#41 1000-Words

TITLE: A Change of Plans
GENRE: Women's Lit

Katrine looked at her watch; only an hour had passed, and this flight from Ecuador to Houston would last nine more. She put her book down and glanced at the man sitting next to her. She guessed that he was forty to forty-five years old. His watch was a Franck Muller, which she knew only because one of the bank’s wealthiest German clients had flaunted his, trying to get her into bed by offering to buy one for her, despite the fact that she was married.

“Would you like to kill some time with a game of Scrabble?” she asked. She needed a distraction; this trip was supposed to be her ten-year anniversary celebration with her husband. Ex-husband, she reminded herself.

He looked at her, raising his left eyebrow. “Oh, you have a traveling Scrabble game? You’ll have to teach me how to play, but I’m sure I can manage a simple word game. I have an excellent grasp of the English language, after all.”

He’s full of himself, she thought, but his deep voice and English accent enthralled her.

“Do you? Well, it’s travel, not traveling.”

“Oh, you’re one of those difficult, critical women, aren’t you?” he asked, a frown on his face. “Did you mate with some poor man and then eat him? Is that why you’re alone?”

She glared. “I’m alone because I’m doing what I want for a change. Traveling for now. And why are you alone? Wait, let me guess. There’s absolutely no one on earth as brilliant as you, so you find everyone’s company beneath you?”

“Precisely!” he answered, an enormous smile on his face.

She wanted to be angry, but found herself smiling back, enjoying the exchange. In spite of his obvious ego, she realized he was baiting her, challenging her to see if she was worthy of his attention. Her natural competitiveness gave her no choice but to enthusiastically accept. “I’m Katrine,” she said, offering her hand.

“Killian,” he replied as he took it and nodded his agreement toward the game. Although wary of involvement with a stranger, he was curious about this young woman; she was traveling in first class alone and her ring finger was bare. She wore a cotton suit with a white blouse, not the tacky clothing he associated with Americans, and had spent the last hour reading, which he had unsuccessfully tried to do. He needed a distraction, and she wasn’t entirely distasteful. Her quick retort and ability to take as well as give made him feel completely comfortable with her.

Katrine set up the board and explained the rules. “The first game will be practice.”

“Afraid I’ll win?” he asked. She raised an eyebrow in response, placed her word, and wrote her score in her notebook. They played for an hour and a half and though Katrine gave him pointers, she won by 108 points. Killian was annoyed at being beaten so badly, but he enjoyed playing, and more importantly, time passed quickly and the game kept his mind off the things that had been bothering him lately: his imminent reunion with his lover; his age, which he claimed was forty-three when in truth he would turn forty-eight in two weeks; his fight with his best friend, Hugh; the feeling of falling through space without a net, even though his career was peaking and his social schedule was always full.

“You catch on quickly,” she said. “If you’re half as smart as you think, you might win a game in the next seven hours.” She wanted him to learn the game well enough to make it fair, and then beat him so it was a true victory. She could work on her overly competitive issues another time.

They played three more games, so focused they barely spoke. When dinner was served they stopped because Katrine refused to play again until she’d eaten. She was nearly giddy as they served salmon and champagne. Until this trip she usually flew from New York to Europe on bank business; she hardly ever traveled for pleasure anymore. Matt had always been too busy; work was too important for a vacation.

“So, what are you reading?” she asked, motioning toward a thick bound document that she’d noticed him open and close repeatedly.

“Oh, a work project I’m considering,” he replied, stuffing the manuscript into his bag. She could tell he didn’t want her to know, which only made her more determined to find out.

“What were you doing in Ecuador?” she asked.

“Working. And you?”

“I just spent two incredible weeks in the Galapagos.”

“And was that the first stop on your travels?” he asked.

“Oh, I’ve already been to the Caribbean and Mexico. I’m spending four months going to places I like or have always wanted to see. Where are you going?”

“Well, I was in that bloody hot country for two months, so now I’m on my way to a well deserved vacation with my boyfriend,” he replied, watching her closely.

“Oh, is he in Houston?” she asked, not entirely surprised, thinking his hair and clothing were too perfect for any man who wasn’t gay.

“No, I’m meeting him in Fiji for a three week holiday,” he said, impressed that she had shown no reaction. He knew he wasn’t effeminate; there was always at least a slight reaction when he told people. After many years of keeping his homosexuality private, he felt a perverse joy in shocking people.

“Hey, I’m going to Fiji too!” They compared tickets and found that they had adjoining seats on the following flight.



They played two more games before the pilot announced their approach into Houston’s airport, Killian drawing slightly closer with each game, the banter and dictionary inspection intense.

“I think we’re the only ones still awake,” Katrine whispered.

“At this point I intend to stay awake until the flight from LA to Fiji.”

“I was just thinking that,” she said. “Apparently great minds do think alike. Although unless you win a game, I guess mine is just a bit greater.”