by Greg Sandora
She said, “There’s a car waiting by the side of the plane whenever you’re ready.”
“Tina, it's unbelievable; I’ve never slept on a plane before, let alone through a landing. Bill and Tip aren’t the quietest two guys around.”
As I was shaking my head, not believing I slept through all the commotion, Tina pressed her remote. The bed started toward the upright position.
“I must have been exhausted!” I got up from the recliner with Tina saying, “Please follow me to your car. Do you mind terribly if I hitch a ride with you? If you do, it’s okay, I understand.”
“No, I’d love to have the company. Especially since the only people I know in Dubai decided to leave without waking me up!”
Tina said, “That was me, I didn’t want to wake you prematurely, I asked the others to please keep the plane quiet until you woke naturally. I figured as long as you were sleeping I should let you sleep.”
I remember thinking how considerate she was, “Lead the way Tina.”
She led me to the front of the plane, through the open door, down the steps to a black Hummer stretch.
“Wow, my girls would love this.”
Tina replied, “Ya think? How old are your girls?"
“Ten and Fifteen.”
“Oh, they must be beautiful.”
“They are,” I told her. Tina motioned okay to the driver who was standing about five feet from the rear door. A second man opened the door. Tina motioned, “Please,” for me to get in.
I said, “After you,” echoing her request. She carefully entered the car and took the seat facing rear. I entered and sat facing forward. She was beautiful; legs crossed, still wearing the medium blue flight attendants uniform from the night before, her hair pinned up.
I said, “It’s a good thing you took that seat, I can’t stand riding in a car facing backward.”
She laughed, “You’re kidding aren’t you?”
“What do ya mean?”
She replied, “Tim and Bill told me a little bit about you last night after you’d fallen asleep.”
She unpinned her hair, letting it fall, shaking her head slightly then combing through the loose curls with her fingers. “I hope you don’t mind, but I was curious about you.”
“No, I don’t mind.” I tried to be nonchalant, but curiosity piqued, I asked, “What else did they have to say?”
What I really wanted to ask was how many politicians had taken the same trip hat in hand. I wondered if she even had an inkling of why I was there. She must know or at least have an idea, I thought.
It could be the Saudis were being cautious, knowing we had an energy plan that could work. Maybe they contributed to other candidates, but wanted to size us up a little better on their home turf.
We had made a classic negotiating mistake, agreeing to come to their venue. No, I must be one of many who have taken this ride over the years. I remembered seeing pictures of past presidents holding hands with a Saudi Prince or the King and then explaining it away. All the while, accused of having selfish interests in Big Oil. I answered my own question.
None the wiser about the conversation I was having in my head, Tina continued, “Bill told me you’ve been friends for years and you were going to be president one day.”
“Your mouth to God’s ear,” looking directly into her eyes gently moving my glance to her forehead, then down and away, “I’m going to give it my best try.”
I continued looking away for a moment, waiting for her to speak, “Is everything alright?” She asked.
“Can I tell you something, Tina?” I reached over as I said it, “Please don’t take this the wrong way.”
I began removing her shoes, “It’s nothing, really. I just think you've been in those too long and I want you to relax.”
“Thanks, my feet are killing me.”
I stole a deep look into her luminous eyes, colored halfway between amber and chestnut. Watching them grow in size, until there was nothing but clear-white showing around flecks of caramel. Tina's perfect facade started to crack. She turned her enchanting eyes away for a moment.
To break the silence, I asked. “Did Lisa say anything to you last night?”
“She did, as a matter of fact.” Tina sat forward, pressing her knees together, and then leaned towards me, pausing, once again starring straight into my eyes.
Nodding approvingly, “All she mentioned was you had great ideas and you were really kind. Oh, and one more thing, she hoped you’d change this world...” Tina added, musing, "I would like...”
I finished her sentence, “Me to change the world?”
“No, Jack. I would like for us to be friends.” I closed my eyes and relaxed my head back for the rest of the 15-minute ride to the hotel. “I’d like that Tina, being friends with you would be nice.”
When we arrived, I opened my eyes to Tina putting her shoes back on. She said, “It will just be a moment; we have to go through a security check point. We’ll enter through a private entrance on the side of the building. When we get inside there's a dedicated elevator. It will take you directly to the Penthouse on the top floor. Please walk ahead of me, Jack. They’d be very offended if you followed me in.”
Knowing what she meant. I said instead, “You have pretty feet.”
“Thanks,” she replied as we moved toward the open door. Tina waited for me to get out of the car and then we walked side by side to the private lobby. Just before we entered, she dropped back and bowed her head.
I was stunned by the extravagance. The enormous lobby was walled in white marble with golden veins running through it in all directions. The floor was made up of shiny white and gold-checkered tiles, each one about three feet across. They appeared much smaller compared to the scale of the entry, grand at about five thousand square feet.
Four giant crystal chandeliers, spaced evenly throughout the room, hung fifty feet above matching silk sculptured oriental rugs. Sitting areas were set at various spots around the room, each with tan kid glove leather chairs and matching footrests. Tina motioned to a man seated behind an ornate white stone desk. She walked just behind me toward the elevator, leading from behind. A neat trick I thought to myself as she swiped a card by the side of the elevator, where the call button would normally be, and the door opened immediately.
An attendant standing inside said in a very high-pitched voice, “Welcome!”
Tina took a last look into my eyes, “This is as far as I can go, Jack. See you on the trip back, okay?” The attendant whisked me up to the top; it was the speediest elevator I’d ever ridden. The door opened in the middle of a very large space which turned out to be the entire top floor. The view was incredible, 360 degrees of glass in every direction. He explained in a thick, rhythmic accent that trailed off at the end of his sentences, “Nobody can see you because this is the tallest building in Dubai. If it were available to the public, it would be considered a 7 star hotel.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
On the ride back to the United States, Tina told me about her life, all while sitting on the arm of my chair. She’d been through a nasty divorce and was recruited into her present employment while working a flight with United Airlines. She took the job because she needed the money to support her four-year old daughter, Hannah.
I told her people like the familiar and usually it takes three times for a person to feel comfortable enough to let her guard down, but that some people never do. On the first meeting it’s best not to try too hard. Better to make casual acquaintance and exchange basic information.
I finished, “By the third meeting, if you go about it right, people will tell you their life story.”
“How do you know this stuff, Jack?”
I said, “Everyone wears a mask to the world; people are not what they appear at face value. Women like you are rare... I don’t want to pass on this opportunity just because I might never see you again.”
I told her a story about the time Kathy and I drove to New York to see the Lion Kin
g. “It was summertime; we were visiting Maine. Kathy thought it would be fun to see it on Broadway, but when we got there, it was completely sold out.
“Believe it or not, we started out at the half price ticket place. You’ve seen the one in the middle of Times Square. I actually thought we might get lucky, but when we got close, I read, Show sold out! No Lion King.”
Tina nodded quickly, as if she couldn’t wait to hear the rest.
“I told Kathy, no problem, we’ll just walk down to the theatre and buy tickets. The guy working the counter said there was nothing available, but if we wait at Will Call, we might be able to get tickets last-minute. Some people don't show up to claim the seats held for them. He told us we should keep our place in line, because it was first come first served. After counting twelve people, I asked, “Are all these people here for the same thing?”
He said buoyantly, “Yes.”
I wondered if he thought we had a good chance to see the show. He answered, “This lobby fills up near show time but you’re here early enough. Usually fifteen or twenty people get the tickets released just before curtain.”
Tina seemed interested, “Kathy and I briefly talked it over, deciding to claim a place in line and wait it out. We were happy to take the chance to see the hottest show in town. The fact the tickets were nearly unavailable made it all the better.”
“Did you end up getting in, Jack?” Tina asked.
“Yeah, but we waited nearly six hours before we finally got the word. We had just enough time to run back to the hotel and change clothes before heading back. We were staying at the Omni just around the corner. Our car was parked, by way of a lift, literally on top of another car, so don’t think we had a ride. The point of the story is - the lobby became our home and the people in line became, hour by hour, more like friends. Everyone started out very dignified and sophisticated, as you’d expect at the theater.
Except for one couple we were all standing for the first hour, but by the third hour, we were sitting on the floor. The outside lobby had a high roof with rows of brightly lit, bare bulbs, open air to the street. Some of the people even started lying down. We were joking around and taking turns making food runs. After a while, we said right out loud, we really like these people. That’s when I got the idea I’m telling you about. If you spend enough time in close proximity to another person, it can speed up the three-time rule. That’s how this trip has been for you and me.”
Tina asked, “You mentioned the one couple, what was different about them?”
“Well, it was funny. They were older, and just ahead of us in line. They never sat down the whole six hours and didn’t say much. We felt bad; the poor lady had heels on. Standing for hours, we thought her feet must have been aching. The couple was cute and small of stature; the gentleman wore a hat and jacket. The woman had white hair, neat with a multi-colored kerchief over it, and a matching scarf draped around her neck.
“Starting about two hours before show time, every fifteen minutes or so, the ticket-guy would come bouncing out into the lobby, announcing he had two more tickets for the next couple in line. It was getting close to show time and I asked him again if we’d be getting in.
“He answered, almost singing it as he turned away, ‘You probably will, but I’m making no promises.’
“Forty-five minutes before the show, the older couple started to leave the line. I thought—good, that’s two less in line. The old man looked disgusted, and said in broken English, ‘That’s enough for us, we see you all later.’ With that they walked out onto the busy sidewalk, turning right, towards Times Square. Thirty seconds later the ticket-guy comes bouncing out of the door, announcing in a tone I can only describe as overly theatric, ‘I have two more tickets!’
“That’s when Kathy said, ‘Oh my God, that poor older couple had been waiting all day and they just left.’
“She pleaded their case quickly, ‘Let me go get them.’
“Without waiting, she ran off in their direction, down the busy sidewalk, disappearing into the crowd. Three minutes later, she comes back with them. The excited older couple walked briskly up to the window to purchase their tickets.
“The crowd, now fifty people behind us, latecomers unaware they had only a slim chance to get in, erupted in applause, cheering the couple. Kathy was a hero. A rare breed, she didn’t care, because of her altruism, she may miss the show.”
“Jack, did you finally see the Lion King after all that?”
“Yeah, we ended up getting tickets about a half hour before show time. We had a blast eating pizza and scones our new friends brought to us as we lay on the floor. Everybody was laughing, getting punchier the longer the wait dragged on. Later that night, we saw our new friends from the lobby, greeting each other like we’d been friends for years.
“Tina, people respond to the familiar. I took the chance with you. I figured those heels must be killing you after being in them all night.”
“They were,” she said. Adjusting her legs to a crossed over position.
“Hey, Jack, a little birdie told me you were a fighter pilot.”
I looked over at Bill, who’d been listening to every word. “Speaking of little birdies, did have you ever heard the story of Eternity, Time, and Now?”
“No, I haven’t.” Tina said, rubbing my arm, “Tell me, please.”
“Well, a man goes to heaven, and says to God, ‘I have so many questions.’”
God says, “Ask the first.”
“What is eternity?”
God answers, “Your mind couldn’t comprehend it.”
“God, please …is there anyway you could help me to understand?”
God starts, “Imagine a hummingbird, the smallest you’ve ever seen, weighing less than half an ounce.” The man is now wide-eyed.
“Once every ten thousand years it arrives, hovers over the largest body of water on earth, and after looking around, drinks one tiny sip, then flies away. When every drop of water on earth is dry, one second in heaven will have passed. That my son is eternity.”
“Then what is time?” asks the man. God answers, “There is no time. You dreamed you left me, so I gently awakened you. So you wouldn’t be startled, I stirred you, gently, in the tiny slices you remember as time.”
The man can’t believe his ears, “Where are the others?” he asks. God says to him, “You are all one. Everything you dreamed was your own creation.”
“Then, what is now?” the man asks. God answers, “Be patient my son, you have eternity to find out.”
Tina laid her head down on my chest and pressed the button. We reclined about three-quarters of the way; she lifted her feet onto the chair and pressed them next to mine. After a few moments, she closed her eyes.
“Jack, I’m going to love being your friend.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
When I arrived home late Thanksgiving Eve, Kathy had already gone to bed. I went into the bedroom to let her know I was home. I walked over and kissed her hair, “You coming to bed,” she asked.
“I’m going to take a quick shower and then hit the sack.” Finishing my shower, I joined her in our king sized bed.
“I’m glad to be home, Honey… that’s an exhausting trip. I love you so much.” I told her, “My heart tingles when I’m near you. I can’t explain how it feels, but it’s like my whole body goes weak. Does that make any sense?”
Kathy said, “Love you - I’m so glad you’re home." The room was dark, with only the light from the moon gently illuminating the curtains as they wisped from a barely open window. We liked sleeping in the fresh air, especially this time of year.
“I’ve got so much to tell you about our trip to New Hampshire,” Kathy said.
I crawled into bed next to her and spooned, fitting my whole body along her curve.
“How was your trip to Dubai?” She asked.
“There is so much to tell, I’d better save it for another time. We got the money.”
“Oh Jack, that’s wonderful.”
“I’ll tell you all about it in the morning, but I want you to tell me about New Hampshire. Did you and the girls have fun?”
Kathy started, “After we opened the house, we spent most of our time in North Conway, Christmas shopping. I found an old 50’s style television and cabinet you’re going to love.”
Kathy knew I loved old televisions. She once snapped a picture of me sitting on the floor, in the middle of a mock 50’s living room at Mama’s Kitchen in Disney, watching an old TV set. It reminded me of my dad and how I used to be his remote control. Kathy’s heard my joke many times, “When I was a kid, we had just three channels. The problem, there was always something great on each one.” I finished, “There were no DVR’s; if you were watching one channel, you had to miss the other two shows. We had to wait till summer for the repeats.”
Kathy was nice and giggled. I finished with, “Now there are 400 channels and nothing on.”
“Why do you love to tell that so much, Jack?”
“Because on Sunday night, you had the choice of ‘Ed Sullivan’, ‘Lassie’, or ‘Gunsmoke’. You try to choose.”
Kathy changed the subject, “Jack, I bought an antique desk for the house in Maine I think you’ll like.”
I love vintage items. Kathy and I know the New Hampshire area well and take the girls there in summer. Sebago, Maine sits just 35 miles from North Conway, New Hampshire - a picturesque little hamlet near the White Mountains and Presidential Range.
I said, “Kathy remember when the girls were little we visited Story Land and Santa’s Village in Jackson, New Hampshire?”
Kathy said, “Yes, and Bethany climbed on a reindeer. Remember, I was trying to get a picture. She grabbed hold and ended up on top of the poor thing, trying to ride it.”
We took the girls biking at the foot of Mt Washington, and to the polar caves where we crawled through small openings in giant natural rock formations. I thought God must have had a hand in placing those boulders. We drove the full length of the Kangamangus Highway, a long winding road through the beautiful unspoiled National Park Land. I couldn’t wait to get back up there to start campaigning. Our family had traveled all over New Hampshire and we knew the place. It was practically our backyard, considering it our summer home.