13th of February, Valentine's Day Eve, 6:30 PM. Heavy rain, low visibility. Weather delay cancels the connection of one Victor Dubois, head of sales for a major coffee appliance company, bound for Melbourne....
Trying to transfer at LAX is always a nightmare but fortunately my flight landed at 4:30 PM so that gives me a bit of time to compose myself before heading home after a successful meeting and couple of fun-filled days in San Francisco meeting like-minded people and drinking too much coffee.
I made my way over to the International Terminal of Tom Bradley. Thank goodness that there was a connecting bridge between the two terminals! Upon getting to the check-in counter and attempting to check my luggage, a sense of dread washed over me.
"I am sorry, sir. Your flight's been cancelled due to bad weather since we don't know when this storm will subside and the visibility isn't high enough to give this flight the all clear." The customer service agent announced with a weary yet sympathetic tone.
"So what's the go for me then? Hotel comp? I guess I don't have anywhere to be until next Tuesday anyway." I replied with resignation.
"Yes, I'll issue you with a hotel voucher for a night's stay at the Hilton which is only a short drive away and rebook you on the first flight tomorrow morning. Flight for Melbourne leaves at 11:00 AM so I'd recommend getting back here at 9. Again, terribly sorry for the fuss, Mr. Dubois!" The agent apologised regrettably and handed me back my travel documents.
***
I was feeling a bit bummed out so I went to the bar for a bit before checking into the hotel since I had a bit of time to kill anyway. It wasn't a small bar but I definitely noticed the beautiful blonde flight attendant on my SFO-LAX flight, Jess, laughing with the rest of her crew friends, and seeing her familiar face definitely made me smile as her service was warm and impeccable.
I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink gin and tonic. My drink of choice at airport bars since that's one drink that's pretty hard to screw up!
"Is this seat taken?" A familiar voice rang out and I looked up.
"Not at all!" I was taken aback I turned right to see Jess standing there with her perky purple scarf and gorgeous smile. Her glossy classic red lipstick glistened in the bar lighting.
"Victor Dubois. Nice seeing you again. What brings you here?" I stuck my hand out awkwardly for a greeting. She smiled and shook it gently.
"Jess Kelly. I am actually laying over in LA for the night and flying to Dallas tomorrow. That is if the weather clears up! I saw you drinking by yourself and thought I might say "Hi!" since you were so nice in assisting that passenger in 15B with their luggage. Hi and thanks again."
"What are you drinking, Jess? It wasn't a problem since I was close by anyway. Anything to help the plane get off the ground faster. Except I have all the time in the world now..."
"I know what you mean. Hopefully you didn't have anywhere to be with Valentine's Day being tomorrow and everything. I'll have what you're drinking." Jess nodded at my drink.
"Bartender, could we please have another gin and tonic for the lady? Four Pillars with a lemon twist please."
"You ordered that like you know your drinks!" She remarked.
"I work in beverages of sorts so I deal a lot with drinks. In my case, it's coffee. What gets you up in the morning. Oh, to answer your question, I'm single so don't have anywhere to be until Tuesday actually."
"Same here. We're part of the same club it seems. So what are the perks of the job? Do you get pods? Discount on machines?" She asked inquisitively.
"50% actually. I'll hook you up with a new machine if you're looking for an upgrade."
"50%?! That's holiday level discounts! So generous of you, Victor. Do you have your card on you? That's extremely generous to someone you've just met but I'll take it! What's the catch?"
"No catch, Jess. It's a perk of the company that I'm happy to extend to you. Plus now I have someone in the airlines industry in the books in case I need an upgrade or something," I replied casually.
"I'll drink to that but I am not sure how many strings I'll actually be able to pull for you!" She clinked the side of her tumbler against mine and in the process, brushed the side of her leg against mine which drew my attention to her figure and the subtle shine of her nylons.
Ah, the airlines, the last bastion of the impeccably dressed service sector that still swears by nylons. The hypnotic lustre and the subtle sheen of her pantyhose caught my attention as I am not usually one to notice legwear extensively. If I had to guess, I'd say they weren't from the drugstore.
She had to be playing along, women tend to notice when you stare but Jess for now hasn't said anything about it. I tried for a misdirection: "So do you have any recommendations for food at the airport for a quick bite to eat?"
"Hmm, not at the airport but you could always try Rinaldi's not far from here for a delicious meatball sub. But unfortunately I'm getting food with a few FA friends so I won't be joining you." With that, Jess and I exchanged numbers and parted ways with me letting her to know that I'll be in touch to get her a deal on her new coffee machine.
So try Rinaldi's I did and it was honestly serviceable for 9 o'clock at night. I ordered the spicy meatball sub as recommended and it did the trick and I checked into the LAX Hilton without much fuss...
"Didn't think I'd be seeing you again this soon, Vic!" Jess waved me over with that signature smile. "How was your sub?"
"Honestly not bad. There's no such thing as coincidence right? Of all the floors they could have put us on, we ended up two doors away from each other. Hah!" I chuckled with amusement.
"Pretty sure they just assign whatever's available and ours just happens to be the most empty. Would you like to join me for a night cap? I've got a bottle of red open and I don't think I can finish it by myself..."
Jess made an offer I couldn't pass up and since her room is so close to mine anyway so I set my luggage down and made my way over to her room. She made herself at home in the hotel room with some Ludovico Einaudi playing in the background and wine in her hand and although she was still in her uniform sans her scarf and her heels she still seemed elegant and honestly quite sexy in the dim light of the room.
"And here's yours, maybe you can tell me more about this GSM blend thing... I always thought that was a paper thickness metric," she jested whilst pouring me a generous glass.