Divine Affinity

7

When she got out of the Tacoma arrivals lounge, the typical Seattle drizzle welcomed her. Eiry took a deep breath as she looked around, still under the metallic roof of the airport structure, watching how a thick mist was sitting low too, fogging almost everything around them. She stuck her thumbs on the straps of her backpack and crossed the street, forgetting to pull the hoodie of her raincoat above her head. Thus, her hair started getting wet while she crossed the street and her boots, the ones she bought specifically for that trip, glistening as beads of water rested upon them. Not knowing the city, Eiry went straight to the taxi line where five people under umbrellas were waiting for their turn. Though she didn't want to, she pulled one of the straps of her backpack off her arm and pulled it to the front, opening the zipper to take the small blue umbrella out of it. Eiry opened it and let the backpack hung just in one strap. She opened her purse and her wallet to check on the money her father gave her. Tim knew their money was barely enough for a month, so he didn't want her to spend the money they were saving, with difficulty, for the AC of their apartment. Eiry closed her purse and watched the first couple leave as taxis began to arrive. When her time came, Eiry closed her umbrella, and the young man driving her cab came out of it to help her.

"Good afternoon, miss." He greeted her with a warming smile and adjusting his glasses against his face with the tip of his index finger.

"Hi." Eiry smiled. "I have just this backpack." She told him as he opened the trunk.

"It's for your umbrella." He pointed and Eiry nodded.

"Of course." She handed it to him and shook her head. "I'm not used to it..."

"Rain?" The man asked, closing the trunk with a thud, and then dusting his hands.

"I'm from California." Eiry smiled. "It rains too, of course... but I rarely catch a cab. This is what I mean."

"Very well." The man smiled, opened the door to the backseat and motioned a hand for her to enter the vehicle.

"Thank you." Eiry hoped in and sat.

While he closed the door and went to his seat, she rested the backpack on the seat and opened her rain coat.

"First time in Seattle?" The driver asked as he buckled the seatbelt.

"Yes." Eiry leaned against the seat and rested her hands on her lap. "I came here to surprise my boyfriend."

"He's from here?" He started to drive away slowly. Eiry shook her head.

"He's actually from Illinois, but he lives in San Diego."

"Where to, miss?" The man asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror as he halted on the stop sign that led them out of the airport surroundings.

"To the Holiday Inn in Lake Union."

"Very well." He softly nodded and when the road was clear, he started driving again.

Eiry watched the view as the car took her away from a remote place to the city where everything was happening. At first, it was just a few minutes of highway where nothing could be seen but desert green fields and small villages scattered here and there. It was green, very green as Eddie had been telling her on the phone or as he wrote on the first postcard he sent her, but the one she loved the most was the one he wrote on a Mother Love Bone postcard, the previous band of two of the people he was now playing with. The highway, as any highway, was dull and Eiry closed her eyes for a few minutes. Her week had been chaotic with her going away from her job but coming back the next day for Mr. Nichols called her to come back. She would not back away from her decision, she would be exactly where she was that moment, but they needed the money she received and it spared her to look for a new place to work. The rain tapping on the roof and the noise of the tires rolling on the tarmac were making her sleepy and Eiry didn't want to sleep, so she opened her eyes and rubbed them with the back of her hands to shake her doziness away. The city began to appear before her eyes as the car left the I-5N and the first thing that welcomed her from far the was the beautiful Puget Sound, beautiful and amazing as Eddie had described her. Then, the famous Space Needle. Symbol of the city. Entering the city, the traffic became slower but Eiry was entertained looking out at the window watching the view. Seattle was cocooned within a strong black atmosphere as the clouds promised heavier rain. There was high buildings in the center, parks, and even wild spaces. Busy, cars all around, people walking up and down the avenue. Leaves of many colors on the sidewalk as the trees prepared for winter. A colorful city, as Eddie told her, despite the dark weather. Soon, the taxi stopped in front of the hotel Tim had booked and Eiry was brought back to reality.