CHAPTER 59
Nia
Normally, when Nia got to the airport, she checked her bag, if she’d brought a large one, and proceeded through security and to the bar closest to her gate, choosing only to use the first-class lounge if she had a longer time to wait.
In the morning, she’d have a mimosa or a Bloody Mary, and if it was late afternoon or evening, she’d have wine or a Manhattan, depending on her mood. Today, though, she watched.
Carrie and Gage rolled their bags and held hands as they walked down the long corridor to Carrie’s gate since her flight boarded twenty minutes before Gage’s, and when they found chairs to sit next to each other, they didn’t talk much.
It was as if it had just hit them that they wouldn’t see one another for a while after this.
Nia didn’t know what they had worked out, but she knew they’d planned something because Gage’s mood had improved at dinner.
As she watched them hold on to one another at the gate as if they really didn’t want Carrie to get on that plane, Nia knew they would be all right.
Yes, it would be hard, but they were right for one another, so if they were both willing to put the work in, she could see them together for the long haul.
Then, there were Sharon and Debra, whom she found standing in line at one of the shops in the airport.
They were staring at bottles of water, trying to make a decision, and Sharon was laughing.
Debra had her hand on her back, and they seemed at ease with themselves, likely because they were getting on the same flight and would have more time together this week before Debra would fly home and they would plan another trip to see each other.
With over an hour remaining until her own boarding, Nia decided to go into the first-class lounge after all. There, she checked in, sat down in a comfortable chair, and leaned back, sighing, choosing to forego the drink for now.
“I’m done,” she said to herself.
She smiled and looked out the window, which showed the tarmac.
Carrie’s plane was probably taxiing or taking off by now.
Gage would be leaving soon. Debra and Sharon probably bought their water and were sitting at their gate, holding on to one another before their own flight.
She’d done it; she had gone out on top. Four new couples had formed because of her, and that meant that she could feel very good about what she’d accomplished.
She had some more thinking and planning to do, because while she knew she was done with all the travel and putting other couples first, she couldn’t just not work.
She’d have to figure out what to do with her time, but first, she was going to take a week or two and be present in her own life.
She needed the rest anyway before she really made any big decisions.
She hadn’t even realized she had been sitting there that long when she saw the info screen showing that her flight was boarding the first-class cabin.
She got up, wheeled her bag out toward her gate, scanned her boarding pass, and walked onto the plane in search of her window seat.
This would be her last flight for a while, so she would try her best to really enjoy it.
◆◆◆
Nia was sitting in the coffee shop for the third day in a row.
She was pretty sure the manager of the place didn’t like that she was taking up the only big table in the place with her stuff, if his glares were any indication, but she made sure to buy something once an hour for every hour she was there to make up for it, and she tipped well.
It had been three weeks since she’d left the last event, and she’d spent the first two sitting around her house.
Well, that wasn’t fair. Nia hadn’t been sitting around necessarily.
She’d let her ex in to get her stuff, of which there had been none, and the ex had asked if Nia had been sure.
She’d told her yes, and they’d avoided the breakup or the final-hookup sex.
She’d cleaned everything top to bottom herself instead of relying on the maid service she had.
She had gone grocery shopping and had cooked dinner for herself every night.
She had also done some light redecorating after going shopping and finding a new desk chair that had spiraled into two new lamps, new artwork for the walls, a new bookshelf, and some new curtains.
She’d known she’d been sublimating her inner workaholic by buying things and keeping busy, but by then, she’d figured out a much more productive use of her time.
Her business was taking a little break, and she’d turned off the application system.
She scheduled events at the last minute, which meant she didn’t have anyone expecting to be anywhere at the next one, outside of the rental house service and the catering staff for the event immediately following the one she’d recently wrapped, so she’d canceled their services and had gotten to work.
First, she’d reached out to a few of the people who had expressed interest in working with her over the years and set up interviews.
She’d talked to two of them already, and there had really been only one obvious contender to run the events without her needing to be there full-time as well, so she’d set up a follow-up interview for the following afternoon.
Should that work, Nia would get her up and running.
She’d still be the owner, consulting and handling any emergencies should they arise, but in time, she’d either hire someone else to do that, too, or sell the business.
She hadn’t figured that part out just yet.
It was a big adjustment for her not to be planning the next event or be there already, so she’d take baby steps.
The other important thing she’d decided to do was sit down and write her book, which was why the big table in the coffee shop was now covered in her notes, laptop, and a few books she’d brought in with her to reference, along with an academic journal she’d printed out to highlight because she was still a little old-school like that.
When it was time for her hourly purchase, she walked up to the counter, waited behind someone else, and ordered a bagel that she’d take home with her.
Next hour, she’d get a coffee refill, and the time after that, she’d buy a yogurt parfait and add that to her haul.
The first day she’d done this, she’d given the staff the food items she had bought to eat on their breaks since she couldn’t possibly eat them all.
The second time, when she had left, she’d given the food to a few of the folks she’d seen on the street on her way in.
And today, she would eat the yogurt herself and give the bagel and muffins she already had to the same people on the street, hoping to brighten their days a little.
“Hi.”
Nia turned just as her bagel was handed to her and saw a beautiful woman standing next to her.
“Do you need me to move?” she asked. “Am I in your–”
“No,” the woman said with a little laugh and a perfect smile.
“I saw you in here yesterday. I was sitting over there.” She pointed to a small two-top table in the corner.
“Today, I am over there.” She pointed to a table that was closer to Nia’s.
“I’ve been working up the courage to talk to you since I first saw you, and I just decided that it was now or never because I don’t know if you’ll be here tomorrow and I was about to head out. ”
“Did you need the big table or something? Are you the reason the manager keeps glaring at me?”
The woman laughed again and said, “No, I don’t need the table. I work here sometimes, but the small tables are fine for me. I see you need the space anyway.” She looked around Nia at the table where Nia’s stuff was spread out. “Working on a dissertation or something?”
“What? No.” Nia laughed this time. “Writing a book. I already have my Ph. D.”
“Really? I just saw the tell-tale formatting of an academic journal on the table.”
“I’m writing a book and using it as a reference. Well, I might. I’m still in the outlining stage, so we’ll see where it goes.”
“What’s it about?”
“Compatibility and chemistry in romantic relationships.”
The woman smiled softly and asked, “What’s your doctorate in?”
“Psychology. I got the Ph.D instead of the Psy.D. because I thought I might go into teaching instead of practice, but I didn’t go into either, so…”
“Ph.D here, too,” the woman shared, pointing to herself. “And funnily enough, it’s in chemistry. I do teach, though.” She held out her hand for Nia to shake. “Emmy.”
“Emmy?”
“Yeah, like the award. I know… But it’s my given name. Not Emily or Emilia. I’m Emmy Hammond.”
“You’re Dr. Emmy Hammond,” Nia corrected.
“True. And you are?”
“Nia Tremaine.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Tremaine.”
“Nia is fine.” She chuckled a little.
“So, you’re writing a book about chemistry, and I happen to know a lot about chemistry. Any chance you might need someone to help you or act as a reference?”
“I thought you had to head out,” Nia said.
“I am suddenly very glad I told my TA to take my afternoon lecture and that I’d be in my office, grading papers. “
Nia smiled and said, “Well, then, yes. I’ll happily accept your services as long as I can buy you a cup of coffee to repay you.”
“What about dinner?” Emmy asked.
“Dinner?”
“What if I bought you dinner sometime? Tonight, if you are free.”
“How is that me paying you back?”
“It’s not.” Emmy laughed. “I just wanted to ask. I stared at you for most of the day today, trying to plan how to introduce myself, and my second goal was to ask you out. I’ve now accomplished both, so even if you say no because you’re not into women, you’re with someone, or no because you’re just not interested, I’ll still feel brave today. ”
“Can we talk about what made you want to ask me out?”
“Need an ego boost?” Emmy teased.
“For the book. It would make a nice intro. I’m sitting in a coffee shop, working on the book, and a gorgeous woman walks up to me and asks me out on a date.”
“And you’re wondering what got me interested, and we talk about it?”
“Exactly,” Nia said.
“Over dinner tonight?”
Nia laughed and replied, “Yes, over dinner. But we can also talk now, if you don’t have to go.”
“I don’t.” Emmy shook her head. “Can you make some space for me over on that table, possibly?”
Nia glanced at the table, smiled, and turned her head back to Emmy.
“I think I can do that.”
“Good. Oh, and spoiler alert: it was your eyes.”
“What was?”
“I saw your eyes when you walked in yesterday, and that was it. I was a goner. I immediately looked down and saw no ring on a certain finger, as well as short but well-kept nails, so I was hopeful. After that, it was your legs. My heart started going crazy.”
“So, chemistry?” she asked more herself than Emmy.
“Got me first, yeah. But then, I watched you buy stuff, I’m guessing just because you’re taking up the table for most of the day, and you walked outside to give a bagel to the guy on the corner.
I saw you do it again later. You left your stuff in here, walked outside, and gave food to a stranger in need, and my heart went a different kind of crazy. ”
“So, chemistry first. Then, interest in other things?”
“Yes,” Emmy confirmed. “Now, I’d very much like to discuss those other things over dinner.”
“Seven?”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“Can I get you that coffee now?” Nia asked.
“Cappuccino with cinnamon?”
“No problem,” she said with a little laugh. “Make yourself at home. My table is now your table, too. I will be right back.”
Nia returned to the line and waited her turn again before she ordered the cappuccino for Emmy as Emmy packed up her things from her own table and moved them over to hers.
She saw her carefully set her laptop away from Nia’s stuff so as not to mess anything up and sit down.
Then, Emmy looked up at her and gave her that wide smile again, and Nia took a deep breath.