He Never Got The Girl

He never got the girl, and a lot of his friends found that rather sad. It wasn’t that the girl didn’t want him, no, she was there for that final obligatory scene at the airport departure. Yeah, she was there but he was already sitting on the plane wiping sly tears from the corner of his tired eyes. She cried too, watching the big jet roar up the runway, watching that last chance slip from her fingers. But what would have happened if she had of made it to the airport, would it be just like it is in the movies? No probably not. Probably a few awkward moments, uncertainty filling the air with intensity, creating speechless movements of their lips. She’d be clutching the paper onto which he poured his heart and he’d be in shock that she’d turned up at all. Now he sits on his flight to the east, no idea that she’d gone to see him and she’ll be sitting in her car, wiping flowing tears from her face, reading and rereading the letter he wrote her.
Soon though, she makes an effort, asks his friends where he is, finds contact details, phone number, address, that sort of thing. He’s been slipping, sliding into a place not dark but not altogether full of light. She sits and taps the ten numbers in the right order, pauses, deciding whether to hit the little green button to call him. She has a glass of water, tries a cigarette to calm her nerves. What will she say to him? What will he say to her? Will he even remember who she is? At that exact moment he sits in a dingy coffee shop, sucking down a long black loaded with way to much sugar. Funnily enough he’s thinking of her, wondering what she’s doing, if she remembers him, what she thought of the letter he wrote her. He’s craving a smoke but he spent his last four bucks on the cup of coffee intended to keep him awake. His pay goes in at three but he’ll be fast asleep on the queen sized mattress on the floor of his scungy bed sitter flat. she’s sitting on the other side of the country, clutching her mobile phone in one hand, stubbing out her last smoke with the other. On her lap lies his letter, slightly crumple from being folded and unfolded, read again and again. She pushes the ashtray to the other side of the coffee table in the lounge room of the furnished flat her parents organised for her cheaply. She rests her thumb on the little green button, feels like she’s being mocked by a button on her phone. She takes a deep breath and pushes her thumb down, her phone beeps and she moves it to her ear.
His phone vibrates in his pocket though he doesn’t notice till it vibrates a third time. He lets go of his coffee cup and moves his hand towards the pocket of his black trousers. By the third ring she’s starting to have doubts, on the fourth he answers, “Hello?”.
“Hey… Daniel? It’s Michelle.” she sits on the edge of her chair, every muscle in her body taut in expectation. He’s standing, walking towards the door of the little café, making his way outside to the cool night air of an east coast summer. He knows exactly who it is, “Hey, how are you?” he says, he doesn’t know what else to say. Neither does she, “I’m good. What about you?” she’s hating this small talk, she just wants to burst out and tell him how she feels, tell him she needs him by her side, demand him to return to the west. He’s not in a positive frame of mind, he feels like there is shadows following him, his trip east has not gone according to plan. He decides not to beat around the bush, “Pretty shit to be honest.” he laughs quietly then continues, “I live in a crappy bed sitter in the worst suburb, I earn a quarter of what I did in Perth for doing twice the work and I have no friends over here.” then there’s silence, though not an awkward silence. She’s relaxed now, now that the politeness has ended and the nitty gritty has been brought to the lime light, “I went to the airport. I’d read your letter and I went to the airport. You’d got on the plane three minutes before I got there, I stood at the window and watched your plane take off.” it felt good to tell him. His world turned upside down. Knowing that she’d gone to the airport changed everything. “I meant everything I said in the letter. I wish I never got on that plane.”
“Come back” she said.
He went straight home, packed the suitcase he arrived with and made his way to the airport, via an atm. His pay had gone in, enough to buy a ticket to Perth and buy a couple of packets of smokes. He waited in the airport lounge, clutching tightly the four hundred dollar piece of printed paper, he had a two hour wait ahead of him but he had the patience. every time he closed his eyes he saw her standing there, just beyond his eyelids. After she‘d hung up the phone she smiled, her heart beating faster, he messaged her the time he‘d be landing in Perth, she‘d told him she‘d pick him up. She undressed and lay in her bed, unable to sleep, imagining how it would feel to hold his hand, kiss his lips. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. He paced up and down, bought a cheap cup of coffee with the change in his pocket and walked outside to have a smoke. He was going back to Perth, he’d get his old job back, enjoy a decent pay cheque again, he’d crash on a friend’s couch till he found his own place, or if he was lucky he might be able to move back into his old flat. most importantly though he was going back to her, she knew how he felt and she felt the same way, she’d told him so herself. Eventually he boarded the plane, settled into his seat and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of her.
She woke with a smile, feeling refreshed though she’d had only a couple of hours sleep. She tidied her little flat and went for a shower, she wanted look her best when she picked him up. Somewhere over WA he looked out the window and smiled, he would be with her soon. She jumped in her car, an old Ford hatchback. She drove through a drive through coffee shop, buying a latte with no sugar. She turned onto the freeway. Daniel needed a smoke, his flight was almost over but he was growing impatient, he really needed a smoke. With a sudden suprising jolt the whole aeroplane lurched up, and then down. The pilots voice came over the intercom. As michelle roared down the freeway she carefully studied her mirrors and checked her blind spots, indictating she was moving into the left lane she steered gently. The plane began to bounce around even more violently, the air hostesses had strapped themselves into their seats and suddenly the plane dropped dramatically. As the little yellow hatchback steered into his lane the truck driver put his foot on the brake, pressing down hard. The plane kept shuddering, though Daniel was not worried, no one was. It was only minor turbulence, the pilot had said so himself, they would be through it in a few minutes. Despite the fact the truckie had braked his bull bar, followed by his cab crashed through the tender metal of the little yellow ford. The truck jack knifed and threatened to tip over, a ‘P’ plater didn’t react quick enough and slammed into the back trailer. Michelle screamed once. Sure enough, the plane was again flying straight and level. Michelle took her last breath. The pilot reassured his passenger that everything was okay and daniel leant back in his seat, excited at the prospect of seeing Michelle. But he never got the girl, and a lot of his friends found that rather sad.