You log on to your computer and the profile photo of Linda smiling coyly at you comes floating in on chat. She types in 'Hi Fred, What's up?' And you reply 'What do you mean What's up?.... you were supposed to let me know your place choice for dinner Christmas evening...it's just a couple of days away now, in case you forgot!' 'Right!', she says, 'Sorry, Honey! Have been quite busy in here lately. Fact is, there are a couple of transcripts waiting for me just now. Hang in there, won't you? Be right back ... oh, better still, why don't you do the choosing and then we talk!' And she's off
'My girl!', you tell yourself as you give in to a feeling of giving in......and, - as you stare blankly at your screen. And you are brought back to the time you first met her. Your sister had asked you to help get her son's transcript of records from his university. 'Anyway, it's just a block away from your bank, Little Brother', she had sweetly entreated you. 'Your bank' was where you were one of the officers... and still are. 'What you do for family!', that's what you said then. But you dutifully walked out of the bank during one of your coffee breaks - toward the university and on to the registrar's office. There is where you saw Linda. Because she was the Registrar. She had clerical staff to do your nephew's transcript so that all she had to do was affix her signature to have it released. But in between some of the time, as you curiously looked at her going through the sheets of paper at her desk, she had casually glanced at your direction, probably sensing your scrutiny of her. But that was just it! A fleeting glance. A magic moment that started it all. Because back at your office, you had called her up and this was followed by a friendship. You liked her simple ways...her childlike candor as it was sometimes, -provincial, you might have even thought...but you also liked the intelligence in her conversation, her sense of humor. And then you began to love her.
Suddenly a blinding flash of light from nowhere makes you stare incredulously into your computer screen. You're looking at yourself driving through some kind of a highway. 'What's this?', you ask yourself as you try to make sense out of what was going on. But now, as you notice the 1's and the 0's lining up the highway and as you speed through, you realize you're on the - the internet highway? 'What insanity is this!', you exclaim under your breath, But even as you apparently don't believe it, you seem to know that you are heading to a particular night spot which happens to be Linda's favorite. It's Christmas evening and you mean to give the place a last minute check out before you go fetch her for dinner. So you actually are speeding through.
Now comes a vehicle also in speed from behind wanting to catch up with you. You try to find out who it is through a look at your back mirror and you're surprised to recognize it is Linda - scarf and hair flying off with the wind as she tries to bring her red convertible alongside yours, signalling you to the side. 'What has become of my provincial Linda?' you ask yourself. So you do park to the side, casually leave your car and you approach her as she too parks behind you Nonchalantly, you greet her with a 'What's up, Officer?'
She smiles sheepishly at you as she responds, 'Hey now, corny people not allowed! Just hop in, won't you?' You do and you try to settle down in the seat beside her. 'So what's going on?', you manage to say, 'You know I was just going to check out the place before I came to fetch you and here you come storming after me. What's on your mind, Little One?' You always loved to tease her about her size but this was also your term of endearment for her. And as your eyes continue to search hers, you couldn't miss how they sparkled with excitement as she asserts, 'Change of plans, Mister, we're going elsewhere!' 'What?', you blurt out, 'This was your choice - a place away from reality as you call it. And you got it! What's wrong with it now?' She counters in a matter-of-fact way, 'Cyberspace? Not anymore.... it has become too crowded here. Let's go out to real space - out to the galaxy!' And again, you exclaim, 'What?'
Before you can utter another unbelieving remark, Linda drives back into the highway and literally zooms out of it into the vast, dark, space like it was just one of those normal things. While you say over and over again, 'I don't believe this, I don't believe this!', you remember good old bedtime stories of Peter Pan who with a sprinkle of pixie dust and a call for happy thoughts made the ship of Captain Hook sail the skies from Neverland to London. Really and truly, Linda was actually driving her car through space toward Saturn! 'There's my favorite planet, dear Fred!', she tells you. 'There's a table for two waiting for us on the biggest ring... guys to wait on us...well, not exactly guys the way you know them but guys... food, lights, music, the works!' And she turns her eyes to you affectionately, her right hand reaching for your face. You gently catch this hand and as gently, you return the hand on the wheel.
And sure enough, as Linda lands her car on Saturn's chosen ring, you could see in a near distance an uncontested special place. You're both out of the car now, approaching the place and you are silently ushered to your seats by non-human looking gentle people and now you decide you might as well go along. The moon came closer to lend its silvery light and a number of stars came closer as well, giving out sounds of tinkling crystals to the melody of - 'what's this song again?', you ask Linda.... -and she answers tentatively, 'Winter Wonderland?' 'Right', you say, 'I don't know about the winter thing, but it sure is a wonderland here. How'd you find it?' Her answer: 'I googled it!' To which you both burst to laughter!
The gentle people hurry to set your table with the food, the flowers, the wine. - as you sit there across Linda, adoring her, lovely in her dress and in her simply being her. The music so out of your world,....sweet, soft, slow, makes you stand up to take her to dance to it. And as you dance whispering Merry Christmas! to each other's ear, you are lost to this incredible momentary warp in time. But then you also have to eat, thus you go back to your seats. Now you both raise your wine glasses to a toast, and the clink sound they make gives you a jolt back to your computer screen - and to Linda who is typing: 'Hey, Honey, am back! Have you thought of something?'
For some lingering seconds, you stare at her question and then ....and then....'Yes!', you reply, 'It was actually still your choice!'.... to which she types back, 'What are you talking about?' You continue: 'You just brought me there, you know! Why don't we go have dinner up that ring of Saturn!' She types back: 'What?' And you answer, 'I said why don't we go spend Christmas in space!' Incredulously she repeats, 'Christmas in - WHERE?'
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