Second Chances (3 page)

"Well, that is real sweet and I am terribly sorry for your loss. I know how much you two meant to each other," Susan said sarcastically. "But do you think you could put a Band-Aid on your broken heart and try to work?"

Brenda couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, just a second," she said as she dialed over to the American desk.

Twenty minutes later, when she'd dealt with the final passenger, her mind returned to Nathan. She wondered if he had made the flight, but even more she wondered what he'd meant. She heard his voice over and over in her mind and wondered if she had done the right thing.

The flight to Chicago was a nightmare. Nathan made the flight with plenty of time to spare, as the pilot was running late. He was forced to take a middle seat towards the back of the plane. On his right side an overweight insurance salesman tried repeatedly to drop less than subtle hints about the great rates he could get Nathan. If he were interested of course. Too much insurance? No such thing! To his left was a shriveled, white haired grandmother who insisted that Nathan look at every picture of her seven grandchildren. Every time he looked at her he was reminded of the blue haired woman from the airport. To top it all off, behind him was a mother and her two kids who bickered back and forth nonstop, with the little boy thinking the back of Nathan's chair was his personal kick-drum. Had it been up to Nathan, the two kids would have completed their trip in the overhead compartment. The stewardess smiled apologetically every time she passed. He refused her numerous offers for a drink, though he was sorely tempted.

Nathan let out a sigh as the plane taxied toward their gate. He fought his desire to jump up and stretch his legs. He listened to one final appeal from the salesman, finally taking one of the man's business cards and promising that he would get in touch with him soon. He assisted the grandmother in getting her carry-on out of the luggage compartment and then he hurried off and away from the mother who was trying her best to corral her two bickering hellions.

As he exited out of the jetway and into the airport, Nathan moved off out of the flow of traffic. The salesman's business card quickly found its way into a garbage can. He walked slowly over and looked at the screen displaying flight information. He had been in this airport many times and after a quick scan of the screens he noted that his connector was on the opposite end of the airport. This did not surprise him in the least. He actually smiled. No matter how many times he flew into this airport and no matter where he was going, his connecting flights always seemed to be on the opposite side from his arrival gate. He checked his watch and saw he had plenty of time.

"What the hell am I doing?" he asked himself.

"Eh?"

Nathan looked over to see a man of about sixty in an ugly, rumpled brown suit looking at him.

"You say something? You talking to me? If so, you'll need to speak up. I'm deaf in one ear."

"No," Nathan said, raising his voice a little. "Just talking to myself, I guess."

"Oh," the man said with a nod. "Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. As long as you don't argue with yourself."

That had been exactly what he'd been doing, but he decided not to tell him that. Nathan waited for the man to walk away before resuming his discussion with himself.

"It can't be her, right? I mean, how the hell could it be?"

He'd asked himself the same questions dozens of times during the flight, but somehow it felt better to actually vocalize his doubts.

However, he couldn't deny what he'd seen. He had seen Paige. The woman he'd fallen completely in love with. The woman he'd wanted to bear his children. The woman he'd taken as his wife and pledged to love and cherish.

"'Til death do we part," he murmured

And that was exactly what had parted them. He'd buried her only a year ago.

"Paige," he whispered. "Please, please let it be you."

He wiped at his eyes, unsure if there were actual tears or only memories of countless ones he'd shed over the past year. He hefted his bag on his shoulder and started to move slowly down the concourse.

Nathan's stomach rumbled. Whether with excitement or apprehension he wasn't sure. He slipped into one of the stores along the concourse and grabbed a pack of Rolaids from the shelf and got in line. He peered into the display cases around the register as he waited. He was always amazed by the assorted collection of odds and ends that one could find in an airport shop. There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the available goods. In the far corner of the store was a collection of cheap stuffed animals sitting only a few feet from a display case with collections of fine hand crafted figurines. There was a rack of the obligatory t-shirts, the same as in any airport. The local sports franchises were always well represented within the mix. In fact it was local hero Michael Jordan that was center stage in the case directly in front of the register. He'd been retired for ages, yet his merchandise continued to be a big seller.

"Is that going to be all?"

Nathan looked up from the case he'd been perusing. A woman in a white shirt and jeans smiled at him from behind the counter. She was slim, perhaps a bit too slim, her face lined from a hard life, but her smile was genuine. A name tag on her shirt read Joan.

"Umm...yeah...oh that's nice," Nathan remarked as his eyes flicked back down into the display case.

"The autographed Jordan jersey?"

Nathan laughed, it was a full laugh and felt good.

"No. I am not much of a basketball fan. I meant that necklace."

"The silver cross?"

"Yes," Nathan said, nodding.

"Seems to be very popular today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. A young lady was looking at it less then an hour ago."

Nathan felt his legs go weak and he placed both hands on the case. It had been Paige. He knew it. He didn't need to ask the woman what she'd looked like, he already knew.
 

My God, it really was Paige.

"Would you care to see it?"

Not trusting his voice, Nathan simply nodded.

The woman unlocked the case and withdrew the necklace, handing it over to Nathan. He felt a thrill run through him as he took it. Less than an hour ago Paige had held this very object. He was certain of it.

"Surprising, isn't it?" the woman asked with a smile, mistaking the expression upon Nathan's face. "Much heavier than it appears. It is definitely a quality piece."

Nathan continued to nod. It was a simple silver cross on a long silver chain. It was subtle in design, but gorgeous nonetheless.

"Which," she said with a sigh, "is why it has been in the case for so long. It's definitely more expensive than most people in an airport are willing to spend. I told Hal, our manager, that if people want fine jewelry then they will get it from a jewelry store. Which, amazingly, we now actually have in the airport. Of course he never listens to me, which I guess is why we have two crates of O.J. Simpson autobiographies sitting in the back."

"I'll take it."

"An O.J. autobiography?"

"No, this necklace," Nathan answered quickly before seeing her smile and realizing she had been joking.

"Are you sure?" she asked, lowering her voice a little. "I mean, I know the customer is always right and if Hal was here I would never even say this, but I am certain you can get this much, much cheaper outside of the airport. I feel bad enough gouging you almost three-fifty for those Rolaids."

"I'm certain. I want this particular necklace. This exact one. The money isn't important."

"Two questions. Where have you been all my life? And, are there any more like you at home?"

Nathan gave her a puzzled look.

"Joking of course," she said quickly when it was apparent that he hadn't gotten the joke. "Allow me to box that up."

Nathan reluctantly relinquished the necklace, but his eyes never left it during the entire time it was in Joan's possession.
 

"Is that going to be it?"

Nathan was about to say yes, but stopped and suddenly plucked a pack of gum from the shelf.
 

"This too."

He didn't flinch when she gave him the total, didn't so much as blink. He simply handed her a credit card and waited for her to run it through the machine.

As soon as he was out of the store, Nathan took the necklace out of the bag and slipped it into his jacket pocket. He then took two of the Rolaids, unsure though if he no longer needed them or if perhaps he'd be better served by downing the entire roll.

Nathan decided not to waste anymore time wandering around the airport. He also decided not to waste anymore time wondering if the woman he had seen was Paige. There was no question that it was. How exactly that was possible he didn't know, it just was. He could puzzle out the how after. For now, he simply accepted it.

He worked his way to the correct gate and got in line for his boarding pass. His eyes darted around the surrounding area and the people seated around the gate.
 

"Can I help you?" asked a pretty, young woman behind the counter.

Nathan explained about his last minute travel plans and his need for his boarding pass. She said she'd be delighted to assist him and asked for his identification.

"Okay. Let me see, Mr. King. Yes, here we are."

"Uh...could you tell me who I'm sitting next to? I mean they were going to try and see if..."

The woman was nodding her head.

"Yes, I see the note here," she said pointing to her computer screen. "We were able to get you your requested seat assignment. You'll be in seat 12-B"

Nathan closed his eyes and felt the world whirl around him. He took a slow deep breath, reaching out to hold onto the counter to help steady himself. He couldn't believe everything was going his way. He opened his eyes, whispered a thank you to the woman and took the documents she offered him.

Nathan took a seat. However, he was bursting with anticipation and soon found himself fidgeting, which started to draw strange looks from the people around him. He finally got up and began to walk around the surrounding gates to burn off his nervous energy.

Nathan had no idea how many times he had circled around the various gates, but the sound of the intercom snapped him back to reality.

"United flight two-thirteen, nonstop to San Diego, will begin regular boarding in a few minutes. Please have your boarding passes out and ready. We will begin boarding from the rear of the aircraft."

Nathan began moving back toward his gate. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He wiped his palms on his pants and tried to slow his breathing. His eyes roamed over the crowd and then the saw her and he felt his heart skip a beat. It really was Paige.

She was sitting at the end of a row of seats, maybe twenty feet away. She ran a hand through her shoulder length brunette hair. She was wearing a faded pair of blue jeans and a red sweatshirt. Even though from the angle she was sitting he could only see a gray "H", he knew it read Harvard. Her travel outfit.

If I am going to be sitting on a plane all day, I am going to be comfortable.

The funny thing is that her travel clothes were actually her everyday clothes. She had never been one that obsessed over the latest fashion. Her closet had always had plenty of extra room. She enjoyed looking nice, but had never equated that with dressing up. And Nathan had to agree, whether she was wearing a thousand dollar cocktail dress or a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, she always looked nice. If anything, he always thought she looked sexier when she was 'dressing down'. She had a natural beauty that didn't require makeup or fancy clothing.

He moved toward her, taking each step slowly as if he were approaching a wild animal that at the slightest hint of danger might up and run away.

He was almost on top of her when she looked up and smiled. And there it was. His heart melted. That smile. The smile that he had seen countless times during the two happiest years of his life. That perfect smile that he thought would have made even Helen of Troy jealous. It radiated a genuine warmth.

"Can I help you?" she asked when Nathan simply stood there staring. Her smile never wavered.

"P...Paige," he croaked.

Her smile transformed into a look of amused puzzlement.

"Yes. Have we met?"

The words had been spoken softly, sweetly, but they stabbed at Nathan.

"Are you okay?"

A look of concern crossed Paige's face. She stood and reached out, taking him by the arm. Nathan went lightheaded at her touch.

"Sit down, please."

"What?"

She guided him down into a chair.

"You just went pale all of a sudden. Are you okay?"

"I..."

"Breathe. Come on, slow and deep."

She took his hands in hers and gently rubbed them, sending Nathan's heart racing again.

"Do you need a doctor? I better get a doctor."

She began to rise, but he held tight to her, pulling her back to face him.

"No, Paige, no doctor. I'm...I'm okay."

She gave him a stern look, biting down on the corner of her mouth, debating his words.

"I'm fine, honest." He said the last word forcefully and watched as she nodded and then sat down in the seat next to him.

"Well," she started. "I guess you do have a little of your color back."

"Paige...I can't believe it. I mean I knew, was certain it was you, but..."

"I'm sorry. I mean, its obvious that you know who I am, but I am embarrassed to say I don't recognize you. And I am normally very good with names and faces."

"We would now like to invite families traveling with small children and those requiring extra assistance to board at this time," the voice over the intercom announced.

"Nathan. Nathan King," he said slowly.

Paige smiled, but shook her head.

"Sorry, that still doesn't ring a bell. Did we go to school together?"

"No, not school."

"I didn't think so," she said quickly, a smile playing on her lips. She enjoyed puzzles and his identity definitely seemed to be one. "I mean my school was fairly small, everyone seemed to know everyone else."