“Of course,” I replied in a childlike manner.
“There you are,” Charlotte interrupted, looking strangely awkward and uncomfortable.
A strange looking man came up beside her. For him my initial judgement still stood, he was ill at ease, unpleasing to the eye and seemed to be suffering from some kind of illness. He stood, holding his handkerchief, constantly sneezing and blowing his reddened nose, with a rough cough that could be heard some distance away. His eyes were dark and disturbing.
“Have I missed the introduction?” he said with a deep, congested voice.
My primary concern now was not to catch what he had!
“No, not at all,” the handsome man replied, turning away from me, clearly against his will.
Both gentlemen stood patiently while Charlotte summoned the courage to complete the introductions. Ever so quietly she let out:
“My dearest friend, Miss Victoria Knight, I would like to introduce you to Mr Jonathon Bates and Mr Charles Barton,” Charlotte declared. Both gentlemen nodded.
“Victoria, thank you,” Jonathon Bates announced as he raised my hand to his lips. I nodded, unsure what to make of his comment.
“Why … are you thanking me?” I asked curiously.
“For giving me a reason to visit again.” With a warm smile and a gesture he excused himself, strangely leaving behind Mr Barton, who seemed awkward and perplexed.
“It’s my pleasure to meet you also,” Charles said, wanting to kiss my hand. I did not indulge him, nodding with a forged grin as an alternative, hoping that would suffice. Fortunately it did, and he left in a hurry, following Jonathon.
“Victoria, if I had heard it from anyone’s lips I would never have believed it, but to have seen with my own eyes,” Charlotte whispered.
“Charlotte, please stop speaking in riddles.”
“Jonathon Bates has made an impression on you, and more importantly you seem to have made an impression on him.”
“Charlotte Campbell, I implore you, please refrain from expressing your silly notions regarding matters of the heart.”
“Catherine, we’re here!” Annie yelled, interrupting my story.
I looked up to see a sign saying “International Terminal”.
“What — No! Drive around; I’m working on my story! Please?” I pleaded. I seemed to always be begging for one thing or another these days. Annie continued to make her way to the international drop-off with her eyebrows creased, a gesture she often used when she was making things seem more complicated then what they really were. When she found where she wanted to drop me off, she turned off the car engine and turned her body towards me.
“You could not have been serious. No! I have just driven through two red lights to get you here, now get out and catch your flight, before you lose your new job!” she cried.
I closed my little white laptop and turned to her, pausing for a moment. Was that the last order that I would be getting from her for an entire year? I hope so! Even though Annie was only a few years older than me, she seemed to think I was 10 years old and she treated me as such. She had always acted so much more maturely than me. Never spoiling or putting herself before other people’s needs, especially mine. I wondered if there would be any goodbye tears.
“Now look here Catherine, you are a great teacher… the best I know. You need to remember that no matter what happens at the college, don’t ever lose faith in that.”
Oh no, maybe I will cry.
“Catherine, you will be back before you know it. We are both going to be so busy this whole year; we are not even going to have a chance to miss each other or even communicate.”
I nodded, agreeing. I had felt so guilty knowing that I had probably kept Annie from her missionary work in Africa, but now that I am leaving, she can too.
“You’ll be OK, won’t you?” I asked, unexpectedly.
“I will be more than OK, however, I will miss your intriguing dreams and your story. Promise me that when you finish writing Victoria, you will find a way to send me a copy to read! To be truthful, I don’t know how you will cope at that college with all those old English teachers,” she joked.
“Thanks for the encouragement — and now that you mention it, and only since you mentioned it, my story is starting to take shape. Would you like me to read what I have just added?” I sneakily asked.
“No! Get out,” she yelled as she leaned over me and opened my door herself, all the while laughing.
We were now both laughing, not that anything was all that amusing.
“OK, OK, I’m leaving,” I stated. When I finally got my bags from the car, I stuck my head in through the passenger-side window.
“I’m going to miss you,” I said, before walking quickly away from the car. I could feel a lump in my throat start to form and my eyes start to well with tears. Not wanting Annie to see, I didn’t look back.
The queue for check-in was stretched and congested. I felt awful that just like that, Annie was gone. Was it that easy to have someone, so involved in your day-to-day life, suddenly not be a part of it?
I was 25 and this would be my first trip overseas. Pathetic really. My parents always wanted me to travel. The thought of them wasn’t going to make this easier for me now; so I shook their image out of my head. I know they would have been proud of me for following my dream.
Finally, I heard a voice call out, “Next!”
It was my turn, my bags got weighed in and my boarding pass was in hand. I felt a little unexpected excitement come over me. I began to make my way to the passenger departure to get my hand luggage security checked. Once all the formalities were completed, it was ‘duty free heaven’. I’m sure that the lighting in this section was twice as bright as what it was in the rest of the airport.
I continued to make my way to gate ten, knowing that I didn’t have long for boarding.
Unluckily for me, gate ten was on the other side of the airport. As I finally joined the other passengers I stopped to catch my breath. Once it was caught, I noticed an elderly man in front of me. He was quite well dressed and looked to be in his nineties, and I immediately wondered whether he was fit to fly. Was there not an age cut-off for flying? I guess not. Strangely, he kept peering back towards me, over his wire-framed glasses. I hoped that what I just thought about him couldn’t be read on my face.
Looking away, I noticed an elderly woman behind me. Goodness me, I hope there will be some kind of medical staff on board. It was then that I realised that he wasn’t looking at me, but rather, he was trying to signal to the older woman behind me, who must be his wife.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise that I had split the two of you. Please go ahead of me,” I insisted to the man’s wife. As I stepped to allow her through, her arm brushed mine by accident. I felt a sudden and unusual chill from her touch.
“Thank you, dear. That is very kind of you,” she uttered, in a beautiful English accent.
“You’re welcome,” I answered, instantly forced to forget about the chills. The lady smiled at me and it was so warming. She then turned towards her husband who seemed very pleased to have her back by his side.
As the queue slowly moved forward, I continued to be preoccupied by this older couple. They were so polite and charming. They also seemed to take a lot of care in their presentation. She was casually dressed, but things seemed to match effortlessly. Her neat navy pants and blue and white striped silk shirt, and I loved her little brown leather handbag that she had across her chest. It all seemed so practical.