The Translator

Chapter two.

He went through each person as though they were close friends of his. Clark, the chief finance officer. Ros, The Chief operating officer. Matt was a lawyer. All three took turns shaking my hand and welcoming me to the team.

"Welcome," everyone said in unison as Sebastian introduced me

"Thank you!" I said, smiling nervously. Trying to hide my anxiety.

Sebastian handed each person a boarding pass from his carry-on bag and we all headed towards the boarding area. Maybe it was because I had only been on an airplane a few times, but the process seemed long. I followed the team as we were escorted to the plane and into our seats. Sebastian motioned for me to sit first, before sitting down in the seat next to mine. He seemed elegantly silent as we waited for the announcement from the flight attendant to end and the plane to take off.

"You haven't flown much, have you?" he asked, noticing my nervousness and fascination in my surroundings.

"No! I haven't" I agreed with a nervous half-smile.

"do you want the window seat or would that make it worse?" he asked politely

"You can have the window seat" I replied

"I just want you to be comfortable, I have flown thousands of times. Besides, the flight is a good 16 hours." He said.

"I see!" I answered. "I'll be OK! 16 hours is long but I should be fine"

"I usually just sleep when I'm flying," He said "Makes the time pass, and sometimes helps me with Jet Lag"

"Do you mind if I study?" I motioned to my carry-on bag.

"Not at all" Sebastian replied curiously "What are you studying?"

"Nursing!" I said proudly

"Some of the most caring and compassionate women are nurses. Nursing is a great profession. My mother is a doctor; I have great respect for anyone that cares for the sick" He said

"Wow!" I said, taken off guard "Thank you! I worked as a health care aid for a short period after high school and fell in love with the profession. That means a lot to me"

I could barely contain my joy. Sebastian not only liked me but I felt that he had respect for me as well. I cracked open my nursing textbook to try and study but I found Sebastian's presence to be very distracting. Butterflies danced in my stomach as I tried to get some of my reading done, but my heart was racing too fast to concentrate. Twenty mins into the flight he fell asleep in his slightly reclined chair with his head resting away from me. Only after he had fallen asleep did I make any progress with my studying. I studied for a few hours, with surprising success. However, the words all started to blur together as I started to become tired. I turned my back to Sebastian, reclined my seat, and curled up in my seat for a short nap.

I woke up approximately 4 hours later. I looked over at Sebastian. He had his headphones on and was staring intensely at the movie screen. He looked over at me as I started to shift my body around and took the headphones off his head, setting them aside.

"How was your rest?" He asked looking over

"I know I needed it, but I think that my neck has a cramp,"  I said massaging the area

"Try doing some stretches in your seat, like this", He said, demonstrating the stretch on himself. He gently placed his hand on my neck to show where I should feel the stretch. His hand was so warm and soothing, I could feel my eyes close as I embraced the pleasure of his touch.

"Thanks," I said copying Sebastian's stretches

"We are only halfway through the flight," He said changing the subject "Do you want some headphones to watch a movie"

"Only halfway?" I said, sounding very surprised "What movie is on?"

"The Pianist," Sebastian said

"Awesome!" I said with excitement "Something I can relate to and something I haven't seen a ½ dozen times"

"relate too?" He asked curiously

"I play piano," I said proudly "I find it to be very rewarding and relaxing"

"I play too!" he said, sounding impressed "Suzuki or Royal conservatory?"

"Royal Conservatory" I responded smiling from ear to ear

"Your technical then," He said sounding even more impressed

"I'd love to see what you can do," He said smiling

We both placed the headphones on and watched the movie in silence. I slept the rest of the flight after the movie was finished. Sebastian did the same. Sebastian and I woke up to the flight attendant making the announcement that we had arrived.