So Long, Paris!

Airports at six A.M. are vastly different than they are two hours later. It's not as bright,
and the only people you see are employees and a small handful of early arrivals. All you hear is the echo of the floor
buffer down the terminal, and the rythmic thumping of the escalator running.
                   This wide open space gives your brain room to stretch out and turn it's wheels. Unless
you brought something to occupy yourself then your mind will turn inward on itself in this distractionless
environment. It's unfortunate that I was unaware of this fact when I agreed to play taxi driver to Karen.

                   Ah, Karen. That name is still slightly hard to say. Karen was my neighbor all my life.
I used to play with her younger brother Teddy, who was two years younger than I. I wouldn't say that he
and I were friends really, I rarely ever invited him over to my house or had much to do with him most of the time.
I did stay at his house an awful lot though, the main motive being that I got to see Karen. She was four years older
than me, and a complete goddess. You have no idea what I put up with just to get those passing glances of her-
Teddy was a real pain in the ass.

                   It was actually Teddy's fault that I never had enough courage to tell her how I felt about
her before she left for college. He had the habit of saying really embarassing things at just the right moment- or
just the wrong moment depending on how you look at it. All the times he announced how rank my gas was or how
gnarley the booger hanging out my nose looked paled in comparison to what he did the last time I had seen his sister.
                   Exams had ended and there were only a couple days of school left. Once summer was over
Karen was going to get on a plane to start school in Paris, and I didn't know if I was ever going to see her again.
I had to tell her that I loved her. She had to finally see me. She had to realize what it was that she could have with me.
Then we'd have the whole summer together, and maybe she'd decide to stay.
                   I put on my best button up shirt and some nice jeans that were a little to big for me. I thought
they made me look older and more sophisticated. Like the kind of guy who was worth giving up Paris for. I wet
my hair and gelled it down, and even dabbed on some cologne. I attacked my mother's immaculate bed of daffodils-
Karen's favorite- and headed for her house. Their mother barely batted an eyelash when I asked for Karen instead of
Ted. I now know that the reason was because I wasn't as good at hiding my infatuation as I had thought.

                   I found her in the backyard next to the pool with her feet dangling over the side, nose stuck in a
book. I cleared my throat but she didn't hear me, so I started to make my way towards her. Everything seemed to
move in slow motion- the walk from the porch to the end of the pool stretched out to twenty miles long. My hands
started to feel cold and wet, and I could barely breathe. The sounds of the surrounding world were drowned out
by the sound of my pulse beating in my ears. The butterflies in my stomach made my legs feel like jelly as they
grew more violent. The distance between us was a long dark tunnel- and at the end was this glowing, flaxen goddess.
I was so intent on my mission that I never saw it coming.
                   I got within three feet of her when she finally looked up to see me standing there with a shaking
boquet of daffodils. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to declare my undying love for her. Just then there
was a voice yelling directly at the back of my head.
         "Yeah right Jonas! You don't have enough balls to keep her satisfied! Here! I'll prove it!"

                   Before I could even react to Ted's presence, he had the hips of my jeans clentched in his
hands and forced them to my ankles. By this point I was pretty sure that the gods hated me, and they weren't finished.
It was laundry day, and the only underwear I had left were boxer shorts with tired elastic in the waistband. So
naturally the underwear went down with the pants, leaving my fourteen-year-old bits and pieces painfully exposed
and right in Karen's face.
                   In my haste to cover myself up I fell into the pool with my pants still below my knees. The
embarassment burned so hard that although I was under water I couldn't suppress a sob that sucked water directly
into my lungs. Realizing the prospect of drowing I panicked and struggled with my pants even harder, no longer
caring if they went up or down so long as I could get to the surface for air. The water logged pants were heavy
and completely wrapped around my feet. I was going to die ashamed and virtually naked.
                   Just then somebody grasped my around my chest and dragged me up and out of the pool.
Their mother had seen the whole thing out the kitchen window and had run out to save me when I didn't resurface.
Teddy and his buddies were still rollicking on the ground, laughing at me as I threw up pool water until my body
ached in ways I never though possible.
                   I didn't leave my bedroom all summer.

                   Six years have gone by since that day, but the memory burns as brightly now as it did the
day it happend. I never spoke to Ted again. In fact, the only time he and I encountered each other after that was in
high school a couple years later when I stopped a bunch of older guys from beating him into a pulp. Oddly enough
I developed a strange relationship with their mother. She never spoke of what happened that day, never even alluded
to it. But her gaze became more motherly towards me, protective in a way. And although I never brought it up either,
I often did little things for her without her asking as a way of thanking her for saving my life. But as used to doing
tasks and errands for her as I was, it was still a shock when she asked if I could pick Karen up from the airport.
She knew what she was asking, I saw the slight glimmer in her eyes as she broached the subject. A part of me wanted
to run away and move to another state. The other part of me was secretly excited and starting counting down the days.

                   The sound of voices swelled as even more employees showed up, and more lights flickered
on. Announcements started to blare from the loudspeaker, and passengers started arriving in throngs from every outer
door. It took ten mintues for the place to go from a desolate mind trap to the typical buslting airport.
                   Karens flight was due to come in in 20 minutes time, and the TV screens showing arrivals and
departures claimed the flight from Paris was right on schedule. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I'd be. In fact
the calm I felt was more unnerving than the meeting itself. I wondered how much she'd changed, if at all. Would she
still have that glow? Would her hair still be long, or will she have cut it? Did years in Europe make her more worldly,
or did it turn her into a snob? Most importantly, would I recognize her once I saw her? I was so intent on these
thoughts that I didn't even see her apporoach. Apparently, I didn't have to worry about recognizing her- she knew
who I was right away.

                   When I looked up into the face of the woman standing over me, my breath caught. Her hair
was now a shoulder length, medium brown. Contrary to what I heard about European living, she'd managed to put
on thirty pounds or so. Her skin was still flawless porcelin, and those big brown eyes still had that light in them-
caught between a parents amusement and a child's curiosity. She was beautiful. Every bit as beautiful as she had
always been. And she looked nervous, as if she were waiting for me to finish my appraisal and decide I could do
better. Instead I rose to hug her, and lead her to baggage claims. The relief on her face was a priceless gift, and
we started talking easily as if we were old chums. The incident of years past was never brought up, and tension was
of a different nature now- a mutual one. As much as I'd rather that fateful summer never happened, it had. But if I had
to experience that, to come to the point I was currently at, then it was worth it. She was worth it. She would always
be worth it.