The Light of the Blue Pearl (4 page)

After finishing her sandwich and paying the
waiter, she picked up her things and started making her way to
Hudson News. It wasn’t too far from where she had stopped for a
bite to eat, which was good since the airport was massive and
probably easy to get lost in.

There was nobody at the counter when she
walked up, so she waited scanning the various magazines and
newspapers. After a few minutes a man walked in and stepped behind
the counter and smiled.

“Can I help you find something?” he
asked.

“Umm…yeah, I was told you have something for
me?” she said.

“Are you Ethne?” he inquired.

“Yeah,” she responded quietly.

“Well, here you go then.” He pulled an
envelope from underneath the counter and handed it to her.

“Can I help you with anything else?” he
asked.

“No, not right now, thanks,” she said,
taking the envelope and scanning the front of it which was
blank.

He responded with a smile and said: “Okay,
well let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will, thanks,” she said, barely even
looking up.

As she walked away she was already opening
the envelope to see what was inside. This felt a bit like Christmas
and honestly she couldn’t remember the last time she was excited
about something like that.

She found a bench to sit on in a fairly calm
part of the airport and started pulling out the contents. There was
a small note, a hotel key, some money and another airplane
ticket.

“Oh great,” she thought.

She had really hoped there wouldn’t be any
more flights after the next one. But here it was, right in her
hands, another plane ride. She almost felt like throwing up, she
seriously wasn’t sure how she was still holding it together. She
was so tired, so uneasy about her decision, and now even more
so.

She put the hotel key and money safely into
her bag and started reading the note.

“Once you’ve landed in Belize, you’ll be
flying on Tropic Air to get to San Pedro, it’s a very short
flight…hang in there. Once you land, there will be a man waiting
for you who will take you to your hotel. Go straight there.”

So particular. It was clear that there was
to be no sightseeing upon arrival and that she was to specifically
follow the instructions to the letter. And for whatever reason she
didn’t feel like she should deviate from the instructions in any
way. After all, the instructions were why she was there; if she
didn’t follow them who knows where she would end up.

Well, at least now she knew that when she
landed she had a plan; that was comforting in a way. She put the
note in her bag and decided to find a quiet place to rest and wait
for her next flight. It was late, nearly 3 a.m. and even with the
excitement, she was exhausted.

She thought it wise to find a place close to
her gate so she would hopefully not sleep through the departure.
Laying her bag down and trying to find a comfortable position to
sit in, she leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes.

A couple of hours later, after having not
slept at all, people started to line up at the gate. She found her
place in line and got ready to make the next flight; not feeling
any more confident than the last time.

This time though she at least managed to get
on the plane without making a spectacle and found her seat,
thankful that this flight was a lot shorter than the last. She
wasn’t as lucky to be seated alone this time and found herself
sitting down next to an attractive young man sitting by the
window.

It was then she realized how lucky she had
been to have had the window seat the last time; sitting in the
aisle she decided was not where she wanted to be. She started to
feel her heart pound and her palms sweat. “Crap,” she thought.

“Are you alright?” he asked, looking
intently into her brown eyes. His own, an intriguing shade of blue
and grey caught her off guard.

“Yeah….I guess,” she answered meekly. “I
don’t really like to fly.”

“Oh,” he answered with concern on his face.
“Would you prefer the window seat? I don’t mind changing with
you.”

“Really?” she asked. “You wouldn’t
mind?”

“Nope, not at all,” he said, standing up and
preparing to help her into his seat.

“Thank you, that’s very nice of you,” she
said.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, smiling and
sitting back down.

She immediately started feeling better at
being able to see outside, rather than staring down the middle of
the plane – a tube in her opinion that nobody should be in in the
first place. She wasn’t sure if this was simply because of her last
experience, or if she would have had this claustrophobia anyway;
either way, she was thankful to be sitting where she was.

“Feeling better?" he asked.

“A little,” she answered. “Thank you.”

“I’m Ian by the way,” he said, putting his
hand out.

“Ethne,” she said back, shaking his hand
tentatively.

“Ethne? Really? That’s pretty, don’t think
I’ve heard that name before.”

She smiled back and shrugged, not really
sure what to say. Conversations with other people didn’t happen for
her that often. This plus the nervousness about being on the plane
was a little overwhelming, although there was something about him
that made her feel at ease.

Before long the plane was taxiing to the
runway and taking off for Belize. Ethne was doing her best to not
act like a complete fool next to this person she had just met, but
still she was hanging on pretty tightly to her armrest which she
was sure he noticed. He looked down at her hand once and just gave
her a reassuring wink.

Once they were in the air she relaxed a bit
and put her hands back in her lap.

“So without sounding too cliché,” he said,
turning to face her. “Are you heading to Belize for business or
pleasure?”

This was not a question she was expecting to
have to answer. She was pretty good at dodging people back home, it
had actually become quite an art form, but he had caught her off
guard.

“Umm...I suppose pleasure?” she answered as
more of a question really.

He responded with a light laugh that made
her smile. “You don’t sound too sure.”

“Well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out when I
get there,” she said with a small grin. “How about you?” she
asked.

“Oh, I’m going down to meet some friends, do
some sight seeing, maybe some scuba diving. I hear the scuba diving
is amazing down there. Have you ever been?”

“Scuba diving? Or to Belize?” she asked.

“Either, I guess,” he said.

“Well, neither then,” she said, looking down
at her hands.

“Are you meeting anyone down there?” he
asked, with a hopeful sound in his voice.

“I don’t think so,” she said.

He looked at her with a puzzled look on his
face. “You don’t know?” he asked.

She must sound like a complete idiot to him
by now and she could feel her cheeks starting to color. She decided
now was the time to start making things up.

“A friend of mine bought me a ticket to San
Pedro, said it was amazing. I don’t really know what to expect
yet.”

“Oh! I’m going to San Pedro too!” he said,
grinning. “That is so cool; well you’ll love it there. I’ve only
been once before but it was amazing.”

Satisfied that she no longer seemed like a
complete freak who had no idea what she was doing, she smiled at
him.

“Are your friends on this flight?” she
asked.

“No, they are already down there, been there
a week. I was stuck at work,” he answered.

“Oh, that’s too bad, what do you do?” she
asked, a little unsure of how she was making such casual
conversation with a stranger.

“Oh, I don’t want to tell you, you’ll think
it frighteningly dull,” he said.

“No I won’t, really,” she said, finding
herself surprised that someone even cared what she thought.

“Well, right now I’m working part time for
my Dad’s law firm, just doing administration stuff while I finish
college,” he said.

“Oh, well that’s not dull,” she said. “Are
you studying law then?”

“No! Of course not, I have no intention of
being a stuffy lawyer, all that paperwork would drive me insane,”
he said, realizing at that moment he had no idea what she did and
hoping he hadn’t offended her. “You’re not a lawyer are you?” he
asked sheepishly.

She laughed. “No, I’m not. I work at a
hospital. Doing mostly administration stuff, you know, dealing with
paperwork,” she said, smiling at him playfully.

“Well I have nothing against paperwork per
se, I’d just rather deal with people, I guess, than paper,” he
said, looking down at his lap.

“Yeah, I can understand that. My job wasn’t
my first choice, but it is convenient for me and I like it well
enough,” she said, biting her lip feeling a little uncomfortable
with so much focus on her. She was ready to change the subject. “So
what are you going to school for?”

“I’m not sure yet, I’m having a hard time
deciding,” he said.

She wasn’t sure if this was a dodge to her
question as well, but given her own ambiguous nature she decided
not to pursue it any farther. As if sensing her need for an
interruption the flight attendant walked by and asked if they
wanted anything to drink.

They both gladly accepted.

T
he flight had gone
by pretty quickly with the friendly and unexpected conversation,
and before she knew it they were landing in Belize. It was a little
after 10:00 a.m., and given that she hadn’t slept much in the last
24 hours she was feeling a bit tired.

But it was a brand new day, no time to
sleep; she had absolutely no idea what to expect now that she was
actually there.

As they were departing the plane Ian asked
how she would be getting to San Pedro.

“What do you mean how am I getting there?”
she asked, feeling suddenly panicked.

“Well you can fly or take a water taxi,
which are you doing?” he asked.

“Wait. There’s a boat?!” she said, feeling
rather irritated that there had been another option besides air
travel, and that she had been given yet another plane ride.

“I’m flying,” she answered, making it pretty
obvious she wasn’t pleased about it.

“I am too,” he grinned. “Care if I tag along
with you?” he asked.

“Sure,” she smiled, surprisingly relieved at
the unexpected company.

“Do you know where you’re staying in San
Pedro?”

Yet another question she hadn’t expected to
have to answer, so she simply said, “I do, but I can’t remember the
name.”

Unsure as to whether or not that was a brush
off, he said a little disappointedly, “Oh, okay then.”

They walked in silence to the next gate and
made small talk until it was time to board the plane. They weren’t
seated together, but the plane was fairly empty and the flight
attendant said she didn’t mind if they sat by each other.

Not terribly looking forward to yet another
flight, Ethne’s nerves started to get the best of her again. Ian
could tell right away and did his best to distract her with
conversation.

“So what are you going to do when you get
there?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet, honestly I’m so tired I
kinda want to sleep,” she replied.

“Oh, bad idea,” he said. “I’m assuming by
the looks of it you don’t travel much?”

“No, not at all actually,” she answered.

“Well, either way I’m sure you’ve heard of
jet lag. Sleeping after such a long trip is what you may feel like
doing, but it is definitely not what you want to do,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, a little crestfallen.

“But if you like I can help keep you company
until later this evening?” he asked, with another hopeful look in
his eyes. “I’m not meeting my friends until later.”

She really wasn’t used to this kind of
attention. She wasn’t sure what to say, and besides that, the note
had been very specific. But how was she going to turn down such a
kind offer? She wasn’t accustomed to letting someone down, at all,
let alone nicely.

“I’d love that, really, but honestly I’m not
really sure where I’m headed. My friend basically told me to fly
here and that there would be a cab waiting for me. I’d hate to take
you out of your way if my hotel happens to be a long distance from
where you are staying,” she added with as much reassurance as she
could that she wasn’t just trying to get rid of him. She had
actually been enjoying his company quite a bit.

“Oh I see,” he said, trying his best to
understand this mysterious woman’s answer. “Well, that’s okay.”

Their conversation had taken up the entire
plane ride; a short 15 or so minutes. She was thankful it was over
and appreciative that Ian had distracted her once again.

As they got off the plane she could tell
that he had really hoped to continue talking to her. She actually
had hoped the same, but her next plans weren’t really up to
her.

“Well, here, let me at least give you my
number where I’m staying,” he said, scribbling his number on a part
of his brochure. He tore it off and handed it to her. “If you find
yourself wanting some company or you would like to join my friends
and me anytime you’re welcome to,” he said, smiling.

“Thank you, that’s awfully kind,” she said,
smiling back.

“Well it was nice to meet you; maybe I’ll
see you around.” He smiled and waved goodbye to her and turned to
make his way outside.

“Yeah, you too,” she smiled back as she
watched him go. She had felt rather comforted having him close by
during the flights; she was a bit sad to see him go even though
they had just met and she didn’t really know him.

Alone again, Ethne unzipped her bag and put
his phone number safely inside, hoping that maybe later she could
actually take him up on his offer.