The Girl In Seat 53A

Why had I never taken time off from my job before? Because I was a workaholic. No, because I always thought I was needed too much. No, because my co workers would take over my job while I was gone. No, actually none of these were true because I was the boss. I owned my own company and was doing a pretty good job of increasing business each month to the point that I was now about to board a plane for a vacation/business trip to New Orleans to meet with an interested new investor that wanted to possibly merge our companies to become something even better and more advanced than what I was doing now. Taking my business to the next level my accountant had told me. I could be in the big leagues soon if I played my cards right she said.

So here I am pulling my new suitcase from Target, not my luggage for some hoity toity store because I was a small business owner and I did Target, not Neiman Marcus. Me and my pink Barbie suitcase I had so loving named Barbs,were heading to New Orleans to a meeting. I could not believe what a deal I had gotten on the Barbie markdown. I thought the movie had done better than that!

Boarding pass in one hand and the handle to Barbs in the other, we came face to face with the longest escalators I have ever encountered. This monstrosity had to be three story’s long and I wasn’t talking about the “once-upon-a-time” ones either. This thing went on for miles! We stepped on the first step and were whooshed off, ascending upwards at a speed that made my head so woozy that I found myself slumped over to the side of the traveling staircase of doom and poor Barb’s right wheel was grinding against the side, wearing away to a nub. My newest best girlfriend was now getting non-voluntary liposuction of one of her wheels and she did not look exactly please about it and I could only imagine what she would have been saying if she could!

As the escalator came to an end, Barbs and I stepped off and started to proceed to our gate. I looked down to see what the galumph, galumph, galumph, was and realized my new best friend, my Barbs, now limped as she rolled due to her wheel evisceration on the escalator. I felt sorry for her so I gently picked her up and carried her to the gate as if she were a small child tired of walking.

Now I knew, when I booked my flight that there could be some changes in the airlines and planes and ticket processes and such, but what I thought was going to be a middle of the plane seat, turned out to be the last seat on the plane…right next to the busiest area onboard of the illustrious puddle jumper of a plane, the restroom. I am not sure which was worse, the seats location or the lack of leg room as my knees rested firmly against the back of the seat before me. Plus the fact that the person in front of me kept flipping their hair over the back of the seat. And, I am not saying that the hair was not beautiful and wonderfully shaded, but when that person got up to visit the little room behind me! I was amazed that I was totally wrong about the gender of the person that was hidden under the tresses. It was a man! And one of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen outside of one of my romance novels!

I began to panic as he passed by me for several reasons. One was how did I look? Was I looking as frazzled as I thought? Was my makeup smeared from my journey to the gate? Oh my sweet baby Jesus, my hair was still piled up on top of my head like a squirrels nest! I quickly pulled the scrunchy from my hair and let it fall down as I shook it out as much as possible in my small area of a seat they lovingly call 53A. Second, Would I be able to hear him in the that little room directly behind me? I would die of embarrassment if I did. And lastly, why was my heart pounding like a school girl crushing on the quarterback at the senior prom?

I heard the lock being turned and I held my breath. With a smile on my lips, I looked up as he passed and turned to sit back in his seat in front of me. Our eyes met. He gave me a little smile as he said “your hair looks great down.” He then sat and off we flew through the sky.

After a short hour flight, we stood in a line to deplane. One hundred and seven people, he then I slowly stepped off the plane and headed to the luggage carousel. Should I speak to him? Should I make a joke? But it was when Barbs came around the carousel that I remembered my broken wheel and the walk of shame I would have to do if I brought more attention to myself. So, nothing was said as I reached over and pulled Barbs from the circle of luggage.

As I was walking through the terminal, Barbs doing her galumph, galumph, galumph, I kept my eyes lowered to the floor, trying not to think of the ordeal I had encountered on this day. This was my life. Always had been and always will be.

But what was that noise I heard behind me? It sounded like Barbs had met a friend. I heard the sound of a ca-lick, ca-lick, ca-lick and turned around to see Mr. Gorgeous from the seat in front of me pulling a piece of Transformer luggage and it, too, was having wheel issues. He looked at me and smiled the perfect smile and said “looks like Target must have been having a sale on luggage in your area as well! The escalator ate one of my wheels!”

We both started to laugh, and after a quick chat realized we were both headed for the same hotel so we shared a cab, Mr. Gorgeous, myself, Mr. Transformer and Barbs. Like four strangers that had washed up on a deserted island. How little did I know that we would all be great friends before this adventure was over!

For you see, the next day as I walked into my meeting with the new possible investor that my accountant had set me up with, there, sitting in that chair at the end of the conference room table was none other than Mr. Gorgeous himself! And now that a year has come and gone, I was once again boarding a plane, but this time I was holding the hand of my new husband as we headed off for our honeymoon/business trip to Las Vegas, where our new combined company was now being sought after by companies all over the world. Me, Mr. Gorgeous, Mr. Transformer, Barbs and a bunch of little luggage we loving call our Target Babies!

All because I was the girl in seat 53A!