The Meeting (cont...)

So after a bit of cordial talk they both proceeded to the immigration line; once finished there they walked a bit and then noticed that there was man holding a sign with the handwritten words “Mr. Hayaat” near the airport exit doors. He identified himself to the man by simply saying “I’m Mr. Hayaat!” Anxiously, the man responded using a familiar Asian accent “Helloooow, Welcome, Welcome… I Jin. I take you to hotel.” The driver took their bags and lead them outside to a waiting white late-model sedan with tinted windows. The hotel’s name was crookedly stenciled on the tailgate of the vehicle. While the driver loaded their luggage into the trunk, they waited for him to open the doors. The weather was nice, with the sun gently warming everything below it. The skies were clear with large puffy white clouds filling the vast blueness. There was gentle breeze that pushed sparse debris along the ground and rustled the surrounding palm trees. A freshly painted ‘LOVER’S PARADISE’ sign stood across the street surrounded by floral arrangements only seen in magazines.
Once the driver ushered them both into the vehicle; while sitting there waiting for traffic to allow the sedan to pass through to the interstate entrance, Mr. Hayaat and this angle of beauty next to him both stole looks at one another with each quickly turning away once the other person’s gaze was met. The connection that each had felt so many miles away was getting stronger by the moment. They made small talk about their flights during the hour ride from the airport to their hotel. Their moods were joyous and full of laughter.
‘Wow, he really is a very funny man; he makes me laugh so much. I am feeling as giddy as a school on her first date with the high school jock.’ These were the thoughts that invaded her mind and engaged her emotions. This was the man who stole her heart through the internet over the past 6 months and he was every bit, so far, worth the wait. She tried to look away from his gaze to glance at the scenery passing by. She hadn’t traveled out of her country in last 5 years so this vacation was as much a new beginning as it was a relief from her daily life back home. She would not be working, cleaning house, and cooking. There would be no phones to answer or memos to type for at least the next 10 days. No, for the next 10 days she was going to be in the company of the man who invaded her dreams, made her smile every day. The man who she related to because he shared his pain with her over many hours chatting and many tears shed. The man whose eyes showed her the soul of someone she could fall completely in love with was now sitting right next to her. Her mind pushed forward its pending doubts and the small request of ‘I must be dreaming…God, please let this be real.’