Jayla paused for a moment and looked into the vanity mirror. She was finishing getting ready to meet her Uber driver to go to the airport. She considered the face looking back at her. 56 years old, three kids, married for 32 years. She was no runway model by any means. She had her share of wrinkles and lines. After three kids, she had a bit of a belly. But her 38D breasts were still tight and the nipples still pointed ahead instead of sagging to point down. She ran her hands down her hands. Her waist was still well defined and her ass, though a bit wider now, was still shapely and firm. She thought to herself that things could be a lot worse.
Finishing up, she put the last of her makeup in the carry-on suitcase and closed it securely. It went on to the floor on its wheels. She took one last look around and decided everything was in order. This was the thirteenth time she had performed the ritual and by now she thought she had the routine fine-tuned and almost flawless. She smiled in anticipation of her long weekend in Charleston, SC, grabbed the bag and headed to the front door.
Sitting in the backseat of the sedan, she watched as the Uber driver negotiated the traffic to the airport. Her mind slipped back to her husband, Robert. He was the love of her life. She and Robert had met when he had joined the investment firm where she worked as an analyst. The romance had lasted about a year, and they were married. Those first years were exciting and fun. The result was three beautiful children, Robert, Jr, Sarah, and Connor, They were all off on their own with wonderful families. The only downside she could remember was that when they got married, she had to quit because of the nepotism rules.
Robert had done well with the firm. Eventually he was offered a partnership and their life had changed somewhat. As part of the partnership duties, he was given the job of managing the West Coast offices of the firm. That meant that twice a year he made a visit to watch the eight west coast branch offices. It took almost two weeks to make the entire trip.
Those first few years were a little tough. Two of the three kids were still in high school, and Jayla didn't feel like she could leave them on their own for two weeks. She opted to stay home and let Robert travel alone. Lots of phone calls, text messages, and video calls made it easier. The first year after Connor graduated from high school and started college, she decided to finally take one of these trips with Robert. It was an absolute disaster. She ended up spending almost every day of those two weeks sitting in a hotel room, watching TV, bored to death.
The next trip Robert had planned, she opted out. She had explained that she would rather sit at home being bored in her own home than a hotel room. He had tried to persuade her otherwise but to no avail. Without the kids at home, it was, to say the least, miserable. She decided she needed to get out of the house and develop some outside interests. She joined several crafting groups and book clubs. At least, the meetings and activities got her out of the house.
At the quilting group she had joined, several of the women about her age were talking one evening about a quilting convention that was due to happen in a few weeks in Atlanta. As they chatted, Jayla looked at her phone and realized that the convention was going to happen while Robert was on one of his bi-annual business trips. There were 3 or 4 women planning to make the weekend trip to Atlanta. She asked if she would be welcome. They were all happy to have her along and they sat for several more hours talking about making arrangements for the trip.
The Uber driver deposited her at the airport check-in doors. She had her boarding pass already on her phone and showed it to the gate attendant. She was keeping her bag as a carryon and was directed onto the proper gate to wait. Once through security and with a cup of airport coffee, she settled into a chair near her gate to wait.
Her mind returned to that trip to Atlanta. It was fun. She wasn't much of a quilter. As it turns out neither were the four other women who went along. They did go to the seminars and demonstrations during the day. Jayla soon learned that the real reason for the trip was to go out every evening to a different restaurant and then make some of the well-known entertainment establishments.
The memory of that first night in Atlanta was still vivid in her memory. After the last of the seminars, everyone hurried back to their hotel rooms to get ready. Jayla had done the same. They agreed to meet in the lobby in an hour. Jayla ran a brush through her hair, dabbed at her makeup and decided that the slacks and button-down blouse she had worn that day would do just fine to go have dinner and see some of Atlanta's famous nightlife.
When she got to the lobby, she was surprised. The other four women were totally different. All of them were wearing cocktail dresses and had completely redone their makeup. Jayla had looked at them embarrassed and explained that she hadn't packed for this kind of thing. The other women laughed and told her that it would be ok. She would know next time. Thead headed out to grab a cab and were off.
Dinner was at one of Atlanta's premier eating establishments. It was good, but a little pricey. After the restaurant, they grabbed another cab and headed for the Eastside entertainment district. Jayla had no idea where they were going, but she was onboard. It was exciting to be off, on her own, with a bunch of other women who obviously knew what they were doing.
They were headed toward a nightclub in downtown Atlanta. The other women were talking about it and seemed excited. Jayla learned the place had at least 5 levels in the club, three dance floors with DJ's and offered 'private' entertainment areas for corporate and small groups experiences. It sounded intriguing and exotic. Once they arrived, Jayla found it almost overwhelming. It was noisy, loud and most of the areas were packed with a crowd that was at least 15 years younger than she was. She eventually found a small alcove off to one side of a dance floor and stood, nursing her drink.
The others had dived right into the crowd. Jayla had soon noticed that all four of the others were soon dancing, some with several partners at once. Apparently, this was not uncommon. She stood and watched for nearly an hour, when she saw a man approaching her. He was nice looking, nothing out of the ordinary, but he too, was not dressed in the trendy upscale fashion like most of the others. He was also older that most of the other men in the club. As he approached, he smiled.
"I don't mean to intrude, but you look a little out of place."
She nodded.
"I feel like that also. I guess I just don't fit in."
"Nonsense. Have you checked out the rest of the place?"
"No. I got my drink and found this spot. All of my friends are out on the dance floor."
"My name is Charley. Charles Elliot. I am here at a convention at one of the hotels downtown. Let's wander around and check this place out."
"I dunno. I'm married and just here for a convention as well. I think maybe I should stay where my friends are?"
He had looked around.
"Do you see any of them?"
Jayla scanned the crowd, looking at where she had seen the others only a few minutes ago. They seemed to have disappeared.
"No. They don't seem to be here."
"I don't think they are worried about you. Come on. This techno beat music is giving me a headache. There is a smaller lounge upstairs that is much quieter, and they play some great jazz."
Jayla looked at him. He seemed pleasant. She didn't get any bad vibes from him and decided to take the offer.
He led her through the club and up a couple of flights of stairs. There they found a much quieter atmosphere. It was almost intimate. A three-piece jazz ensemble was playing at the far end of the room. He found a table about halfway between the door and the stage and sat her down politely.
"What are you drinking?"
She looked at her empty glass.
"Oh, mine is just fine. I don't need another."
"Ok. No problem. I do, though, if you will excuse me."
She watched as he walked to the bar. Mentally, she was comparing Charles with Robert. They were about the same age. Charles was not quite as tall as Robert and slenderer. She had noticed that he wore a wedding ring as well. When he came back, he smiled and sat down with a fresh drink.
"Tell me about this convention."
She had grinned sheepishly.
"Its a quilting convention. A lot of women in a room learning about all the latest techniques for quilting and applique. Not something very interesting I am afraid. What about yours?"
He had chuckled.
"Not much different from yours, I think. A bunch of men sitting around a room listening to more men talk about the upcoming changes in the electronics industry. I am a salesman for a distributor. I am no engineer, but I have to be able to talk like it, so I come to these things to find out just enough to sound intelligent."
Over the next two hours they had just chatted. They both talked about their kids, their spouses, and their lives in general. She learned that Charles had been married almost as long as she had to a woman that Jayla could tell was the love of his life. They even showed each other pictures of their spouses and kids. The two hours passed quickly. Jayla looked at her phone and was surprised to find that it was almost midnight.
"This has been fun, but I really need to get back to the hotel. I guess I will need a cab or an Uber because I don't have any idea where I am."
"I need to go too. Why don't we split a cab. I don't think my hotel is far from yours."
She had agreed and they headed toward the front door of the club. He hailed a cab, gave the driver the name of his hotel and Jayla had done the same. They settled back. It was a pleasant ride to the hotel. Each of them had given the other their contact information. Jayla was never sure why she had agreed to that.
&&&&&
Jayla heard the gate attendant call her number for boarding her flight. She gathered her purse and carry on and joined the queue to get on the plane. It wasn't long before she was comfortably settled into her first-class seat. She waited for the rest of the passengers to board. Looking out the window she saw the crew loading luggage and her mind continued on with her remembering.
