"Step forward please, Ma'am."
I watched as the woman in front of me placed a black leather briefcase with a mahogany insignia on the conveyor belt and stepped forward. The security guard, a barrel shaped goon with a receding hairline and beady eyes, stood in front of her holding a portable metal detector. He glanced at the monitor scanning her case and then told her, "Extend your arms."
She sighed as she extended her arms and stood staring straight ahead as the security guard ran the metal detector first up the front and then down the back of her body. I was surprised when the guard proceeded to pat the woman down since the alarm didn't sound. I looked at his face and saw him smirk as his hands neared her breasts but she made no attempt to stop him. I looked around but no one else was observing them. His movements looked more like a caress than a search but she just stood there. She was gorgeous. She had the figure of a pocket Venus and although her hair looked like Medusa's, no one could deny her appeal.
The guard said something to her which made her stiffen her spine but I didn't catch what he said. I shook my head, removed my gaze from her derriere and watched as he stepped aside allowing her to pass. She quickly took the few steps necessary to retrieve her briefcase but paused a while with her back to me. She ran her right hand down her side briefly as if straightening her skirt but her fingers were curled. As she straightened them she quickly moved off. I watched as she sashayed out of sight. I didn't hear what the guard said until he repeated it sounding disgruntled, "Hey, Buddy, move it already."
I moved forward and assumed the position quickly. The alarm didn't sound and I guess I was too ugly to be patted down since he stepped aside and let me pass. As I took a step towards the conveyor belt his arm shot out and he bent to pick something up. He pocketed it quickly before I could tell what it was and as he stood he glanced in the direction of the departures lounge. His eyes pierced mine as he turned around then shaking his head, he let me pass. I grabbed my briefcase and walked in the same direction that the woman disappeared a few minutes ago.
Entering the lounge, I looked around and spotted 'Medusa' sitting in the centre of a two-seater couch, her briefcase at her feet on her right. I approached her and indicated that I wanted to sit. She scrutinized me a moment, looked at the practically full room and then shifted to the left. As she did that, I noticed her move her briefcase discretely closer to her. I sat down leisurely and placed my case beside hers. We sat in silence for a long time. She flipped through one glossy gossip magazine after another and never said a word. I shifted in my seat, cleared my throat but she continued to ignore me, never once looking my way.
Realizing that she wasn't going to say anything, I asked, "So, where are you off to?" Placing her magazine down on the table, she stared into my eyes and said, "Why do you ask?"
I searched her face for a moment and then said, "Just passing the time." She didn't answer my question; instead she asked me the same thing. I told her I had an important meeting in New York. She looked at me with thinly veiled suspicion in her eyes briefly and then said she had a date with destiny. When she said that, a sphinx like smile took over her face. Her eyes gleamed. She turned away from me, picked her magazine back up, crossed her legs and leaned back into the couch.
I sat there staring at nothing in particular for the longest while; I didn't want to say anything else to her. What did she mean by a 'date with destiny'? Before I could puzzle over her words further, the speaker system came on and announced, "Flight AANY301 Jamaica to New York is now boarding at gate nine." I sprang to my feet, knocking the briefcases over in the process. "Sorry about that." I said handing her the briefcase. She clutched it to her chest convulsively, looking tense, and then strode off in the direction of gate nine.
