Marie’s makeup was perfect. Somehow that gave her strength. She was on the last leg of her trip and back to work. The visit with Melanie at the resort had been a disaster. She had cried from Guam to Honolulu. The lady next to her had handed her tissues the whole way there – no questions asked.
In addition, a 24 hour layover in San Francisco had almost also been a disaster. Marie had made plans to meet an old friend of hers from dance school, but when she got to the airport, no one was there to greet her. A call to his apartment revealed he had taken a gig with a touring modern dance company and was not in town.
“I’m sorry to do this to you”, she said to his roommate, “but is there any way I can stay with you for the night?”
“Sure”, he said. Then (like an Angel sent from heaven) he proceeded to be the perfect host. He made her a fresh bed, cooked her dinner, and then listened to the whole sordid tale of her break-up with Melanie. When she had arrived in Guam (where Melanie was working as a yoga instructor), Marie confessed to him, Melanie had proceeded to inform her that they would need to pretend to be just friends while she was staying with her. Then to add insult to injury Melanie had introduced her to her boyfriend. “It was the most humiliating and lonely moment of my life”, Marie confided.
“I know it’s a work night, but is there any way you would agree to go out dancing with me? I desperately need a night out.”
“I was actually going out,” replied Ryan. “There is a flamenco competition my friend is in tonight.”
The night out with Ryan in San Francisco to watch flamenco had been just what the doctor ordered she thought as she sat in JFK getting ready for her flight. Marie put on her uniform and applied her makeup putting Guam behind her. She was in the middle of the world with access to everywhere, she comforted herself. She was a flight attendant.
7SeasonsAgo 