Damn. Walking away from the gate, I was pissed. My flight was so close to leaving, and now to be cancelled after 3 postpones, well, left me hot. My whole weekend was destroyed. I probably would not be making it home until Sunday now, missing my men's hockey league playoff game on Saturday and a date with Allison on Saturday night. Now, instead of being home, I was trapped in Chicago, in the midst of a blizzard in March. The line for cabs was actually stretched to the inside of the terminal, at least keeping me warm for the time being.
Listening to others around me, at least I had an apartment to go back to. Everyone else was scrambling to find hotel room, while all I had to do is go back to the Presidential Towers, and head up to our company's apartment.
"Shit! You're kidding me! Now, what in the hell am I supposed to...hey, wait now, I...Dammit" Turning around, I saw a woman standing behind me, clutching her mobile phone, and pissed as hell. She was almost a foot shorter than me, and dressed in a charcoal gray business suit. She was wearing black pumps. She appeared to be of latin descent, skin the color of light caramel, a pile of glossy black hair, scattered about her shoulders. Her body was nice and lean, with the exception of the two big pillowy breasts that were encased in the suit. Her mouth was set in a scowl, and her big brown eyes with dark with fire, and anger, as she snapped the phone closed. Her eyes locked with mine, and I smiled uneasily, not wanting to upset this little fireball. "Everything okay?"
I was happy to see her take a deep breath, and pause a minute before replying. "Well, Murphy's Law, I guess. First, I get bumped, but my bag doesn't, so my bag is en route to Dallas, and I am stuck here. My company is trying to put me up somewhere, but there are no open rooms anywhere. No offense, but this is the last place I wanted to be."
"I know the feeling. I am stuck here also; however, I guess I am in decent shape, since I have a place to stay."
Damn, those eyes tore through me, almost hissing, "What?! How did you find something?"
"Well, my company maintains an apartment downtown. Lucky for me, I guess."
She grumbled something I could not hear, and I turned around, moving forward, stepping outside, following the line. The wind was whipping through the pick up point, causing me to pull my fleece closer. Then I heard her cursing again. Turning around, I realized she had no coat. Removing both my fleece vest and heavy fleece top, I turned to her again, "Why don't you put this on? We probably have another thirty minutes before we can get into a cab." She looked at me, those big brown eyes seemingly confused, and accepted it without a word. The next forty minutes were quiet, as she huddled behind me, using my body as a windshield. The curb was getting close, I felt her tap my shoulder. "You need your jacket. Thank you so much for letting me wear it."
"Why don't we share a cab ride downtown?" I offered, hoping for the company. Those brown eyes were staring at me, wondering what my motive might be. "Come on...there are a ton of hotels downtown. At least you can be in the area when your company finds you one."
She still looked at me uneasily, not entirely trusting the situation.
"Besides, it is even cold in the cabs...keep my fleece on, and join me," adding a smile to try to reassure her.
That did the trick. Her eyes relented, and she gingerly stepped into the cab. I followed her, closing the door. The cab pulled away from the curb, slowly on its way.
We made small talk on the way to the Towers. Her answers were short, and very general in nature, like she had plenty on her mind. I decided to remain quiet for the rest of the ride. Arriving there an hour later, I got out, and holding the door for her, helped her out. We quickly moved inside, and up to the 18th floor, where our apartment was. She was guarded, being quiet, as I opened the door. Pushing the door open, she motioned me to go first. I entered, and moved in, heading straight for the bedroom to drop my bag. Coming back to the main area, she was just waiting.
"Everything okay?"
Glancing around, she replied, "Yes, sorry, this is much better than any hotel. Thank you very much. I guess I want to trust you, but, you know, under the circumstances..." Her voice slowly trailed off.
Smiling, I took out my wallet, pulling out my id, and set it on the counter, next to the phone. "My name is Dean. Here is my ID. And the phone number is on the phone over there. Feel free to call anyone you need to. Feel better?"
She smiled, a beautiful smile, she took a long, deep breath, exhaling, and finally said, "Sorry, I shouldn't have felt that way. My name is Maria. It is a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand, a small and delicate, and void of any important jewelry, and I gently shook it.
"There is a grocery store downstairs... I was going to get something for dinner. Any recommendations?"
"Whatever you want β makes no difference to me. Thank you though."
I went downstairs, and through the store, selecting two nice salmon fillets, some fresh vegetables, and a side dish. I looked at some wine, but knew there was plenty in the apartment. The guys that normally used this apartment were heavy on entertaining, and there was no lack of booze there. Gathering my bag, I moved back towards the elevator, and started the long ride up.
Upon reaching the apartment, I opened the door, and moved inside with the small grocery bag. She was sitting in the living room, the phone in front of her, with a look of despair on her face. I set the bag down, and walked into the living room.
"Everything okay?"
A short sigh told me the story. "Everything is booked solid. There is nothing available anywhere." Another sigh, as she glanced outside, at the snow still coming. "Goddamn this stupid weather..."
I went back in the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. I selected a bottle of chardonnay, and proceeded to open it quietly. She was still in the living room, grumbling about her current state of affairs.
Pouring some into a glass, I walked back into the living room, and set it in front of her.
"Look, have a drink, and just forget about today...I will make us dinner, and then you can pick out a movie to watch. You are more than welcome to stay here...you have your own locking bedroom, own bath, and at least give me the benefit of the doubt about being a gentleman...okay?" Another warm smile followed, trying to bring her to life.
Those big brown eyes almost melted me, as I watched her face, gauging her reaction. She was not overwhelmed by my hospitality, but she was thankful. She followed me into the kitchen, and we chatted some more as I baked the salmon, and cut up the vegetables for a salad. She was two years older than me, and an advertising executive. She seemed to be in a position of not liking men at this moment, as she had caught her fiancΓ©e cheating on her. That had happened within the last month. She slowly drank her glass of wine, content to watch me cook and chop, slowly warming to me.
I served dinner, and we ate. She was becoming more animated as she started her second glass of wine, finally beginning to laugh a little bit.