“Are you nervous to fly?” I was on the last person on the flight from Geneva to New York. The day was December 28, 2019. Apparently that was the first thing I said to the person sitting next to me. I usually don’t talk to seatmates on planes, but for some reason this day I did. I guess you could call it good feelings. But maybe there was something more to it. Serendipity. “Just the take off and the landing." Not in a mood to chat, as I had wanted to sleep through the next 10 hours. In fact, both of us might have been slightly disappointed that the seat mate wasn’t cuter. For the next 10 hours, we talked about her snowboarding trip in French alps, my family Christmas vacation, about our daily lives, interests, and hobbies, but also about purpose, religion, and how we grew up. I felt like this woman carried such a different life from mine that it was like stepping into a whole new experience. We were so strange to each other and yet I felt like we were very similar. The plane landed, back to the mundane. Because we carried different passports, I had to go through a different security line. When we finally parted, I couldn't let it go -- I felt electric. How do you talk for nearly ten hours and then say, not “see you later,” but “goodbye?” I looked for her at the other side of customs, I waited for her at baggage claim, I tried to see if I could catch her at the subway stop. Nothing. She was gone.

Luke, Charlotte, Soccer. That was my search term. Found him on the first try, support link. I took a deep breath and closed the page. So what I found him, not like I would send him an email to ask "can I see you again?" A wonderful stranger on a magical flight, and I was determined that was it. "You’ll have to forgive me. I should have invited you to join us at the Met tomorrow. Thank you for the tickets and I really enjoyed meeting you on the flight." My first night in NYC, Courtney and I had dinner together that night and when we returned I was still thinking about the woman I had sat next to. So, I tried to look her up. Granted, I had never done anything like this before. I only had Instagram on my phone because I had been traveling all over Europe. I remembered her name, kind of. After a determined search, I found her. I wanted to see her again. Casual of course. She said "no." Walking back from my massage, feeling a little melancholy. I guess this is it. Luke said he's leaving the City the next day. Each step I walk, the little sound in my head gets louder, "go see him! See him again." Finally, waiting at a long red light, it was so loud it's screaming at me. "You probably have plans already, but if not, I'm happy to go line up for Tomi Jazz's 7pm show with you and your friends. Can't stay for the whole thing. But would like to grab a drink before you go :)" Forty minutes late to a first date should be a good indication to get out of there. Thankfully Lea waited for me, in the rain, and wasn’t too upset about it. I had never been anywhere like this place before and like my first impression on the plane, I knew right away this girl was special. I was so happy to talk with her again, but what I remember most from that night was how good she looked! Standing outside of 53rd & 3rd subway stop, The air got antsy for us, begging the question with the rain that neither of us could ask -- would we ever see each other again. "Goodbye, I guess."