'Night' is a six night Norman Reedus romance that was the product of a single photo that inspired me. When I saw the photograph I knew it needed a story told. Why? Why was he dressed in a tux, with the tie undone, and smoking on a balcony with the N...
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Flight 1669 from Philadelphia had just touched down at Los Angeles International Airport, otherwise known as LAX to the locals. The plane taxied up to the gate and it didn't take long for the first-class passengers to start to depart. As they walked down the jetway some pulled their carry-on luggage behind them, but almost all were talking on their cell phones, all except one.
Nikki was trying to contain her excitement as she stepped off the plane, but it was hard. She was ready to run through the airport but knew that would be a stupid thing to do in this day and age. The patience she normally had was practically non-existent. However, once she cleared the jetway, she settled on a fast walk to get down to the baggage claim area.
Norman was going to be so surprised. He wasn't expecting her until closer to five o'clock, but Nikki had moved an interview to a day earlier and after her performance last night in Philadelphia, she caught the first morning flight to L.A. that she could. He was not expecting her almost four hours early. This was going to be precious additional time that they could spend together. Nikki considered it worth having to get up so early that morning since their time was so limited, to begin with.
With her hair pulled back into a ponytail and sunglasses on, Nikki took the escalator down to baggage claim and walked over to the carousel that was assigned to her flight. She hoped that dressed as casual a she was in jeans and a simple white top, no one would recognize her. As she stood waiting for her bag to arrive, she let her mind wander through the last few weeks. True to his word, Norman called her every day and sometimes they talked more than once. Their texting was non-stop.
Words of love were not spoken between the two, but they both did tell each other that they missed being together. Mainly, they caught each other up on what was going on with their lives. Nikki told him about her concerts and the beautiful cities she was in. She loved her time in Paris but had wished Norman had been there with her. She dreamt one night while she was there that they walked down the Rue Des Barres hand in hand, before stopping at an outdoor café for some wine and cheese.
Just a couple in love in one of the most romantic cities in the world.
Except he was thousands of miles away in New York, Nashville, and any number of other cities that claimed his time, while Nikki was alone. But that was about to change.
The baggage carousel started to move and she was out the door looking for a cab within five minutes. She had safely made it past the paparazzi that always were outside this airport and into a taxi without being noticed. She took that as a good sign. It was about a forty-five-minute drive to the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills where they had a reservation.
As the car took her down La Cienega Boulevard, Nikki scrolled through her phone looking at the photos that Norman had been sending her non-stop. He was always taking a picture or video of something. How he saw the images and put them together for a shot was always different and unique. Plus, he had an uncanny ability to take a selfie with him only in a portion of the frame and it looked so artistic and good. He definitely was a talented photographer.
