What Have You Done For Me Lately?

I just got back from visiting my very dear friend Jelly Bean. She's having her first baby and I went to help host her baby shower.

Money has been very tight for me because it’s my son Rick’s senior year and this boy has been costing me an arm and a leg at black market prices.
It took a little coaxing from William and other friends to convince me to ask Luke Skywalker if he’d be able to set me up with a buddy pass to get out to see Jelly Bean, but I gathered up the courage and called him.
He immediately agreed to help and I hung up the phone with the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face.
I said this before and I’m saying it again; I know that it didn’t really take much effort for Luke to set up the travel arrangements for me and it didn’t cost him any money, but it was the fact that he said “YES” that means so much to me.

My flight had a layover in his hub city and I had hoped we’d be able to see each other.
I haven’t seen Luke since he flew up here to take me to lunch for my birthday in 2009. He’d made attempts to come see me since then, but each time he tried to come, he was bumped because he was flying standby.
I became discouraged and so did he.
What really bothered me about the whole thing was that he’s a single man with a pilot’s salary.
I understand; why pay to fly if you don’t have to, but if you’ve got the money and you really want to see someone as bad as you say you do, then get up off your wallet and pay for a ticket! If you want something bad enough, nothing should get in your way of your desires.
He’d asked me several times to come visit him, but in my mind I figured if he couldn’t make an effort to come see me, then why should I SPEND my hard earned money when I don’t make nearly as much as him to buy a ticket?

It was wonderful spending time with Jelly Bean and seeing her with a little Baby Bean growing inside of her. To my surprise, Luke called to check on my stay not once, but twice. He asked about my layover during my return trip and I told him that I would be in his city for a little over two hours. We made arrangements to meet up.

I felt like a giddy school girl from the moment I boarded the plane.
As the plane made its approach my excitement began to intensify.
During the flight, I was waiting in the galley to get back to my seat and struck up a conversation with the flight attendant in first class. She asked me where my final destination was. I told her where I was headed, but that it all depended on whether or not I was able to get a seat on my connecting flight. She asked why and I told her that I was flying on a buddy pass.
“Oh, an employee or a pilot?” She asked.
“A pilot,” I answered proudly. I wanted so badly to tell her his name and tell her all about him, but I contained myself.
“Well, while you’re waiting would you like a snack? One of the perks of flying on a buddy pass,” She kidded.
She didn’t have to ask me twice, considering we were on a three hour flight and the only thing they were serving in coach was soda and juice.

As soon as we touched down, I sent Luke a text message to let him know we’d landed. He called back and asked me to meet him in baggage claim.
It seemed to take forever to get from my gate, out of the terminal, to the trains and to baggage claim.
My eyes scanned the busy terminal. I didn’t realize how crowded it was going to be.
I walked around a little, trying not wander too far away from our meeting spot.
“Pssssst!”
Stunned, I quickly turned around to see Luke standing behind me with an enormous smile on his face.
I smacked him on the shoulder and followed it with a hug.
Since we haven’t seen each other in so long, I didn’t know whether to give him a kiss on the lips or on the cheek. We both went for the cheek.
After all of the excitement and anticipation, I noticed that I was nervous and a little uncomfortable.
He looked good.
He had cut his hair. Luke used to wear a low afro, which made him look much older and a little out of touch. He was now sporting a brush cut and I could see that he actually has a nice curl pattern with a slight wave in his hair. The brush cut took a good five to seven years off of him.

He asked if I was hungry and after being on a three hour flight with little food, I was ready to eat a horse. We went to a restaurant in the airport and ordered drinks before our meals.

“Why do you stare at me?” Luke asked.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I guess because we haven’t seen each other in such a long time, I’m just taking it all in.”
We shared small talk; I showed him the pictures from Jelly Bean’s baby shower and talked about us.
“Do you have a wife and five kids at home?”
He nearly choked on his soup.
“No!” he laughed.
“Four? Three kids? Two? Do you have a wife?”
“Come on now,” Luke pleaded, his southern drawl seeping through. “I wouldn’t do something like that. You oughta know me better than that.”
“I don’t know,” I began. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s up with you, why you are so elusive. My Kavorka must not be working.”
“Kavorka? What’s that?”
“It’s when you are irresistible to the opposite sex.”
He began to chuckle again.
“Awww, you know I can’t resist you!” Luke teased.
“Ha! If you couldn’t resist me, you’d be telling me how you can’t live a day without me and we’d be together. I’m hoping that in 2011 you come to your senses and fall madly in love with me.”
“Come to my senses, huh? You have a way with words, you know that?”
We talked some more and tossed around the idea of me possibly coming back down for a visit.
Luke paid the check, we gathered my things and he walked me to the security checkpoint.
I can’t even begin to tell you what was said at that moment. All I remember is that we kissed. It was such a wonderfully romantic, tender kiss. I do remember thinking that I was glad Luke didn’t have a problem with public displays of affection and for a hot second, I actually considered accidentally - on purpose missing my flight.