*DING* the fasten seatbelt light goes on.
They both let go long enough to buckle their seatbelts, but quickly resume holding hands. She looks out the cabin window one last time to see if she can see anything but can’t. The skies are too overcast and the evening darkness has settled in. Her eyes start to water as a tear slowly falls down her cheek. Mark notices and gives her a tissue from his pocket.
“Thank you,” she says wiping her tears with her right hand.
“Are you okay?” Mark asks concerned.
“No…” She says, trying to be strong, but the thought of being away from her best friend is just too much to hold back the tears wanting to come out. They stream down her cheek uncontrollably as Mark leans over and gives her a comforting hug, letting her cry on his shoulder. After a few minutes Anica regains her composure and reaches into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. The wallpaper on her screen is a photo of them both laughing and being goofy together, snapped from an arm's distance away.
“This is my best friend Michele. Already I miss her like crazy and we haven't even left the runway.”
“You two are very close, aren't you?”
“We're like sisters.”
“I take it this is your first time apart?”
“Yeah.” *Sniff*
“You’ll be back before you know it. Everything will be okay.”
The flight attendant came down the row making sure everyone has all electronic devices are turned off.
“Ma'am we need you to turn off your cell phone, just until we get in the air.”
Anica nods and holds down the power button, shutting it off. After the screen went dark, Anica continued to stare at it as if she could still see the wallpaper of them both.
“She’s battling breast cancer.”
“Oh No!” Mark sat up, looking at Anica and listening intently.
“I feel so guilty for leaving her. She just found out last week.”
Mark hugs her tighter. Anica rests her head on Marks chest as he caresses her.
“I’m so sorry to hear that!”
“She insisted I go, even though I wanted to stay and cancel. She said 'No, you go on! Have the journey of a lifetime!' ”
Anica sniffles into a tissue and wipes her nose before continuing.
“She knows I planned this trip a long time ago, working hard and saving every penny so I could go. Everything seems great in my world and then all of the sudden this comes along. I was like 'I'm not going' and she's all 'Yes you are!' I tried to convince her I wasn't but she's stubborn as a mule, more than I am. I never win arguments with her.”
“Did they say how bad her breast cancer is?”
“They say she's got stage 4 breast cancer.”
“I don’t know what that means?”
“It means that the outcome isn’t good. Let's just say there is no stage 5.”
“But there’s still hope, right?”
“There's always hope,” Anica says, “but my luck, God is going to take the only good thing I have in my life away and then I don't know what I'm going to do.”
“You need to hang onto that hope and be strong for her.” Mark says. “Like I said, you'll be back in no time! Your friend is right; you need to focus on enjoying your vacation.”
“I’m trying to, but it’s just the timing of it all. She starts radiation next week, and I’m not going to be there for her, and I feel so bad! She’s always been there for me.”
Mark gives her another tissue so she blows her nose a bit too gustily, and in a wave of embarrassment she sits up and hides her eyes in her hands. Anica peeks to see if she left snot on his chest.
She did.
'Way to go Anica, you just left your snot all over his expensive sweater! Eeeewww!' Anica then grabs a tissue and starts wiping at Mark's sweater.
“I am so sorry, here I am, being a sissy la-la, babbling about all my problems and you're probably like, 'What have I got myself into sitting next to some psycho chick,' right? But somehow I feel totally comfortable with you, to tell you all this, crying on your shoulder and even leaving my snot on you! Well I didn't mean to do that. Some impression I'm leaving, huh?”
Mark laughed.
“You’re wrong... I don't see a psycho chick or sissy la la. I see a compassionate and caring friend who would rather give up the world to be by her best friend's side. It's very honorable and noble of you to put others before yourself. Not too many people do that anymore and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share that with me, snot and all.”
Anica's frown turns into a smile.
“I also see a young woman whose about to embark on a fantastic journey to a far away place she's never been. Seeing amazing things, eating incredible food and who knows… Maybe even making a friend or two along the way? Does this sound right or am I way off?”
Anica smiled wider.
“Wow… You sure know what to say to make a woman feel better.”
She grasps his hand for a moment in an appreciative way.
“What about you? You married? Have a girlfriend?”
“I once did. She cheated on me with a coworker of mine and ran off with him.”
Anica leans back in disbelief.
“What? No way!!! What a... I’m sorry! I shouldn’t say that, but that just makes me mad! I can't believe someone would do that to a nice guy like you. I’ve known some people like that and it just makes me so furious... Grrrrrr!”
Mark smiles in appreciation of Anica caring about him.
“Thanks, but there's no need to get worked up. I try to live my life by the motto 'In life there are no mistakes. Only lessons.' This was a valuable lesson learned, even though it was a painful one.”
“Did you love her?”
“Did? I still do, even though I can't be with her.”
“Wait, you still LOVE her? Even though she cheated on you?”
“Yes, I will always love her because I gave her my heart but apparently it wasn't good enough and that's not my loss, it's hers. I'm at peace with myself because I've forgiven her and I've forgiven myself.”
“Even if she came crawling back, begging you for forgiveness?” asked Anica.
“Even if she came crawling back I couldn't be with her, because I can't trust and respect her. If I can't trust or respect you, I won't be in a relationship with you, period, no matter how much I love you. I learned long ago if you lose respect, forget it, it's gone forever.” said Mark.
“You're a lot stronger and wiser than I am. I don't think I could ever love my boyfriend if he cheated on me and ran away like that. NOT that I have a boyfriend or anything. I'm actually single at the moment… In case you were wondering.” said Anica trying to drop a discreet, subtle hint but is failing miserably.
“I'll make a note of that,” says Mark with a smirk on his face.
“Have YOU ever had your heart broken or been cheated on?” asked Mark.
“No... I’ve never been in a serious relationship with anyone, at least not yet. I’ve had boyfriends but most of them were too immature and didn’t know how to treat a lady. All they cared about was sex or gaming. Not that there's anything wrong with gaming… or sex, or gaming while having sex. I'm a gamer myself, but you have to make time for your sweetheart, do you know what I mean?” Anica asks, looking at Mark.
“Of course. You need to nurture and support both friendships and relationships on a consistent basis or they will die.”
“I agree. I've never let anyone close enough to break my heart, that way I’ll never get hurt or used.”
“Oh... So you’ve never been in love?” Mark’s face lights up with intrigue.
“Well, I’ve cared about people before but I’m not sure if it was love. You tell me, Mr. Love Doctor, how does one know if they're in love?” Anica repositions her body facing Mark so she can listen intently with a smile on her face.
“Well, when you're in love your feet never touch the ground because they will feel lighter than air… like walking on clouds.
Also, you will find yourself constantly thinking about the other person... You can’t help it. Morning, day or night, they are always on your mind. When you talk about them, your face will light up and they will be your first waking thought and your last thought before you go to sleep.”
“Really? What about real life problems? You know, kids, work and all… Doesn’t that get in the way of love?”
“If its true love, nothing can get in the way of two people who love each other. No bullet, no sword, nothing can penetrate the hearts of two people meant to be together, and heaven forbid you get between two lovers trying to be with each other! When you’re both in love, you protect each other, fight for each other, help each other, succeed or even fail together, but in the end love prevails. No matter what life throws at you both, you'll be able to handle it because you're a team.”
Anica has one eyebrow raised.
“You’re not gay, are you?”
Mark bursts out laughing “No, why do you ask?”
“Because you seem to be in touch with your feelings, and are very knowledgeable, more than most guys I know. You also know how to dress, you smell good and in my experience when ever a guy is either too good to be true, they are either married, gay or hiding something.”
“I assure you, I am not married or gay, nor do I have anything to hide.”
“Then why aren’t you taken?”
“Are you always this forward?” Mark inquires.
“Only when I see something I like!”
“Oh, REALLY?” Mark crosses his arms together.
Just then the flight attendant comes by to check seatbelts.
“Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened securely.”
Mark nods to the attendant. “I look forward to hearing more about this over the next 18 hours”
Anica sits back in her chair and smiles confidently.
“We'll see.” Anica smirks playfully.
She reaches over and holds Mark’s hand again, their fingers interlacing naturally. The plane is now at the end of the runway and is cleared for take off. The pilot throttles the engines causing them to roar loudly as the plane accelerates down the runway, rapidly gaining speed. The G-force pushes them into their seats as Anica looks to her left, squeezing Mark's hand. He looks over at her and gives her a warm smile and a tighter squeeze.
Anica turns to her right and looks out the window, seeing lights blur from the buildings and cars being passed by at a high rate of speed. The plane shakes up and down for a few seconds as the plane pulls upwards, followed by a much quieter mechanical sound of the landing gear doors closing.
The plane is banking 45 degrees upwards into the night sky as things seem quieter now. Outside the window, grayish white clouds wisp by, blocking her view of the landscape below. Moisture streaks can be seen streaming from front to back as they climb higher and higher.
After about 10 minutes the plane levels out as the all clear *DING* can be heard. Moments later the attendants start to push their carts down the isle handing out drinks. The sound of soda cans tabs being popped open and the distinctive hissing can be heard from the front.
“You okay?” asks Mark.
“I think I'm going to be okay with you here next to me.” She smiles, squeezing his hand.
“I'm glad.”
During the long flight Anica and Mark open up to each other and talk about all kinds of things, sharing stories, likes and dislikes, getting to know each other better. Anica really likes Mark and is getting the impression that the feeling is mutual, which causes her to relax and enjoy her flight even more.
Through out the flight, Anica lifts the arm rest and snuggles close to him, resting her head on his shoulder for short naps or just to hear the rhythmic beat of his heart while he gently runs his fingers in her hair. They even share several gentle kisses.
'One can get used to this.' She thinks to herself, taking in a deep breath of contentment.
Anica never got around to reading her books, but it's with good reason. Here's this incredibly handsome, dare she say hot guy who is really nice, charming, and has a lot in common with her. Seventeen hours pass so quickly and now the plane is less than an hour away from landing. Part of her doesn't want it to end.
“Hard to believe it’s been 17 hours already,” Mark says.
“I know right... The time just flew by. No pun intended. Ha ha!”
Mark laughs.
“Ha Ha… You’re funny!”
Anica replies, “Looks aren’t everything.”