Sunlight streamed down between the large puffy clouds. It was warm out for this time of year and the sweet smell of spring air came rushing in the car window.
It was only a few more miles to the airport. As she drove, she sang along with the radio. Her voice was clear and bright like the sound of songbirds celebrating the day. Since her earliest days, her world had been filled with music.
The song ended and reached to turn down the volume. The announcer came on and said that today's weather would be variable. Periods of sunshine followed by the chance of a thunderstorm later in the afternoon.
She was driving a little faster than she should. Darting in and out of traffic. She was running a little late. She often had this problem. It's not that she meant to be late, it's that she never realized just how long it took to get ready. Today she had spent a lot of time getting ready. Fortunately, the airline had a similar problem, so it worked out about right.
To get ready, she would sit at her vanity and prepare. It was interesting to watch because she was so good at it. First the hair, then the makeup. She would fret over what to wear, sometimes changing her mind several times before getting the right thing. She always picked the right thing. She had a great feeling for style. "Clean" as she described it. Watching her get ready was like watching a movie star.
Her sunglasses reflected the scene created by the black vinyl of the car's interior and the white paint outside. The dashes on the highway zipped by.
The first time I ever saw her I was struck by how beautiful she was. A very classical beauty. But beyond that, her face and sweetly hypnotic eyes conveyed an endless variety of expression. It didn't surprise me to learn that she was an actress.
But she wasn't acting now. She was genuinely anxious. She looked forward so much to seeing them again. It had only been a few days, but she missed them very much. They were so important to her life. She had wanted to go with them, but her new professional responsibilities had prevented it.
She walked through the doors marked ARRIVING FLIGHTS on to the concourse and looked for a display terminal to check the status of the flight. It was USAir flight 669 from Syracuse. She had a few minutes left to wait, so she strolled along the concourse and into an airport shop. She wanted to buy something for somebody. It wasn't important to have a particular person in mind, the shopping itself was important to her.
The first time I went shopping with her she pulled me around like a trailer hooked to a Porsche. Into one store and out another. She had so much energy. It was a good thing; she wanted to do so much. Sometimes more than she could really do.
She still had the energy, but now time didn't permit her all the things she wanted. She hadn't done a show since she was thirty-two and she was beginning to think that three years had been enough interruption. You would never guess how good an actress she was from knowing her in everyday life. Everything about her became amplified and purified. She became totally involved with the quality of her work; sometimes to the exclusion of all else.
A middle aged woman stood near her in the shop. The woman seemed puzzled by which thing to buy. "Those things are always such a problem aren't they?", she asked the woman. The woman smiled and said yes. A boss of hers once said that she had a very warm and open personality. It got her in trouble sometimes. She made everybody feel so welcome that they would take advantage of her.
She thought it was important that everybody like her.
She picked out some incidental thing for some relative and moved to the check out. She looked out to see the sky beginning to darken with an approaching thunderhead.
Within a few minutes a voice came on the public address system announcing that arriving flights would be delayed until weather conditions improved. She found this disappointing and she did not always take well to disappointment.
Thunder could now be heard.
When she was angry, she would go off to the kitchen and clean. She would slam the cabinet doors.
Lightning and thunder now.
She would rush around the house and clean. She liked to vacuum when she was angry.
Strong winds.
She stood close to the window and watched the storm. She was drawn to the power and excitement of the weather. The raindrops on the glass cast shadows on her face.
After a time, the weather began to clear and normal flight operations resumed. It was nearly the moment.
She thought for a second and decided to check her appearance. She wanted to look good for them. She walked over to a bench and put her purse down. Leaning over, she began to dig through her purse searching for her mirror and lipstick. As it happened, she was wearing a new pair of high heels. She used them to combat what one theater critic described as her "diminutive stature". She was not used to this particular pair of shoes and, while leaning over to search her purse, she suddenly lost her balance.
"WWaaaaaaa!", she cried as she flailed her arms and fell backwards on to her butt. Nearby, a security guard, at first startled and then realizing that she was unhurt, began to laugh at this scene before him. Here was this attractive, well-dressed, young woman sitting in the middle of the terminal floor, legs spread, with the contents of her purse strewn about her. "What are you laughing at? People fall down!", she said with mock anger while picking herself up. "Are you all right?" the guard asked in return. She snapped back "I'm fine! I'm good!"
She finally got her lipstick applied and proceeded to the gate where the flight had arrived. She was running a little late again due to her mishap and passengers were beginning to come through the doors.
As she approached, she could see the faces for whom she had come. Her pace quickened. Closer, she nearly began to run, the only things stopping her were her skirt and her still unfamiliar high heels. Her smile showed all the joy and happiness she felt. Her eyes were filled with sparkling life.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
She knelt down and reached out her arms. A beautiful little girl ran into them.
"Akira!"
"Did you have a good time with Grandmommy and Granddaddy", she asked the child. The little dark haired girl stepped back slightly and with a very earnest look, nodded her head and said "Uh huh". The little girl's eyes had the same hypnotic sparkle.
A tall man walked up and loomed over them both.
She rose up to greet him. She studied his face for some clue to what he was feeling and she smiled a sweet. welcoming smile. The light of the clearing sky filled her eyes.
It was good to be home.