Love Letter to a Stranger
My red-eye flight
was delayed and I sat in the pasty-white airport terminal
long past midnight alone with my luggage and my journal. Actually,
not entirely alone. Across the aisle was an attractive woman
wearing white running shoes and an over-sized T-shirt tucked
into the elastic of her gray sweats. It's warm, so the bottoms
are rolled up to her knees displaying slightly tanned and
well-toned calves. Her hair was drawn back into a ponytail
- brunette, falling just below her shoulders. She appeared
to be in her late 20s or early 30s and was reading a shiny
new paperback that looked like it was just purchased in the
gift shop. Glancing up now and then, she smiled easily at
the few people that passed her.
***
'In my boredom, I fell in love with this comfortably dressed
stranger, wishing I could learn everything about her.
"Hey, what are you writing?" She smiled at me from her seat
a few feet away as I wrote that last sentence into my journal.
I didn't look up right away, working first to calm my expression
of delighted surprise. "Actually," I closed my journal, my
finger marking the page. "I'm writing about you."
"About me?"
"Yes. You're an excellent muse."
"Hmmm… That was nice of you to say." She turned sideways in
the seat to face me and pulled a leg beneath her. "To be honest,
I was thinking about you, too. I once dated a writer and he
was the most amazing kisser." She waited for me to look up
at her and then said, "I've been wondering how you kiss."
She looked away, then back with a sexy grin.'
***
Of course things like this happen only in movies and romance
novels - never in real life. So I allowed my imagination to
continue flowing onto the pages of my journal as I respond…
***
'You wonder how I kiss?
Do you also wonder if my touch would please you? How I would
hold you? Would my eyes look at you with love? With laughter?
With desire? Would you tingle as I explore your lips with
mine, so lightly that it tickles in a tantalizing way?
Would we meet in our dreams? Would we wake up in each other's
arms? Would I rise early just to watch you sleep? Would you
feel energized around me? Would we grow together? What could
you teach me? What could I teach you?
Would we have fun? Would we frolic and do cartwheels in an
open field? Would we sing out loud? Turn the music up? Dance
along with the shadows of the moon?
Would you cook for me? Would I cook for you? Would we cook
together? Would you like how I interact with your friends?
With grocery clerks, waitresses and other strangers? Would
we wave to people on porches drinking lemonade?
Would we go for walks and talk about the first things that
come to mind? Would we hold hands? Would you wear the wildflower
I picked for you? If you could live anywhere, where would
it be? The suburbs, city, country or an island all to ourselves?
Could I build a treehouse?
Do you enjoy traveling? Do you prefer historical sites to
natural wonders? Could we explore ancient Mayan temples? Maybe
walk inside a crop circle? Could you walk nude on a beach
in the Riviera? Would we swim with dolphins?
Would we listen sincerely at times to a lunatic's ranting?
Would you like how I'm fascinated by what causes it? Would
we help the homeless? Would we recycle?
What if we won $50 million - what would we do after we've
invested traveled bought toys provided for children family
and friends donated to charities? Would you laugh if I said
I wanted to build a pyramid?
If I ask what you're thinking, would you always tell me? Would
you insist on living together before marriage? Do you believe
in love at first sight? Would we know through our eyes and
in our hearts that we were meant to be?
Would we embrace change? Would we discuss religion? Would
you convert me? Would we create our own? Would we search and
share our inner selves so as to grow as spiritual beings?
Would we always make it a point to find the moon in the midnight
sky?
Would you enjoy my being passionate about many things? Would
you mind if I sometimes seem crazy with optimism and youthfulness?
Do you wish you had sexier feet? Would you let me comb your
hair?
Would our first kiss be familiar? Would we make love for hours?
Would we look up from a kiss, surprised to see the day breaking?
Can we light the same candle each time we make love - knowing
that over time that scent will cause us to remember?
Would you enjoy how I touch you -- while driving, walking
together, doing the dishes? Would you wonder at how you can
still not know quite what to expect from someone you've been
with for years? Would it thrill you to know it's possible
to still be happily surprised?'
***
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone walk around
my row of seats. I felt her sit down behind me, lean her arm
across the back of the chair and look at me over my shoulder.
This time it's not my imagination.
"Hey." It's the woman in sweats - and she has a sexy grin.
"What are you writing?"
© 2002 Rob Daugherty
|
