Journal of A Single Gal In Q8 - Episode Twelve

From last episode..

"He reached for his drink as his big arm nonchalantly brushed on her left breast. She could feel herself freeze then quickly pushed herself further back into her seat. Great! This was going to be a long and extremely uncomfortable flight, she thought in dismay."

Luckily she'd chosen the aisle seat. She always preferred it for many reasons, one of which was easy access to the toilet and the other was so she could get up and not get stuck. She decided to roam around the plane and see if there were any free seats and there they were three empty seats she could sleep on. She grabbed the static blanket, put the tiny pillow on the first seat, curled herself like a ball and slowly began to doze off.

Her neck was killing her when she finally woke up from the desperate plea of her bladder. She looked at the time and realized that there were just a few hours left when they would be landing in London. Just in time to watch an inflight movie, she thought to herself after returning from the toilet.

She knew that she shouldn't watch anything romantic but hard as she tried, the most one that attracted her was an Indian movie that she hadn't seen. Though some of her friends made fun of her love of Indian movies, her nearest and dearest always appreciated them and shared her love of it. The passion, the music, the wisdom and the subliminal messages left her and her friends arguing for hours and she loved every moment of it.

When she'd finally settled in her chair with the crummy earplugs, she completely lost herself in the movie. She hadn't realized how involved she was in the movie until she was interrupted by the stewardess "Are you ok?" asked the stewardess. She took her headphones off and nodded. "Are you afraid of flying?" she asked worriedly. Giggling, she realized that the stewardess thought she was afraid of flying because she'd been crying! "I'm sorry, I really am fine. It's just the movie. I'm really fine," she answered feeling quite embarrassed.

When the stewardess left, she berated herself for having depressed herself by watching the movie. She should've known better. She was heading for London and with the wrong attitude, London could be a very lonely place.

"Please fasten your seatbelt" announced the stewardess. As she did so, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She mentally prepared herself for the smell of London. It always took her back to her younger days when her parents would leave her and her sisters there at summer school. She had both a love and hate relationship towards London but all in all she always found herself going back to it.

She decided to be the last one to leave the plane to avoid seeing the President again. He gave her the creeps and she just didn't feel like dealing with him again. When she finally stepped out on solid ground, she began the long walk towards passport control. The chill of London ran down her spine and the smell of smog made her smile. God, I love London, she told herself.

The Headquarters of her Company was on the outskirts of London and luckily she was provided with a beautiful apartment right on the river Thames. As she stood outside her balcony, the cold wind hitting her face, she could hear the music coming from the tourist boats sailing by. She giggled when she heard the song being played, "Ah, Freak Out!" How typical of a tourist boat to have oldies blasting away, next she'd be hearing Abba, she told herself. Crossing her arms as though to hug herself, she wished she had someone to share her thoughts with. She was beginning to talk to herself and she wondered if that was healthy!

She checked her email and began replying to each one of them and was touched by the email she received from her so called new beau. Was he? She wondered. His email was short and sweet in which he'd asked for her mailing address and she forwarded it to him.

When a handwritten letter had arrived by post a week later, she was so excited to find a tape of Arabic music that he'd made for her. "This is a sure way to gain browny points with me" she said out loud as she began to read his letter. She couldn't remember the last time she'd read a handwritten letter in Arabic that also had a few verses of poetry. He was definitely romantic and she appreciated it. Listening to the songs, made her miss home and him and she began to feel nostalgic.

When a month had gone by and she had slowly gotten into the routine of things, she couldn't help but feel sad and alone. She'd grab her breakfast in the morning, rush to the station to catch the tube, watch the strange people on the tube, reach the office and finally attend her training classes with hardly anyone speaking to her.

The worse part was watching couples kissing on the tube or at the park close by her apartment or in the movie theatre when she would sit alone and watch with envy as they whispered sweet nothings to each other. She always wished that she could go up to them and tell them to stop and have mercy on a lonely girl. It just wasn't fair and she didn't need the heartache. She knew she should be making the best of this experience but she was beginning to feel home sick and she still had a long way to go.

As she stared outside the window of the training center watching the rain, she wished she'd remembered to take her umbrella. She hated umbrellas. She loved wearing hats but sadly, she'd forgotten that too. When it was time to leave the office, she decided to stand by the entrance of the building until the rain subsided. Knowing London, it would be hard to predict, she thought to herself. It was a long walk to the train station and she knew she'd get soaked.

She took her first step out of the building and noticed a man standing with his back towards the entrance carrying an umbrella. She wondered if he'd mind sharing his umbrella. Just then, he slowly turned towards her and she noticed he was carrying a bouquet of flowers. As she looked up, she realized that it was HIM!

Without thinking, she found herself running towards him and jumping on top of him, nearly knocking him over. That moment in time, years later, when asked what was her most romantic moment in her life, she would remember that scene often wondering if it was a dream or if it was real.

"Where would you like to go?" he whispered in her ear as she hugged him tightly, afraid he'd disappear.

To be continued...