least one man on the planet that appreciated her singing and thought she was beautiful.

As soon as she boarded her plane, she downed her sleeping pills with a shot of vodka, put on her sleeping mask, and was sound asleep before the plane reached the runway. As the flight attendant took the items from her tray before takeoff, she saw a young woman wearing a sleeping mask with a small smile on her face.

Arriving in Melbourne, nobody was there to greet her at the airport, as expected, and she arranged a taxi on her phone which drove her to her empty home. She had received a text from her husband, "With Robby playing a bit of footy before dinner."

Of course, he was. Stupid wanker.

She called her mum who was eager to hear all about her trip. She had a good mother, though she was disappointed in her daughter by the lack of grandchildren. Annie didn't dare tell that it was Mike that couldn't produce offspring, not her. It would be scandalous for a male in the great line of Walker's not to be able to sire a child. Oh no, it must be the little round wife's fault. She flamed red to match her flaming red hair when she thought of that.

And adoptions were a no-no, too. "Cannot raise a bastard child," Mike had said. Some days she wondered if he wasn't a bastard child also.

"Stop that!" she would tell herself. It would be that much harder to stay married if she kept thinking that way.

* * * * *

The holidays were good with the usual family gatherings. Mike's family, with the trappings of some wealth and some formality because of his grandfather's past representation in the capital, Canberra, was tolerable. Annie could barely contain her frustration with the looks of pity his sisters passed her way. Whether because of her lack of children or some other failing of hers, she didn't know.

At her mum's, it was the usual love and joviality. While she was an only child, plenty of aunts, uncles, and cousins came along with many of her mum's neighbors. It was a rousing time. Several family members asked her to sing, and she chose to sing White Christmas acapella. She poured her soul into that rendition, and her family was always amazed. This time, it wasn't the usual carol that they heard from her. Her family told her how wonderful that was, but did she hear a whispered "show off" from the lips of her husband? Figures.

He had never approved of her singing. It brought too much attention to her versus him.

They had become an odd pair. When they met, she was an attractive enough redhead. Not a raving beauty, but Mike had fallen for her. When dating and after marrying, she loved his playfulness and physical attractiveness. He loved to play all kinds of sports and stayed in great shape. She often went to his matches to cheer him on. Afterwards, he would pour his attention on her, and his mates regularly told him how lucky he was.

After discovering that he couldn't have children, his playfulness turned snarky. She had allowed her office environment, and her married life, to cause her to gain a few kilos, and now that their relationship struggled some. The 'ranga' comments, which were once playful, were more and more hurtful.

After Christmas, her husband disappeared with his friends to the Boxing Day Test, as expected. She shopped with her mum during Boxing Day and had a great time. The next day, she and some friends went to the beach. She almost didn't go, worrying that people would find her appearance lacking. Then she remembered, "you're beautiful," and decided she would go anyway.

Her friends asked her what was different because she was behaving a little more vibrant and self-assured than they had recalled recently. One even asked if she was getting a little on the side.

"What! No! I'm not a cheater and never will be." She meant that, too. "Work in Vietnam went well and my manager and her manager at HQ in Sydney both congratulated me. I'm not as completely useless as some people seem to think I am."

Her friends were happy for her. They liked seeing her this way.

Unfortunately, her husband was his same indifferent self. She actually had to attempt to get some sex from him, instead of the other way around. She wondered, "Did he no longer desire her? Did he find her offensive? Was he getting it somewhere else?"