by Claire Adams
My little apartment actually looked big when it was emptied of all my belongings. I grabbed my suitcase and looked back one last time when I closed the door. I said a little prayer that I would never have to live like that again. Not that I didn’t appreciate our apartment, because I did. We had heat in the winter and that was more than many other people had. It was a safe building, and my mother and I had been comfortable there together.
But it was time for me to move on. I had always wanted to see the United States, and it was actually happening. I was done with the old, disgusting world of my past and on my way to a brighter future.
The dirty walls and horrible brown water was all in my past. I was on my way to America and would live there for as long as I could. It was the land of the free and I wanted it. I wanted all of America. I needed to live in the land of opportunity.
It was weird to have a purse full of money as I got into a taxi heading toward the airport. My entire life I had not seen as much money as I had in my purse that the time. It was at least $500 U.S. dollars, and I knew it would be enough to get me by if I got to America and couldn’t stay with Chase, or if he turned out to be someone I didn’t want to stay with.
The airport felt oddly familiar, as I waited in the same line as I did with Ana only a few days before. The check-in clerk was the same one as Ana had used, and I felt like she knew exactly why all of us young women were going to America. But she didn’t judge. Instead, her eyes were filled with understanding and compassion for our journeys. She had the same bright smile on her face as she had when I was there with Ana.
“Good morning,” she said. “Can I have your identification? Is that the name your registration is under?”
“Morning. Yes, my ticket is under Jordan Miller.”
The woman typed my name into the computer and compared what she saw with the confirmation number I had written down.
Chase had had his assistant book the flight for me and I had written down every word from her email. I didn’t have a printer, so I wanted to make sure I had everything exactly right for when I got to the airport. I checked and rechecked everything I wrote down several times to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
It seemed to be taking the check-in girl much longer than usual to get my ticket. I started to get nervous. I knew I had written everything down correctly.
She kept checking my confirmation number and my identification. Her face seemed so serious that I had to assume something was wrong. I started to panic and wanted to just leave and go back to my empty apartment.
“Okay, I have exciting news,” the woman finally said with a huge smile.
Her grin instantly put me at ease.
“What is it?”
“Your reservation is for first class.”
“What?” I said loudly, unable to hide my excitement.
Everyone around me turned to look at me, as I had yelled so loudly that they wanted to see what the commotion was all about.
“Yep, I checked it several times. You will be riding in the first class cabin for your trip to Atlanta, Georgia.”
I stood there stunned, as I stared at the woman. She seemed very understanding of the situation and why I was so shocked. I suspected she had seen hundreds of women fly to America from our little airport, which was on the border in St. Gallen, Switzerland. I couldn’t help but wonder how many of them had received a first class ticket for their flight.
“This is good. This means he’s really who he says,” I said under my breath.
The front desk clerk smiled and nodded. Her eyes told me she knew exactly what I was saying. It certainly did put Chase in a new light for me. Not because he had spent so much money, but because it added a legitimacy to his story of who he was.
“Yes, this seems like a pretty good guy. Good luck to you.”
She handed me my ticket and pointed me toward the gate. I had a bit of a bounce in my step as I made my way through the line and walked toward my gate. I stopped at a coffee shop and bought myself the most expensive drink they had. My heart soared with excitement as I sat down in front of my gate. Life definitely seemed to be looking up for me.
I bet he hadn’t even known it was a first class ticket; his assistant probably just purchased it for him, I thought. It was hard to imagine anyone being willing to spend that much extra money on me. But still, his assistant or him, whoever had purchased the ticket and said I could go first class, I was going to give them a great big hug when I got to Atlanta.
Tears started down my cheeks as I felt overwhelmed by the situation. No one had ever spent so much money on me. I know my mother would have gladly spent money on me if she had it, but we never did. To get to fly first class was a dream I didn’t even know I had had.
To know that Chase had spent so much money for my airplane ticket was insane for me to think about. It was crazy and awesome, and I couldn’t wait to give him a hug. I didn’t even care if he had decided on the first class ticket or if it was his assistant. I wanted to hug him and tell him thank you.
“Now boarding first class,” I heard over the announcement speaker.
I stood up and made my way to the line of only a few people. I suspected that first class wasn’t very big on the flights out of Liechtenstein. Most people flying to and from our country were not very wealthy, especially flying out of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It was just a country airport on the boarder of Liechtenstein and Switzerland. A few business people probably could afford first class or their companies paid for it. But otherwise, I didn’t think many other people would pay the extra money just for a bigger seat.
I handed the woman my ticket when I got to the front of the line, and she raised her eyebrow a little as she looked at me. It was a look of admiration, and I loved it. Suddenly, I walked taller as I made my way down the walkway to the plane. The look of admiration was not something I was used to getting from other women. Typically, I only got looks of pity or sometimes jealousy, but never admiration.
When I found my seat, I couldn’t help but be excited. It was huge, big enough for two people. Since there was no one next to me yet, I took the time to play around with my seat and look through all the gadgets and functions that were around me. I felt like a kid in a candy store.
One of the buttons seemed to recline the seat and I pushed it until my seat was totally lying flat. Of course, I was practically in the lap of the man behind me and I lay there and looked up at him.
He seemed amused by my enthusiasm. The man was older, maybe in his mid-fifties, and he had on a suit. He definitely looked like a businessman.
“You better put it up before the stewardess yells at you. They’ll tell us when we can go to sleep,” he said kindly.
The chair was on its way back up when an older businesswoman sat down beside me. She also seemed to enjoy my enthusiasm over my reclining seat and smiled at me as I finished getting it back into the upright position.
“Your fist time on a plane?” the woman asked kindly.
“No, but first time in first class. This is amazing.”
“Yes, it will be very difficult for you to ever go back to coach.”
“Hi, I’m Jordan,” I blurted out as I thrust my hand toward the woman.
She obliged me and shook my hand back.
“I’m Bonnie,” she said.
“Hi, Bonnie. Do you travel to Liechtenstein often?”
It was obvious to me that she wasn’t from there. Her stylish clothes said she was either from London or the United States. My bet was the U.S., because she didn’t have a London accent and she was so nice to me. Most of the women I had met from England were snotty, and sometimes downright rude.
“Yes, my company is building a manufacturing plant out here,” she said as she got herself situated in her seat.
“Oh, the man I’m going to visit is in the manufacturing business,” I said confidently.
Bonnie just nodded toward me and then turned to a book she had opened. It was my sign to leave her alone for the rest of the flig
ht. I would try, but she seemed like such a fascinating woman. Hopefully, I would get a chance to talk with her at some point, but I wasn’t going to push it. I hated when people wanted to talk to me when I wasn’t in the mood to talk.
The weird thing was I actually didn’t like talking to people all that much. Most of the time, I enjoyed my quiet time. But since my mother and Ana had left, I found myself searching out people I could talk to. It was as if I constantly needed to fill the void that was there with them gone.
Before I left my apartment building, I had stopped and talked to no less than three of my fellow apartment dwellers. Never had I spoken to them since I had lived there, but suddenly, I found myself drawn to talk to them and get to know them a little. Socialization was one of those things that we all took for granted until we had no one around us to socialize with. Then, we suddenly missed it terribly.
The flight was so much fun that I hardly sleep at all. The stewardess kept bringing me cocktails and any food that I wanted. She showed me how to turn the personal television on and how to watch any movie I wanted.
I spent most of the flight flipping through movies and American television shows. Only as the alcohol started to set in did I finally close my eyes and get some sleep. The reclining seats made into a totally flat bed, and I slept better than I could ever imagine sleeping.
My heart was so excited to meet Chase. It was a feeling I had never had before. Excitement mixed with trepidation, surely a fun mix for any young woman to have. When the cabin lights came on and I looked out my window, I could only see the ocean for a long time. But as we got closer and closer to America, I finally could see the city in the distance.
The excitement continued to grow as we got closer and closer to landing. My heart raced and I made an effort to try and calm myself down. Slowly, I breathed in and then let the breath out. I repeated this several times in an effort to relax. Luckily, the multiple cocktails I had been served worked to help calm my nerves a little. I couldn’t imagine how nervous I would have been without the alcohol on board.
“I’m so excited,” I said out loud, although I didn’t really mean to.
“Why, dear?” Bonnie asked me.
“I’m meeting a boy at the airport. His name is Chase Foster. We met online, and he’s so cute and funny and nice,” I said as I tried to stop myself from talking, but just couldn’t.
“Oh, is that one of Reynold Foster’s boys?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He said his father was in manufacturing.”
“Yes, I bet that is. Reynold has some pretty wild young men. But, they are all very handsome, if I remember right.”
“Yes, Chase is very handsome. We talked on Skype, and I couldn’t believe he wasn’t a movie star.”
“Well, I hope things work out for the two of you.”
“Me, too,” I said eagerly.
***
I don’t think I had ever been as nervous as I was when I started to walk off the plane toward the airport. I didn’t know what to expect. The uncertainty was more than I could handle, and I walked slower to let some of my fellow passengers go ahead of me.
What if he didn’t like me? What if I wasn’t who he thought I was? Maybe I would be too tall or not tall enough. Maybe I wouldn’t be pretty enough. So many thoughts flooded my head that I found it hard to move.
One by one, I let the other passengers go ahead of me as I tried to get the courage up to walk into the airport. I walked slowly up the gate exit and moved deliberately by putting one foot in front of the other. I tried to look through the windows to see if I saw Chase, but there were just too many people out there.
It was my first time in America, and I just wasn’t prepared to see Chase. I was so scared.
When I finally got the nerve to walk into the airport, I wasn’t greeted with Chase as I had hoped I would be. Instead, we had been guided right into the immigration area of security. Everyone needed to show their passports and go through a line where the security officers asked you questions.
It was much tougher security than I had ever been through. But, I supposed more people tried to get into America than Liechtenstein. The immigration stops while in Europe were extremely fast if you were from there; I really had never seen an immigration department as big as the one I arrived at in Atlanta.
“State your name,” the man in uniform asked me.
“Jordan Miller.”
“What is the nature of your business in Atlanta?”
I stood there and looked at him briefly as I tried to figure out the best way to explain why I was in Atlanta. I wasn’t really on vacation or a business trip. I was there to see Chase and hopefully go on a few dates.
“Ma’am, do you speak English?” he said kindly.
“Um, yes. I’m just visiting a friend. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, thank you. How long do you expect to be in the country?”
Again, I went blank. I didn’t have a specific length of time in mind. I hoped that I would even be able to stay, but I doubt that would make a security officer very happy if I said that.
“Just a couple of weeks,” I replied.
He stamped my passport and handed it back to me.
“You can pick your bag up over there,” he said as he pointed to a huge line of people.
There were many more people than just the ones on my flight. We all stood around and waited for the baggage to come down the conveyer belt and then scrambled like children to get to our bags first.
When I finally saw my bag, there was no way I could get through the crowd of people to it, so I just followed it around the conveyor belt until it got to an area where there were not as many people. I was very happy I had brought a bag with wheels on it, and I rolled it behind me out the security gate, toward the exit.
“Jordan!” I heard a man’s voice call out.
I had been so caught up in the stress of getting through security that I had forgotten to look for Chase when I got out of the doors. It was likely the several cocktails I had on the plane played a bit of a roll in my forgetfulness, as well.
“Jordan, over here,” I heard his voice say again.
When I turned around, I saw him. He stood a little over six feet tall and had on a suit that looked like it had been custom tailored to fit him. His dark brown hair was styled perfectly, and I could see his brilliant blue eyes.
Behind Chase, there was an even taller man with black sunglasses. I had no idea who he was. He looked intimidating, though, and I wondered if he was some sort of security officer or something.
“Chase!” I said as I wrapped my arms around him and squished the flowers he had in his hand.
He handed the flowers off to the tall guy in sunglasses and then picked me up and squeezed me tight. His arms around me felt like home. My body relaxed instantly as I felt his warm breath on my neck just before he kissed it. The touch of his hands on me were warm and welcoming, I couldn’t wait to feel his hands on other parts of my body.
“You’re real,” he said with a little chuckle.
“So are you.”
I held onto him and tucked my head into his neck. He smelled insanely delicious and before I knew what I was doing, I had kissed his neck. Then, up higher on his neck, and then, he turned, and he kissed me right on the lips.
My lips exploded with excitement at the touch of him, and I felt my body get excited all the way down to my toes. There was no way I could have planned it and no way could I have prepared myself for the level of energy his lips gave to me. But it was perfect. Everything was perfect.
Our lips gently touched in small little kisses as Chase finally set me back down on the ground and we separated.
“Your eye,” I said as I pulled away and noticed he had a bruise around his eye.
It was weird that I hadn’t noticed it before, but I had been too distracted by his brilliant blue eyes. I had also been distracted by his soft lips pressed against mine. He didn’t look like the type of guy who got into a lot of fights; I cou
ldn’t imagine how on earth he had gotten a black eye.
“Oh, don’t worry. Nothing too serious.”
“It’s good to meet you,” I said with the permanent grin that was now on my face.
“You too.”
Chase grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door as the tall guy in sunglasses grabbed my bag. I still wasn’t exactly sure if the tall guy was a security guard or what. But Chase trusted him, so I let him take my bag.
“Who’s that?” I asked looking suspiciously at the guy.
“He’s my driver today. I have business meetings to get to later. My company insisted he come with me so I showed up back at work later.”
“Oh,” I said as I looked back at the man again.
His size looked menacing, but I supposed he was probably just a regular guy doing his work. He did kind of look like he was right out of one of those American television shows I watched.
“I’m going to bring you back to my house so you can settle in, Then, I have to head back to work. I’m very sorry, but I hope you’ll understand.”
“Yes, I’m tired. I hardly slept at all on the flight. I’ll be perfectly fine,” I said and squeezed his hand.
There was a connection between the two of us that I had hoped for so badly when I got on the plane in Liechtenstein. I didn’t feel any awkwardness at all, which was crazy for me. Even guys that I had been out on several dates with, I tended to feel weird around when I was with them.
Chase and I had a better connection than I could have hoped for. As I held his hand, I didn’t want to pull away. I wanted to stay there holding it forever and ever. My heart skipped a beat when we got to the car and he opened the door for me and let me get in first.
He was like Prince Charming, the idealized man I had dreamed about, but he was right there in front of me and totally real. I really wished I could have had Ana around to show her. She would have been so excited for me.