March Slice of Life No. 16
From my Travel Journal
A man and a woman stop at the end of the row where I’m seated, within earshot, in an almost empty gate area. They arrange their luggage and converse briefly. With a comment about getting something to drink, the lady walks down the concourse. The man settles into a seat.
A tall, slender lady with short curly gray hair glides slowly into our area and pauses. She is dressed comfortably for casual travel in a navy ensemble and on her shoulder is a beautiful leather bag. There is an aura of gentility about her.
She doesn’t look at me, but moves near the seated man. She leans in a bit and in a soft southern voice says, “I’m looking for a nicely dressed man.”
At this point, I open Notes on my phone and begin to type. This sounds like the beginning of an interesting exchange I may want to remember. At the same time, I take a quick visual inventory of the seated man’s attire: a light blue dress shirt, dark slacks, oxblood loafers with tassels.
The man looks up at the lady with short curly gray hair. Without a word, he quickly glances around and points to a young man sitting alone on the far side of our gate area, a young man wearing a burgundy blazer and black slacks.
The lady with short curly gray hair isn’t distracted. She doesn’t even look to see to whom he is pointing. She continues to lean in and softly explains, “I am looking for a friend.”
For a moment, the awkwardness of the exchange flashes across the seated man’s face. The lady seemingly unaware of it continues wistfully, “He is really nice, but he needs to have more dress clothes in his wardrobe. Where do you buy your shirts?”
The man glances away, looking past the lady with short curly gray hair. I follow his glance and see his companion returning. Looking back to the lady, he smiles but uncomfortably replies, “Uh, Macy’s. And Joseph Banks.”
The lady with short curly gray hair moves ever so slightly out of the seated man’s space. “Well, you look so nice. With traveling, and all,” she drawls.
Then with a warm smile and a soft thank-you, she fades into the crowd of passengers deplaning at our gate.
___________
Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
Gracious – WHY am I reminded of Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire -?? I could see it all playing, like a movie, Alice.
This slice leaves me wondering. I wonder if the lady would approach him if his companion was there.
I love this captured moment. The dialogue, the awkwardness, the looks on their faces. I was right there with you. Love this.
Oh my. You captured a wonderful crazy moment in time. I can imagine an airport pickup….but your depiction of the short gray hair had me put off – until I revisited my own age prejudice….and remembered that even at my age, companionship is nice!
A lovely tale. The setup, the turn, and the loose ending. So glad you captured this moment so vividly. A perfect slice!
You had us there sitting next to you, watching, listening.
Okay! Interesting conversation. Won’t mention what was going through my mind during this exchange. Glad you captured the conversation.
Oh my. This lady reminds me a little of Faulkner’s Miss Emily. Also reminds me of the ending a sentence w/ a preposition story. You captured this awkward exchange beautifully.
Oh my! I love this! And I love the way you casually eavesdropped on the whole thing and recognized it as something to remember. Your description was perfect and put me right in the moment with you. I wonder how the gentleman explained the encounter to his traveling companion when she asked, “Who was that you were talking to?”