Airport 4

meet katie at airport, before leaving on deployment

It was only after I had boarded the plane that I was able to truly acknowledge the void Katie had created for me. Our relationship had escalated in every manner possible, and seemingly at the last opportunity. There was nothing simple about how we came to desire being with each other, but the end result was every bit of simple as only genuine love cares to be. It was a surprise, really, to see her the morning I was to leave. I was sitting in the empty bank of chairs at the airport, reading through my collection of letters and notes from Rose. My phone began to ring, and Katie's name and number flashed on the screen. 

She had been to my house, my parents informed her that I had already left and was on my way to the airport. They gave her my number, assuring her that she had time to catch me before my flight left. Hearing her voice over the phone made me nervous, in fact it made me think of Rose. She was already in the terminal garage by the time I told her where she could find me. It took me a moment to gauge the significance of her being there, when I had had every intention of spending the time before leaving with someone else. 

When she walked in through the double doors, it was clear I was not the only one who noticed her arrival. I remember she had been wearing a knee-length white coat, skirt underneath, gloves and her blonde hair was up. No longer the high school senior I met her as, Katie had become a striking young woman, bearing confidence and presenting it with purpose. Such was my first impression of her I nearly forgot to replace the letters I had unfolded. I tucked them inside my ledger cover and put the book away.

When she saw me, her face showed recognition, and joy. She moved quickly towards me, as I paused to look the floor. Just for a moment, but I couldn't help but look away from her.

I wanted to hold her close.

We settled for the touch of hands, as I rose to offer her a seat beside mine. Realizing that she was here to see me off suddenly meant something different, something promising. Why had Rose dismissed me? What if Justin hadn't been there to speak for her? All I knew now was that if I missed this opportunity to share my feelings for Katie, when would I again have a such a chance? It wasn't that she couldn't be Rose, it's that she wasn't Rose. Perhaps my appreciation for the situation between the two women had not fully formed.

"It's so good to see you Katie," I said. It was amazing to see her so poised, so sincere. The last time we had seen each other in person, she had been dating a guy named Damon. I never got the chance to meet him, but it was obvious she was attached to someone else. It was difficult to even maintain a simple friendship, but, just as Rose and I had come together, we exchanged frequent letters.

"It's good to see you, too. I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," she said, smiling. "Didn't you want to see me? I was going to just wait for you, but you never came over," she reasoned.

I knew why I hadn't come over, Rose had had my full attention. It wasn't that I was trying to take what I could get, at the expense of either girl, but I had not expected Katie to ever look at me the way she was now. Or Rose, for that matter.

"I figured you were busy. You know, with Damon," it sounded weak. She might have even expected this sort of response.

Damon was technically Katie's ex-boyfriend, now, formally, the guy Katie loved before she met me. He was a talented young fashion model, who likely had a successful career ahead of him. And while I hadn't learned all the details of the breakup, he seemed like the sort of guy that Katie would have belonged to, as the two most beautiful people in the room usually do.

"Well, I'm not really sure what Damon is up to," Katie fired back. "All I know is I'm here to see you before you leave," smiling, she added, "Damon is old news, you got that?

Her sarcasm was easy enough to pick up on, but it was that much better when she was driving a point home. 

"Okay, okay, got it. Enough about him, right? Let's talk about something else." I turned to look away from her, because I did in fact want to talk about Damon. I wanted to know what he couldn't see in Katie, or what Katie could not stand about him.

I had not realized how close she had begun to lean over the armrest partition, until it was too late. As I turned back to face her, her lips might have well already been on mine. Without thinking I responded to her, taking her face in both my hands and pressing my lips to hers. It was a cautious kiss, precise and gracious on both our parts. It was both expected and unexpected, depending on which side of the armrest you sat, but we both came away smiling.

Not that it was easy to follow, but something definitely changed between us with that kiss. Suddenly my leaving not only meant being away from home, but from someone I was just now being allowed to love, to reveal my feelings for. Katie was someone I cared a great deal for, but now she would be someone I had the opportunity to love and provide for. Even to his day, I sincerely believe a founding friendship is necessary to allow for incredibly pure love, and whatever our past had been, Rose or Damon or otherwise, the moment for Katie and I had finally arrived. I wanted to make the most of it.

We talked about the upcoming deployment, which would mean a minimum of a year in Iraq. We shared how we should approach our time apart, given the sudden impact of coming together, only this morning, and then moving apart. It was an especially difficult subject for Katie, as she was more concerned than I was about the thought of me getting injured. I could tell she had taken her time thinking things through, about what she wanted between us, the idea of keeping a long-distance relationship. Our meeting this morning was not a sudden decision for her, and I felt guilty for not realizing what had been developing between her and I. I resolved at that moment that Rose had, perhaps, been keeping me from what I was meant to be doing all along.