Flight Plans

         FLIGHT PLANS

  “So let me get this straight,” she said. “If I tell you to, you would switch your flight right this second and fly to wherever I live instead.”

            “Yes.”

            “What if I left you behind as soon as we got there?”

            “I trust you.”

            “And what about Boston? Don’t you need to be home for anything?”

            “Not until Monday.”

            “You know you’re crazy, right?”

            “Crazy good, or just crazy?”

            “Right now, just crazy.”

            “Then what do I have to do to get you to say yes?”

            “Okay, fine. Let’s try this,” she said, reaching for two napkins. “On one of these I’m going to write my flight number and on the other I’m going to write my phone number. As soon as I leave, I want you to choose just one napkin and throw the other away without looking. If you pick the flight number, I’ll see you at the gate. If you get the phone number, I want you to call me at 8 p.m., exactly two weeks from now, and not a moment sooner. Sound fair?”

            “Very,” he agreed, and turned his back so she could fill out each napkin.

            When she finished, she tapped him on the shoulder. “It was nice meeting you,” she said. “I hope we meet again soon,” and she turned away, potentially forever.

            The moment she was out of sight, he swung his arm towards the first napkin. In neat, bubbly print she’d written her phone number. Damning the rules, he lunged for the second napkin, begging to learn which city was blessed enough to call her its own.

            There was no flight number. She’d written the same phone number twice.

            And so, feeling both heartbroken and cheated, he boarded his plane to Boston alone.

            Over the next two weeks he thought of her off and on, debating whether he should call her at all. She’d already duped him once, did he really want to fall for her twice?

            In the end, he needed the help of a coin flip to decide. At 7:59 p.m. that Friday, the coin landed heads, and at 8:00 p.m. on the button he was dialing. At least it would be better to know.      

            “Hello?” She answered.

            “Hi. It’s me. From Cleveland.”

            “Ah, yes. So you didn’t win the grand prize did you?”

            “You tricked me.”

            “Did I?”

            “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

            “Well, if I recall, you weren’t supposed to look at both napkins, either. But I’ll play along. I’m staying at your Four Seasons this weekend. Say you pick me up about nine?”