Once

On the surface of the bridge they kissed for the first time, the water below them. Their cold noses pressed up against each other and it made her laugh.

On the airplane he drew animals dancing. One of them looked like this:


Once: He nervously held her hand while walking down 5th Avenue.

Now he sat between two men on a full Boeing 747 en-route to O’Hare. She had moved to Chicago last year to go to art school. He wasn’t the same since she left. He was reserved, quieter.

Once: To impress her he drunkenly danced on a picnic table at the park and fell down and broke his arm. On the way to the emergency room she told him she loved him for the first time.

He ordered a whiskey and coke to calm his nerves as the turbulence hit. Everyone told him it was a bad idea to go see her. She’s probably changed a lot, they said.

“She’s not the same person you dated”

“I heard she’s dating somebody new”

“She cut her hair, she’s lost weight. You won’t even recognize her”

He didn’t care. He needed a change of pace, a change of climate. He was tired of his life in a small college town. He needed the cold air to wake him up from the stupor he was in. He needed to see for himself how she had changed.

Good evening, Ladies and Gentleman. We are approaching our destination. Please return your seats to their upright position and secure the table tray in front of you.

He let out a long breath and awaited the touch down on the runway. He took his address book from his pocket and looked for her phone number. He wondered if she would answer the phone when he called and what he would say to her.

Once: They lay on her bed until 4 in the morning telling stories and making each other laugh. She touched his hair and said “I think I’m really falling for you here”. He smiled and said “me too”.